站在中間，說了算的那一個
這一支最貼近核心畫面：有爭端，有第三方，第三方一開口就定案。
noun · C1
A person, group, or body with the power to settle an argument between two opposing sides, whose decision both sides then have to accept as the end of the matter.
仲裁者、最後裁決者
核心畫面
One way to hold this word: two sides are stuck, and a third person walks over, looks at the whole thing, and says how it goes. That person is not playing. They have no side to win for. Their job is only to look and to decide, and once they have decided, the matter is closed. Every use of arbiter keeps some part of that picture — the outsider whose word ends the question.
可以想成這樣一個畫面：兩邊卡住了，誰也不讓誰，這時有第三個人走過來，把事情從頭看一遍，然後說出該怎麼辦。他沒有下場，…更多收起
可以想成這樣一個畫面：兩邊卡住了，誰也不讓誰，這時有第三個人走過來，把事情從頭看一遍，然後說出該怎麼辦。他沒有下場，也沒有哪一邊要幫。他唯一的工作就是看清楚，然後決定。他一開口，事情就結束了。arbiter 的每一個用法，都還留著這個畫面的一部分：那個站在外面、話一出口就定案的人。From the word’s history
Wiktionary traces arbiter to Latin arbiter, a witness or judge, literally one who goes to see. The picture of someone walking over to look, and then judging what they saw, sits right under the modern uses.
Wiktionary 記載 arbiter 來自拉丁文 arbiter，意思是證人、判斷的人，字面是「走過去看的人」。先走過去看，看過才判斷——這個順序，正好就是今天 arbiter 這個角色在做的事。
Wiktionary (kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:629375487:18396), etymology_text supplied in the evidence packet
Two branches
意見大到能替大家定標準
從「裁決一場爭端」移到「裁決好壞」。沒有人指派他，也沒有人來告狀，可是大家照他的話走，結果一樣是他說了算。
noun · C1
Someone whose opinion carries so much weight that other people follow it when deciding what counts as stylish, tasteful, or socially acceptable.
品味或風格的權威