Definition and Citations:
A private, disinterested person, chosen by the parties to a disputed question, for the purpose of hearing their contention, and giving judgment between them; to whose decision (award) the litigants submit themselves either voluntarily, or, in some cases, coinpulsorily, by order of a court. Gordon v. U. S., 7 Wall. 195, 19 L. Ed. 35; Mobile v. Wood (C. C.) 95 Fed. 538; Burchell v. Marsh, 17 IIow. 349, 15 L. Ed. 90; Miller v. Canal Co., 53 Barb. (N. Y.) 595; Fudickar v. Insurance Co., 02 N. Y. 399. “Referee” is of frequent modern use as a synonym of arbitrator, but is in its origin of broader signification and less accurate than arbitrator.