Where does “referee” come from?
Referee comes from Old French referer, from Latin referre meaning "to carry back," composed of the prefix re- and the root bʰer- meaning "to carry" in Proto-Indo-European.
referee (English): An umpire or judge; an official who makes sure...
Definitions
- An umpire or judge; an official who makes sure...
Ancestry of “referee”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | relesen | — |
| 2 | Old French | referer | to tell; to talk about; to speak of |
| 3 | Latin | referre | present active infinitive of referō; to refer |
| 4 | Latin | ferre | present active infinitive of ferō; bring; carry |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰēr- | shiny, light brown |
Words derived from “referee”