Other forms: umpires
An umpire is the official who enforces the rules in tennis, cricket or baseball. The umpire's decision, appeal to the umpire, a square-leg umpire.
Which sports use umpire and which use referee is pure custom: cricket, tennis and baseball have umpires, and football, rugby and boxing have referees. Cricket uses two on the field and a third watching replays. The umpire's decision is final is the standing principle, however loudly it is contested. Note umpire as a verb, and that the third umpire has changed cricket more than any rule change.
1nounumpireThe official who enforces the rules in some sports.
“The umpire called the ball out, and the player argued angrily.”
umpire is a sports official.
Also accepted in games: referee
Old French nonper means not equal — an arbitrator who makes the number odd so a tie cannot happen. English heard a noumpere as an oumpere, and the n migrated onto the article, which is exactly how an apron and a newt happened too.
Latin
par — equal
Old French
nonper — odd number, not even (as a tie-breaking arbitrator)
English, today
umpire
Built from
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”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA