What does arbitrement mean?
Arbitrement is a formal, uncommon noun meaning a dispute settled by arbitration, especially the binding decision or award handed down by an arbitrator. In contemporary English, it is most often encountered in legal writing, contracts, or elevated literary prose rather than everyday conversation. The distinction is subtle but useful: arbitration can refer to the procedure in which a neutral third party hears arguments and resolves a disagreement, while an arbitrement names the resulting decision. The word can also convey finality and authoritative settlement without implying that the matter followed a conventional court process. Its formal character gives it particular weight in disputes involving commerce, institutions, or formal agreements. Although uncommon, arbitrement is etymologically revealing: it belongs to a family that includes arbitration, arbitrator, arbitrate, and arbitrary, all reflecting the idea of judgment or decision.
nounThe settlement of a dispute by an arbitrator, especially the authoritative decision or award resulting from such a process.
- An authoritative decision or award settling a dispute, especially through arbitration.
"The parties submitted their arguments to the panel, whose arbitrement resolved the long-running dispute."
"The tribunal's arbitrement finally settled the dispute between the two companies."
"His accounts of the negotiations read like the arbitrary judgments of a monarch rather than the careful arbitrement of an independent panel."
The regular plural is rarely used because the singular form is uncommon.
"The tribunal issued three arbitirements, each resolving a separate contractual dispute."
A rare name for the decision that emerges when a dispute is settled by arbitration.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does arbitrement come from?
Arbitrement entered English through Old French arbitrage and ultimately derives from Latin arbitrium, meaning “judgment” or “decision.” It developed as a legal term for a settlement reached through arbitration and later acquired a broader literary sense for an authoritative decision. Related English forms, including arbitration, arbitrator, arbitrate, and arbitrary, continue to reflect the same Latin root.
How arbitrement is actually used
Formal and relatively uncommon in contemporary English. It is most likely to appear in legal writing, contracts, or elevated literary prose; in literary use, it can suggest an authoritative or seemingly final judgment.
Easily confused with arbitrement
Arbitration is the procedure for resolving a dispute, whereas an arbitrement is the decision resulting from that procedure.
Arbitrary means based on whim or personal preference, whereas arbitrement means a dispute settled through arbitration.