Arbiter
/ˈɑːr.bɪ.tər/noun
A person with the power to settle a dispute or make a judgment.
Did you know?Arbiter comes from Latin *arbiter*, originally meaning a bystander or witness who could later act as a judge, showing how authority often grew out of simply seeing what happened.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂er-
“to fit together, join, or make right”
Latin
Latin
arbitror
“I judge, consider, or decide”
Latin
Latin
arbiter
“a witness, observer, or judge”
Middle English
English
arbiter
“a judge or umpire”
Modern English
English
arbiter
“one who settles a dispute or has authoritative judgment”