Etymologically
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arbitration

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌɑː.bɪˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/[1]
  • US: /ˌɑɹ.bɪˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English arbitracioun,[2][3] borrowed from Old French arbitracion,[4][2][5][6] and directly from Latin arbitrātiō (“judgement, will”),[2][5][7] a noun of action from the past participle of arbitror (“to be of an opinion, give a decision”),[2][4] from arbiter (“judge, umpire, mediator”), the source of the English words arbiter and arbitrate.[2][5] The Anglo-Norman noun is recorded from 1312 for the settlement of a dispute by a referee whom the parties choose.[8] Etymonline and Barnhart explain the Latin noun as "one who goes somewhere" (as a witness or judge), from ad- (“to”) and baetō (“to come, go”), a verb of unknown origin,[2][9] while the American Heritage Dictionary takes it to be of Phoenician origin.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

A deciding according to one's own will or pleasure; an absolute decision: about 1386, in Chaucer's Tale of Melibee.[4] Etymonline gives the late 14th-century sense as the faculty of choosing or deciding, judgement or discretion.[2]

Semantic evolution

In the early 15th century the word came to mean the authority to decide a dispute,[2] and the old sense of free or absolute decision lasted until the mid-17th century.[4][6] The modern sense, the settlement of a dispute by someone both parties agree to refer it to, is dated to the 1630s by Etymonline and to before 1661 by the OED;[2][4] Johnson (1755) defined it in just these terms.[11] From 1768, in Blackstone, the word was used attributively (arbitration bond),[4] and since 1811 arbitration of exchange was the working out of the best rate between two currencies through other markets.[4][6] In the modern sense the referee may be chosen by the parties or appointed by law, instead of a court,[3] and the word is used especially of industrial disputes and of the settlement of disputes between nations.[12]

Timeline

  • c. 1386 – an absolute decision according to one's will (obsolete by 1651).[4]
  • early 15th century – authority to decide a dispute.[2]
  • 1630s – settlement of a dispute by an agreed third party.[2]
  • 1768 – attributive use, as in arbitration bond.[4]
  • 1811 – arbitration of exchange, in currency dealing.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (law) The hearing and settling of a dispute by an impartial referee whom the parties choose or agree to, instead of by a court, especially in an industrial dispute: The two unions agreed to go to arbitration.
  2. (international law) The procedure for settling disputes between nations.
  3. The act of arbitrating.
  4. arbitration of exchange: the working out of the most favourable rate of exchange between two currencies through one or more other markets.

Word family

  • arbitrational
  • arbitrationist
  • rearbitration
  • arbiter
  • arbitrable
  • arbitrage
  • arbitrary
  • arbitrate
  • arbitrator
  • arbitrament

Usage notes

Dictionary.com distinguishes arbitration from mediation.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  12. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins