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Added 9 October 2026

umpire

/ˈʌm.paɪə(ɹ)/ noun

Latin root: par Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about umpire at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An official at a baseball game.
Someone chosen to judge and decide a disputed issue.
the critic was considered to be an arbiter of modern literature

verb

Be a referee or umpire in a sports competition.

Origin

From a Middle English rebracketing of a noumper as an oumper, from Old French nonper (“odd number, not even (as a tie-breaking arbitrator)”), from non (“not”) + per (“equal”), from Latin par (“equal”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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