arbiter elegantiarum

noun

An authority on manners or etiquette.

OriginLatin arbiter →
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Meanings

nounarbiter elegantiarum (uncountable)
  1. uncountableAn authority on manners or etiquette.

    Modernism had been brought from the court of Hārūn ar-Rashīd by Ziryāb, the Persian singer who became an arbiter elegantiarum in the provincial capital of al-Andalus.

    2004, James T. Monroe, Hispano-Arabic Poetry, page 7
    2 more examples

    We had many books to teach us our more important duties, and to settle opinions in philosophy or politicks ; but an Arbiter Elegantiarum, a judge of propriety, was yet wanting, who should survey the track of daily conversation, and free it from thorns and prickles, which teaze the passer, though they do not wound him.

    1779, Samuel Johnson, Lives of the English Poets

    in his inmost heart he desired to be something more than a mere arbiter elegantiarum, to be consulted on the wearing of a jewel, or the knotting of a necktie, or the conduct of a cane.

    1890, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Vintage, published 2007, page 114

Origin

  1. Latinēlegantiārum
  2. Latinarbiter
  3. Englisharbiter elegantiarum

Learned borrowing from Latin arbiter (“judge”, noun) + Latin ēlegantiārum (“of elegance”, noun form) (genitive plural of ēlegantia); originally applied to Petronius in the court of Nero.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish makutuomari
  • makutuomariauthority on manners or etiquette
Latin arbiter ēlegantiārum
  • arbiter ēlegantiārumauthority on manners or etiquette
Polish arbiter elegantiarum
  • arbiter elegantiarumauthority on manners or etiquette
Portuguese árbitro da elegância
  • árbitro da elegânciaauthority on manners or etiquette
Tamil சுவை நயத்தீர்ப்பாளர்
  • சுவை நயத்தீர்ப்பாளர் (cuvai nayattīrppāḷar)authority on manners or etiquette
Cite this entry
APA

arbiter elegantiarum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arbiter%20elegantiarum

MLA

“arbiter elegantiarum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arbiter%20elegantiarum. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “arbiter elegantiarum,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arbiter%20elegantiarum.

Source: arbiter elegantiarum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.