▪ I. referee, n.
(rɛfəˈriː)
Also 7 referree.
[f. refer v. + -ee1.]
† 1. a. One appointed by Parliament to examine and report on applications for monopolies or letters patent. Obs.
| 1621 in Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) II. 235 The Lords and Commons met in the afternoon, to consult what punishment to inflict upon monopolists, and the referees, who are in chiefest fault. 1640 Resol. Ho. Comm. in Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1692) I. 53 That the Patent for the Monopoly of Tobacco be forthwith brought into this House; And that the Referrees, to whom the Legality of this Patent was referred, attend the said Committee at the same time. 1663 in Milton's Wks. (1738) I. p. lxxxv, We have received your Letter..together with several Petitions,..all which we likewise transmitted to the Lords Referees. |
b. One to whom the management or superintendence of something is entrusted.
| 1705 in Brewster Life Newton (1854) II. App. xv, To refer the care and management of the said impression to the said..S{supr}. Is. Newton [etc.];..the said referees..have treated with the said Mr. Aunsham Churchill for printing the same. 1845 Act 7 & 8 Vict. c. 84 §2 The Term ‘Official Referees’ to mean the Persons appointed in pursuance of this Act to be Official Referees of Metropolitan Buildings. |
c. A member of certain committees and courts appointed by the House of Commons to deal with private bills.
For details see Bonham-Carter's edition of May's Parl. Practice (1893) iii. 726–8. Since 1868 the only Court of Referees has been one for deciding questions as to the locus standi of petitioners; the office of Referee on Private Bills ceased in 1902.
| 1865 Private Bills April 54 Referees on Private Bills. 1867 Ibid. April 35 Bills Referred to the Court of Referees. 1876 in Bonham-Carter May's Parl. Practice (1893) iii. 728 That it be an instruction to committees on private bills that referees appointed to such committees may take part in all the proceedings thereof, but without the power of voting. |
2. Law. a. A person to whom (either alone or with others) a dispute between parties is referred by mutual consent; an arbitrator.
| 1690 Child Disc. Trade vi. 121 While we choose our Judges our selves..they can be no more too arbitrary than too much can be given to Referees, when both parties desire an end of their Differences. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 481 ¶7 As the case now stands, if you will have my Opinion, I think they ought to bring it to Referees. 1781 H. Walpole Lett. (1902) 60 He offers to compromise, and has desired me to be a Referee [to a will], and Mozzi has named Mr. Morrice for the other. 1841 W. Spalding Italy & It. Isl. III. 375 A Conciliatore, who is a sort of judicial arbiter or referee, chosen from among the resident landholders. |
b. spec. (See quots.)
| 1733 ? Worsley Observ. Const. Middle Temple (1896) 184 The Referees are not properly officers of the Society but are two Barristers appointed by Cha: Cox Esq{supr}. by deed bearing date 30 Septr. 1637 [etc.]. 1828–32 Webster s.v., In New England, a referee differs from an arbitrator in being appointed by the court to decide in a cause which is depending before that court. An arbitrator is chosen by parties to decide a cause between them. |
3. a. One to whom any matter or question in dispute is referred for decision; an umpire.
| 1670 Cotton Espernon i. iv. 162 Neither did his Majesty altogether..trust to the Referree he had in publick honoured with that Office. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 169 ¶3 The good Offices of an Advocate, a Referee, a Companion, a Mediator, and a Friend. 1798 W. Hutton Autobiog. 37, I considered myself overcharged. We agreed to leave it to reference. The referees appeared warm in his favour. 1844 Disraeli Coningsby i. v, Clear-sighted, unprejudiced, sagacious;..he was the universal referee. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 277 Were we two the earth's sole tenants, with no third for referee, How should I distinguish? |
| transf. 1853 Lynch in Lett. to Scattered (1872) 349 They sought to the Referee; they searched the Old Scriptures. 1868 M. Pattison Academ. Org. v. 162 These institutions have become the referees to whose verdict every product of mind must be unconditionally submitted. |
b. In games or sports.
| 1840 Spirit of Times 25 Jan. 559/3 He was a general referee and umpire, whether it was a horse swap, a race, a rifle match, or a cock fight. 1856 Porter's Spirit of Times 6 Dec. 229/1 In [baseball] matches, an umpire is chosen on each side, and a referee to decide, when the umpires cannot agree. c 1860 Rules of the Ring in Boxiana 76 That a referee shall be chosen by the umpires..to whom all disputes shall be referred. 1880 Henning's Bk. Rules Billiards, etc. 2 In all games for stakes an umpire or referee should be appointed. 1887 G. A. Hutchison Football ii. 11 In case of infringement, the referee shall..order a scrummage to be formed. 1889 Sportsman 10 Apr. 7/1 Britton claimed the fight on a foul, but the referee disallowed the claim. 1906 Daily Chron. 7 Sept. 9/4 No great blame attaches to the referee, who probably did not notice the forward till he was apparently off-side. 1936 H. B. T. Wakelam Game goes On 17 Other innovations during the Daring 'Eighties were the appointment of neutral referees and the provision of whistles for those functionaries. 1951 F. N. S. Creek Soccer for Boys iii. 18 The duration of the game is mainly the responsibility of the referee. 1977 Times 16 Mar. 12/1 The main topic of conversation..was the alleged attempt to bribe the Danish referee before the first leg. |
| Comb. 1895 Daily News 7 Feb. 5/4 An abolition of the brutal practice of referee-baiting. |
c. A person appointed to examine a scientific or other learned work and comment on its suitability for publication.
| 1884 Proc. London Math. Soc. XV. 160 The original paper has been divided into two..at the suggestion of the referee. 1926 A. E. Housman Let. 14 Oct. (1971) 242 A report of mine..decided the Syndics not to accept a treatise of Richmond's... A. W. Ward..told him that I was the referee. 1970 Physics Bull. Jan. 2/2 The majority of authors expressed their appreciation of the value of the constructive criticism of the referees in improving the quality of their papers. 1971 Nature 22 Oct. 571/3 Each paper was carefully scrutinized by one senior referee and by one of the two distinguished editors-in-chief. |
4. A person who may be referred to for information or guidance on the character or other qualities of someone, spec. of an applicant for employment, for an academic or other award, or the like.
| 1862 H. Mayhew London Labour IV. 12 Classification of the workers and non-workers of Great Britain... Referees, or those who give characters to professional beggars when a reference is required. 1882 Sydney Slang Dict. 7/2 Referees, those who give characters to enable dishonest persons and thieves' accomplices to obtain situations. 1944 Oxf. Univ. Gaz. LXXIV. 316/1 Candidates are requested to send in their names with eight copies of any statement that they may wish to make..giving the names of not more than three referees. 1971 Reader's Digest Family Guide to Law 689/2 One way an employer can assess the abilities of an applicant is to ask for references from former employers. It may also be useful to telephone the referee, who may be prepared to give more information informally than he can provide in writing. 1972 Library Assoc. Record Nov. 224/1 On three occasions lately I have sent for an application form and job description only to find that these did not arrive until two or three days before the closing date, this making it very difficult..to arrange referees, etc. 1976 Oxf. Univ. Gaz. CVII. 209/1 Applications, including a curriculum vitae,..and the names of two academic referees, should be sent to the Secretary of the Marjory Wardrop Fund. |
▪ II. referee, v.
(rɛfəˈriː)
[f. prec.]
1. trans. To preside over (a match) as umpire. Also intr.
| 1889 Sportsman 10 Apr. 7/1 Those fights that I want to referee, I will referee. 1895 Westm. Gaz. 22 Mar. 6/3 When next he referees at Sunderland an organised attack will be made upon him. |
2. trans. and intr. To examine and evaluate (a scientific paper, thesis, or book); to act as referee (in sense 3 c of the n.).
| 1966 Rep. Comm. Inquiry Univ. Oxf. II. 452 Editing or refereeing for journals. 1970 Physics Bull. 3/1 If a referee is unable to referee a paper himself, he is invited to pass it to an appropriate colleague. 1970 Computers & Humanities IV. 312 All submitted papers will be refereed. 1971 Nature 24 Sept. p. xvi/2 (Advt.), All papers are scrupulously refereed and the journal is guided by an editorial board of distinguished scientists whose activities cover all aspects of polymer research. |
Hence refeˈreed ppl. a.; refeˈreeing vbl. n.
| 1894 Westm. Gaz. 29 Sept. 7/1 Regret was expressed that more players of renown did not lend their aid in refereeing. 1966 [see sense 2 of the vb.] 1970 Physics Bull. Jan. 2/2 (heading) Refereeing of research papers. 1975 Nature 6 Nov. 1/1 The Scientific Information Committee of the Royal Society has recently put forward a set of guidelines for the refereeing of papers for publication. 1978 Maledicta II. 10 Unfortunately for them, our journal is not a ‘refereed’ academic publication. |