Definition
A person hired to work by the day, or historically, an arbitrator or umpire who settled disputes.
Etymology
From Old English 'dæg' (day) and 'man'. The arbitrator sense comes from Middle English usage where such officials worked as needed, day by day, to mediate conflicts.
Kelly Says
In Shakespeare's time, a daysman was like a medieval referee—they'd show up to settle arguments between neighbors or business partners and were paid per day, making them early versions of professional mediators!
Translations
AMአማርኛ
mediators
mee-dee-ay-torz
BNবাংলা
সম্প্রীত
som-pri-t
CACatalà
mediador
meh-dee-a-dor
CSČeština
mediátor
meh-dee-a-tor
DEDeutsch
Schlichter
shleeh-ter
ELΕλληνικά
μεσιτής
meh-si-tis
ESEspañol
mediador
meh-dee-ah-dor
FAفارسی
調解کننده
ta-jo-leh-kune
FISuomi
välittäjä
väh-lit-tä-jä
FRFrançais
médiateur
meh-dee-ah-toor
HIहिन्दी
मध्यस्थ
madhyasth
IDBahasa Indonesia
penengah
pe-ne-nah
IGIG
onye na-eche
oh-nye na-e-che
ITItaliano
mediatore
meh-dee-ah-tore
MSBahasa Melayu
penengah
pe-ne-nah
MYမြန်မာ
ကြားယူသူ
kya-ya-thu
NLNederlands
bemiddelaar
be-mid-de-la-ar
PLPolski
pośrodnik
pos-rohd-nik
PTPortuguês
mediador
meh-dee-ah-dor
RORomână
mediator
meh-dee-a-tor
RUРусский
посредник
posrednik
SVSvenska
mäklare
mahl-kla-reh
SWKiswahili
mjumbe
m-joo-mbe
TEతెలుగు
వ్యవస్థాపకుడు
vyavastha-pa-ku-du
THไทย
ผู้ไกล่เกลี่ย
poo-guyai-klai-ya
TLTL
tagapamagitan
ta-ga-pa-ma-ta-na-hin
UKУкраїнська
посередник
poserednik
VITiếng Việt
người trung gian
ngoi trung gian
YOYO
ọmọ-ọmọ
oh-moh-oh-moh
ZUZU
umngani
oom-ngah-nee
Ethical Language Guidance
Gender History
Old English compound 'day' + 'man,' where 'man' historically served as the default human agent. Generic masculine became embedded in occupational terms despite both men and women serving as arbiters/umpires throughout history.
Inclusive Usage
Use 'arbiter,' 'umpire,' or 'daysmerson' to denote the role without gendered language.
Inclusive Alternatives
["arbiter","umpire","daysperson","mediator"]
Empowerment Note
Women served as arbiters and mediators in medieval and early modern dispute resolution, though records typically used masculine terms by convention.