arbitro

Forms

arbitro m (plural arbitri)^[1] An old form is Old Italian albitro, with dissimilation of the liquids; the TLIO also records Old Italian arbetro.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin arbiter (“eyewitness; judge”), taken from the accusative.^{[5][6][7][8][1][9]} The LEI notes that the same Latin word was taken over by French arbitre (from 1213), Catalan àrbitre (13th century), Spanish árbitro (1302) and Portuguese árbitro, and that Italian kept both its Latin senses, “judge” and “absolute master”.^[9] The feminine arbitra took the place of Late Latin arbitratrix.^[10]

The origin of the Latin word is uncertain.^[5][11] The only firm comparison is Umbrian ařputrati (“according to the judgement”), which shows the prefix as a form of ad-.^[6][12] De Vaan starts from a compound of the prefix: the link with baetō (“to go”) is the only straightforward one, though that verb has no sure etymology, and the Umbrian ⟨p⟩ might point instead to putō (“to reckon”).^[12][1][13] Devoto thought the word Sabine, with ⟨ar-⟩ for ⟨ad-⟩ as in argine.^[14] GRADIT calls it probably Phoenician.^[14][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the Pisan translation of Albertano's treatises (1287–1288), where an arbitro is the person charged with deciding a dispute.^[3] A Florentine document of 1298 uses it for a private citizen chosen by the parties to settle their quarrel.^[5][7]

Semantic evolution

Boccaccio (1340–1342) has the sense “one who can do as he pleases”.^[5] In medieval Florence the arbitri were also officials elected to compile and revise the city's statutes.^[3][10] The phrase arbitro dell'eleganza translates Tacitus's arbiter elegantiarum, said of Petronius.^[11][15]

The sporting sense, the official who enforces the rules of a match, is first recorded in D'Annunzio in 1910.^[5] The family is old: arbitrare is in Frederick II before 1250, arbitrio at the end of the 13th century and arbitrario in Giovanni Villani;^[5][6] arbitraggio is French arbitrage.^[5][6]

Timeline

• 1287–1288 – Arbitro appears in the Pisan translation of Albertano.^[3]
• 1298 – A Florentine document uses it for an arbitrator.^[5]
• 1340–1342 – Boccaccio uses it for one who decides at will.^[5]
• 1910 – D'Annunzio uses it for a sports referee.^[5]
• 1941 – Arbitraggio is recorded for refereeing.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (sports) A referee or umpire: L'arbitro ha annullato il gol per fuorigioco.^{[7][15][2][1]}
2. (law) An arbitrator, chosen by the parties to a civil dispute to decide it instead of a judge.^{[7][2][16][1]}
3. A person who settles a quarrel amicably, a mediator.^[7][3]
4. One free to dispose of something as he likes; a master: Sei arbitro delle tue scelte.^[7][15][8]
5. One who sets the rules in a field: arbitro dell'eleganza.^[7][15][17]

Word family

• arbitrare
• arbitrato
• arbitrale
• arbitraggio
• arbitrario
• arbitrio
• superarbitro

Related words

• Latin arbiter

Usage notes

Arbitro is also the first person singular present of arbitrare.^[1][18] In sports the masculine is used of women too, beside arbitra.^[2]

The DEI lists a minor homograph, the botanical àrbitro, a side form of àrbatro “strawberry tree” from a Latin manuscript variant arbitus of arbutus.^[10][19]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
4. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 740
10. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 268
11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 1, 612
12. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
13. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
14. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
15. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
16. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
17. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
18. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
19. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter