arbiter

noun

ar·​bi·​ter ˈär-bə-tər How to pronounce arbiter (audio)
1
: a person with power to decide a dispute : judge
The mayor will act as the final arbiter in any dispute between board members.
2
: a person or agency whose judgment or opinion is considered authoritative
arbiters of taste

Did you know?

Are arbiter and arbitration arbitrary?

A large portion of the words we use today come from Latin roots. Many of these words retain a meaning that is closely related to their Latin ancestor, although sometimes they will drift a considerable distance from their roots (sinister, for instance, had the meaning of “on the left side” in Latin, but also meant “unlucky, inauspicious”). In some instances, a single Latin word will give rise to multiple words in English, some of which have strayed in meaning, and others which have not.

An example of this may be found in our word arbiter. We trace it to the Latin root with the same spelling, arbiter, meaning “eyewitness, onlooker, person appointed to settle a dispute.” A number of English words stem from the Latin arbiter, many of which have to do with judging or being a judge. An arbiter is a judge, and arbitration is the act of judging, or serving as an arbiter. Yet the most common meaning of arbitrary is “existing or coming about seemingly at random or by chance or as a capricious and unreasonable act of will,” which seems to be quite a bit different in meaning from the other two words. Arbitrary does indeed come from the same Latin root, and its oldest meaning in English was “depending on choice or discretion particularly regarding the decision of a judge or a tribunal.” But over time it developed additional senses that are somewhat removed from that initial meaning.

Examples of arbiter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In the weeks before the election, his older brother, three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, had led campaigning and appeared to be the preferred candidate by the military, which is widely seen as the ultimate arbiter of politics here. Rick Noack, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2024 Physicians are and should always be the final arbiters and stewards of patient care, particularly when the stakes are as high as human life or death, as is the case with patient care. Omer Awan, Forbes, 11 Feb. 2024 Instead, Vladeck sees the moment as similar to the court’s past decisions on desegregation and whether President Richard Nixon had to turn over the Watergate tapes when the justices tried to play neutral arbiter and lower the temperature. USA TODAY, 5 Feb. 2024 One was a sophisticated and highly respected arbiter of taste. Diane Scharper, Washington Examiner, 12 Jan. 2024 Initially this is in state courts, but the U.S. Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter. Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 18 Jan. 2024 For a leader who painstakingly crafted a reputation as the arbiter of order, Putin looked detached and indecisive as Prigozhin’s ragtag mutineers made their way up the road to Moscow. William J. Burns, Foreign Affairs, 30 Jan. 2024 There, Trump is the arbiter of truth, the oracle of the Right, the very definition of correctitude — and nobody else is allowed a say in the matter. Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 22 Jan. 2024 Tech companies have long resisted being cast as arbiters of truth online. Cat Zakrzewski, Washington Post, 7 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'arbiter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English arbitour, arbitre, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin arbiter "eyewitness, onlooker, person appointed to settle a dispute," perhaps, if going back to *ad-biteros, from ad- ad- + *-biteros, derivative from a base *-bit- akin to bītere, baetere, bētere "to go," of obscure origin

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of arbiter was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near arbiter

Cite this Entry

“Arbiter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arbiter. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

arbiter

noun
ar·​bi·​ter ˈär-bət-ər How to pronounce arbiter (audio)
1
2
: a person whose judgment or opinion decides what is right or proper
an arbiter of taste

Legal Definition

arbiter

noun
ar·​bi·​ter ˈär-bə-tər How to pronounce arbiter (audio)
Etymology

Latin, onlooker, arbitrator

More from Merriam-Webster on arbiter

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