umpire

1 of 2

noun

um·​pire ˈəm-ˌpī(-ə)r 

1

: an official in a sport who rules on plays

2

: one having authority to decide finally a controversy or question between parties: such as

a

: one appointed to decide between arbitrators who have disagreed

b

: an impartial third party chosen to arbitrate disputes arising under the terms of a labor agreement

3

: a military officer who evaluates maneuvers

umpire

2 of 2

verb

umpired; umpiring

transitive verb

: to supervise or decide as umpire

intransitive verb

: to act as umpire

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History of Umpire

The word umpire was formed by metanalysis, or the changing of the division of words based upon how they sound together. The original word in English was noumpere, which was a borrowing of the French term nompere. The -pere of nompere was the French word for “equal,” a descendant of the Latin word par (“equal”) that is the root of words like peer, pair, and, of course, par. Noumpere became the form used in English for “one without equal” or “peerless,” but frequent references to a noumpere ended up becoming references to an oumpere, which became the modern word umpire. It’s ironic that the word for a person who literally calls balls and strikes is called by a name created by a linguistic foul.

Synonyms

Noun

• adjudicator
• arbiter
• arbitrator
• judge
• referee

Verb

• adjudge
• adjudicate
• arbitrate
• decide
• determine
• judge
• referee
• rule (on)
• settle

Examples of umpire in a Sentence

Noun

usually acts as umpire in the all-too-frequent squabbles between the two other roommates

Verb

in our family disputes regarding the use of our home entertainment system are umpired by Dad

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Initially, Ohtani was ruled safe by plate umpire Marvin Hudson. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024

Stovall also chugged around and slid head first into home and was called safe by home plate umpire Chris Coskey. —Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 10 Apr. 2024

Busch rounded third and scored as catcher Heim appeared to argue with home plate umpire Chad Fairchild that the pitch had been fouled. —David Ammenheuser, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Mar. 2024

After umpire Gerry Davis motioned for Beltré to get closer to the on-deck circle, the player instead dragged the large plastic mat marking that spot closer to him. —Stephen Hawkins, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2024

His daughter, Colleen Bartow, said her father loved watching football and baseball, and spent years as an umpire at Little League games. —Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee, 2 Apr. 2024

The rule addresses all sorts of misconduct, including a player not giving his all, giving a gift to an opposing player or an umpire, and committing a violent act on another player or umpire. —Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024

The harmonic convergence reached to those legislating the game, with two umpires from each country. —Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024

Sunday's other officials: umpire Terry Killens, down judge Patrick Holt, line judge Mark Perlman, field judge Tom Hill, side judge Allen Baynes, back judge Brad Freeman and replay official Mike Chase. —Howard Fendrich, USA TODAY, 6 Feb. 2024

Verb

That’s how many women have umpired at the Minor League level as of 2022, according to CBS, but the outletalso noted nine women are expected to umpire minor league games this year. —James Farrell, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024

But Molitor, now 67, was well aware of what Winfield was doing, and Steve Winfield, who umpired and also refereed basketball games in St. Paul, kept his brother apprised on the kid who eventually became the city’s second hall of famer. —Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 24 Jan. 2024

But the explanations did not persuade the umpiring crew. —Scott Miller, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2023

Leading off will be the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for Managers, Executives and Umpires, which will vote Dec. 3 on a ballot that includes managers Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson, Lou Piniella and Jim Leyland, umpires Joe West and Ed Montague, and executives Hank Peters and Bill White. —Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2023

To honor the occasion, Roberts and Correa greeted each other at home plate for the pregame lineup exchange and posed with the umpiring crew for a picture. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2023

The Orioles led 4-2 to begin the fifth Sunday, but a questionable call by the umpiring crew sparked a game-tying rally by the Arizona Diamondbacks. —Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 3 Sep. 2023

At the French Open and other clay court tournaments, the ball leaves a mark that umpires often inspect. —Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 10 July 2023

However, the umpiring crew reassessed the verdict of first base umpire Clint Vondrak, determining that the ball had been foul. —Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English oumpere, alteration (from misdivision of a noumpere) of noumpere, from Anglo-French nounpier, nompere, from nounpier, adjective, single, odd, from non- + per equal, from Latin par

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1609, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

umpire

noun

um·​pire

ˈəm-ˌpī(ə)r

1

: one having authority to decide an argument or a question

2

: an official in a sport (as baseball) who rules on plays

umpire verb

Etymology

Noun

Middle English oumpere, an altered form of noumpere "one having authority to decide an issue or dispute," from early French nounpier, nompere (adjective) "single, odd, without equal," from non-, nom- "not" and per "equal," from Latin par "equal" — related to compare, pair, par, peer

Word Origin

From the Latin word par, meaning "equal," came the early French word per, which also meant "equal." Per was combined with the prefix non-, nom-, meaning "not," to form the early French word nomper, which meant "without equal." Nomper came into Middle English as a noun, noumpere. The meaning of noumpere was "a person who is not equal, a person who has authority over others." Many people who heard the words a noumpere thought they were actually hearing an oumpere. Because of that misunderstanding, the letter n in time came to be dropped from noumpere. Other changes over the course of many years have given us the modern word umpire.

Legal Definition

umpire

noun

um·​pire

: a person having authority to decide finally a controversy or question between parties: as

a

: one appointed to decide between disagreeing arbitrators

b

: an impartial third party chosen to arbitrate disputes arising under the terms of a labor agreement

c

: one appointed to mediate between the appraisers of an insured and insurer in order to determine the amount of a loss