Adjudicater

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who officially settles disputes or makes formal judgments in legal or official matters
2. An individual responsible for evaluating and delivering decisions in conflicts or contested cases
3. One who acts as a judge or arbitrator, resolving disagreements by providing authoritative rulings

Etymology: Latin "judex," the source of "judge," was a compound of "ius" (law) and "dicere" (to say), so a judge was literally one who spoke the law. Latin "judicare" grew from that root, and "adjudicare" added the prefix "ad-" ("to"), meaning to award something to someone by formal decision. English formed the verb "adjudicate" from this Latin base, and the noun for the person doing the deciding followed from it. The spelling "adjudicater" uses the English "-er" agent ending, while the standard dictionary spelling uses the Latin-derived "-or," as in "adjudicator." Both forms refer to the same person: someone who hears a case or contest and gives the decision.