arbitrator

Forms

arbitrātor m (genitive arbitrātōris); third declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin arbitror + -tor.^[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first records are an ancient glossary, which equates it with Greek μεσίτης (mesítēs, “mediator”),^[4][1] and an inscription calling Jupiter arbitrator, “master” or “lord”, a title that also gave its name to the Pentapylon Jovis arbitratoris in the tenth region of Rome.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it was used like arbiter in the sense of master or ruler,^[5] and Tertullian has the feminine arbitrātrīx, “mistress”.^[1]

In Medieval Latin it became a legal word: a mediator who settles a dispute, an umpire, an official delegated to act for a community, a peace negotiator and a town's envoy.^[6] In British usage the arbitrator was an umpire allowed more discretion than an arbiter,^[7] and Du Cange glosses it as an amicable compounder.^[8] Late medieval jurists wrote treatises on the difference between arbiter and arbitrator.^[9] English arbitrator comes from it.^[3]

Timeline

• 1256 – Köbler records it in a constitution of this year.^[10]
• 1279 – The Gascon rolls name parties' chosen arbitratores and amicable compounders.^[7]
• early 15th century – Borrowed into English as arbitrator.^[3]
• 1481 – Baptista de Sancto Blasio writes on a hundred differences between arbiter and arbitrator.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) A master, ruler, lord, as a title of Jupiter.^[5][2]
2. A mediator.^[4][6]
3. (Medieval Latin, law) An arbitrator, umpire.^[6][7][11]
4. (Medieval Latin) An official delegate; a peace negotiator; a town's envoy.^[6]

Related words

• arbiter
• English arbitrator

Usage notes

Medieval law distinguished the arbitrator, who could settle a dispute as an amicable compounder, from the arbiter, who decided by law;^[7][8] British sources describe the arbitrator as allowed more discretion.^[7][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
2. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
9. ^ a b Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
11. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill