{"id":4505,"date":"2026-07-04T15:46:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T15:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=4505"},"modified":"2026-07-04T15:46:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T15:46:07","slug":"adventures-in-etymology-odd-umpires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=4505","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Etymology &#8211; Odd Umpires"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Odd Umpires\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2026-07-04T15:46:07+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M07S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this Adventure in Etymology we discover the odd roots of the word umpire.\n\n\n\nAn umpire [\u02c8\u028cm.pa\u026a\u0259(\u0279) \/ \u02c8\u028cm.pa\u026a\u0279] is an official who presides over a sports match, or a person who arbitrates between contending parties. To umpire means to act as an um...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/oddumpires.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2.3\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_6882\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-4505-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/oddumpires.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/oddumpires.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/oddumpires.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/oddumpires.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=4505-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/oddumpires.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"oddumpires.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this Adventure in Etymology we discover the odd roots of the word <strong>umpire<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/136701640@N04\/22607099736\/in\/photolist-ArHi8E-c8rexU-bAScJJ-5XT1zf-9HbwJX-tS2y2f-eyj3Ht-ebbJWy-bLaohe-9R7kB4-9Raem1-9Raekb-eZTbyZ-f63LqA-Zw7G6-5jRcXW-cVwd9w-o1f3or-cQvY9d-j32j9-9vkQfH-9RaeiU-adBNUv-9P7FgL-9vmMjU-obvmd3-9Raeiq-djzRcZ-j34Zn-9imoRL-2RCw1z-9P7Stj-4PpGR-agVD7E-9Ym4Pz-djAbqQ-eq8s5T-agVED9-9P7FNu-djzQJ4-4PpHo-9viLwv-9vkyZ2-bASdmq-Lx1BS-9P4MXr-er4C4y-by2RAf-9vkyWr-9P4QaT\" title=\"Wimbledon Tennis Championships 2014\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/617\/22607099736_085daa930f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Wimbledon Tennis Championships 2014\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>An <strong>umpire<\/strong> [\u02c8\u028cm.pa\u026a\u0259(\u0279) \/ \u02c8\u028cm.pa\u026a\u0279] is an official who presides over a sports match, or a person who arbitrates between contending parties. To <strong>umpire<\/strong> means to act as an umpire in a game, or to decide as an umpire.<\/p>\n<p>It comes from Middle English <em>noumper<\/em> (arbitrator, umpire), which was rebracketed as <em>an oumper<\/em>, and come from Old French <em>nonper<\/em> (odd number, not even [as a tie-breaking arbitrator]), from <em>non<\/em> (not) and <em>per<\/em> (equal) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/umpire#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>The Old French <em>per<\/em> (equal), comes from Latin <em>par<\/em> (even, equal, like, suitable), from Proto-Italic <em>*par-<\/em> (even, equal, matching),  possibly from PIE <em>*perh\u2082-<\/em> (to sell).<\/p>\n<p>Words from the same roots may include <strong>pair<\/strong>, <strong>peer<\/strong>, <strong>compare<\/strong> in English, <strong>paar<\/strong> (pair, couple) in Dutch,  <strong>\u043f\u0430\u0440\u0430<\/strong> (para &#8211; pair, couple) in Russian, <strong>par<\/strong> (even, pair, couple) in Spanish, and <strong>cymar<\/strong> (peer, fellow, spouse, partner, companion) in Welsh [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/par#Latin\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Another word for an official who makes sure the rules are followed during a game is <strong>referee<\/strong>, which comes from Old French <em>referer<\/em> (to tell, talk about), from Latin <em>refer\u014d<\/em> (to bear, bring, return), from <em>re-<\/em> (back, again) and <em>fer\u014d<\/em> (to bear, carry, support) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/referee#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Related words include <strong>refer<\/strong> and <strong>relate<\/strong> in English, <strong>r\u00e9f\u00e9rer<\/strong> (to refer) in French, <strong>riferire<\/strong> (to report, tell, relate, attribute) in Italian, and possibly <strong>rr\u00ebfej<\/strong> (to tell) in Albanian [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/refero#Latin\">source<\/a>]. <\/p>\n<p>If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/uk\/cgi-bin\/webscr?cmd=_flow&amp;SESSION=aLjPfXL-vP_1gQ_U23Iz8_hSWLlhzLHPMFZrt32dIEfG8htoNFLYaPoWkv8&amp;dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8def8934b92a630e40b7fef61ab7e9fe63\">PayPal<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/omniglot\">Patreon<\/a>, or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/donations.htm\">contribute to Omniglot in other ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with <a href=\"https:\/\/blubrry.com\/services\/podcast-hosting\/?code=omniglot\">Blubrry Podcast Hosting<\/a>, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code <strong>omniglot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.japanesepod101.com\/member\/go.php?r=759259&amp;i=b0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/banners\/banner_japanesepod.jpg\" alt=\"The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com\" width=\"630\" height=\"83\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/\">Omniglot Blog<\/a>, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/\">Celtiadur<\/a> blog.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5001128073855040\"\n   crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- Blog horizontal --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n   style=\"display:block\"\n   data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5001128073855040\"\n   data-ad-slot=\"1685480124\"\n   data-ad-format=\"auto\"\n   data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n   (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Odd Umpires\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2026-07-04T15:46:07+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M07S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this Adventure in Etymology we discover the odd roots of the word umpire.\n\n\n\nAn umpire [\u02c8\u028cm.pa\u026a\u0259(\u0279) \/ \u02c8\u028cm.pa\u026a\u0279] is an official who presides over a sports match, or a person who arbitrates between contending parties. To umpire means to act as an um...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/oddumpires.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2.3\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_6883\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-4505-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/oddumpires.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/oddumpires.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/oddumpires.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/oddumpires.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=4505-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/oddumpires.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"oddumpires.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this Adventure in Etymology we discover the odd roots of the word umpire. An umpire [\u02c8\u028cm.pa\u026a\u0259(\u0279) \/ \u02c8\u028cm.pa\u026a\u0279] is an official who presides over a sports match, or a person who arbitrates between contending parties. To umpire means to act as an umpire in a game, or to decide as an umpire. It comes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,126,47,20,56,23,12,4,50,58,11,109,1,59,133,32,28,7],"tags":[462,90,9,88,459,8,458,457],"class_list":["post-4505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures-in-etymology","category-albanian-shqip","category-dutch","category-english","category-etymology","category-french","category-italian","category-language","category-latin","category-middle-english","category-music","category-old-french-franceis","category-podcast","category-proto-indo-european","category-proto-italic","category-russian","category-spanish","category-welsh","tag-compare","tag-etymology","tag-language","tag-omniglot","tag-pair","tag-podcast","tag-referee","tag-umpire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4505"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4508,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4505\/revisions\/4508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}