moderatorn.
/ˈmɒdəreɪtə/, U.S. /ˈmɑdəˌreɪdər/ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > [noun]
waldendeOE
prince?c1225
ordainerc1300
tyranta1340
prefecta1382
rulera1382
wieldera1382
corner of the people1382
lordshipperc1384
governora1393
moderatora1398
wieldinga1400
leader of lawsc1400
regent1415
governailc1440
dominatorc1450
reignera1464
regnanta1500
gubernator1522
despot1562
shepherd1577
swayer1598
Sophy1599
most mastera1616
Govr.1620
Gov.1630
archon1735
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 114 Þe sonne is..moderatour [L. moderator] of þe firmament.
1551 in H. J. Smit Bronnen tot de Geschiedenis van den Handel (1928) II. 724 My lordis burromaisters, counsale and moderatours of commoun weil of the towne of Middilburghe.
1579 G. Fenton tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin i. 35 There were ioyned with him (as moderators of his youth) Iohn Iacques Triuulso..and the Counte Petillane..both Capteynes of great experience.
1611 T. Coryate Crudities sig. T7v Sometimes there sung sixeteene or twenty men together, hauing their master or moderator to keepe them in order.
1640 Bp. J. Hall Christian Moderation i. 66 Custome of the place, care of health, regard to our ability, are fit moderators of every mans palate.
1641 W. Prynne Antipathie Ep. Ded. sig. ¶¶¶3 The great Moderator of the Universe, who hath..wrought wondrous things..for the honour and safety of his Majesty, and his Realmes.
1658 J. Harrington Prerogative Pop. Govt. ii. xi. 13 The Romans having conquered Antiochus, became Moderators of Asia.
1672 N. Grew Anat. Veg. ii. 56 The Cortical [Body] is the Moderator of that [Motion] in the Lignous.
1680 H. More Apocalypsis Apocalypseos 102 The works of Righteousness [were numbered] by dayes, of which the Sun is moderator.
1808 J. Barclay Muscular Motions 370 The same muscles..when acting in any capacity as motors, have..at all times the same moderators and the same directors.
1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. iv. 235 Competent to act in his name as moderator of the Western realm.
2. A person who acts as an arbitrator between disputants; an arbiter, umpire, judge. Also: a mediator.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > settlement of dispute, arbitration > [noun] > one who arbitrates
arbitrer1382
judge1385
umpire?c1400
overman1424
arbitrator1426
oversman1492
daysman1530
referendary1546
arbiter1548
referee1549
moderator1556
awarder1561
deciser1563
decider?1568
decisor1569
settler1598
disceptator1623
umpirer1650
referrer1661
society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > [noun] > settling quarrels or disputes > arbitration > arbitrator
noumperec1350
umpire?c1400
arbitrator1426
mid-man1459
wardsman1482
appointer1523
daysman1530
arbiter1548
moderator1556
oddsman1571
compromitter1579
compromiser1598
compromittee1602
umpirer1650
goodman1836
honest broker1878
leopard-skin chief1933
leopard-skin priest1951
1556 Forme of Prayers Eng. Congregation Geneva 51 If so be any contencion rise, then suche as are appointed moderatours, either satisfie the partie, or els..exhorte hym to kepe silence.
1578 Sir P. Sidney May Lady in J. Nichols Progresses Queen Elizabeth (1823) II. 99 Between whom the schoolemaster Rombus came in as a moderator.
1616 T. Adams Dis. Soule 33 She sits moderator euery morning to a disputation betwixt the combe and the glasse: and whether concludes best on her beauty, caries her loue and prayse.
1646 R. Crashaw Musicks Duell in Steps to Temple 104 The high-perch't treble chirps at this, and chides, Vntill his finger (Moderatour) hides And closes the sweet quarrell.
1657 J. Trapp Comm. Job xxxii. 279 He..takes the boldnesse to interpose as an Arbiter, or Moderator, blaming both sides [etc.].
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 309. ¶8 He acts as a kind of Moderator between the two opposite Parties.
1826 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey I. ii. xv. 220 He was earnestly requested by the contending theorists, to assume the office of moderator.
1847 G. Grote Hist. Greece IV. ii. xxvii. 58 They were directed..to invite from Mantineia a moderator.
1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. iii. iii. 633 The Sovereign is a moderator between the several political parties in the State.
1884 Manch. Examiner 12 Sept. 5/1 In Syria he was the moderator between two sets of fanatics.
1954 Guardian 23 Sept. 11/4 There was no moderator to decide whether a point had been proven satisfactorily.
3. Originally Scottish. In churches with a Presbyterian method of organization: a minister appointed to preside over any of various ecclesiastical bodies, such as a congregation, presbytery, or synod. Frequently in form Moderator, esp. when referring to the head of a church's General Assembly.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > clerical superior > various Christian superiors > [noun] > Presbyterian
moderator1563
1563 6th Gen. Assembly in A. Peterkin Bk. Universall Kirk Scotl. (1839) 17 It was proponed be the haill Assemblie that ane Moderator should be appointed, for avoiding confusion in reasoning.
1582 in D. Masson Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1880) 1st Ser. III. 476 Maister Nicholl Dalgleische, as moderatour of the haill synodal assemblie,..Patrik Gillespie, moderatour of the haill presbiterie of Striveling.
1641 ‘Smectymnuus’ Answer Hvmble Remonstr. xiv. 71 The Moderator in Geneva is not of a superiour order to his Brethren.
1692 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) II. 362 The moderator [of the generall assembly of the kirk] adjourned them till August 12 months.
1716 A. Pope Further Acct. E. Curll 19 Some deceas'd Moderator of the General Assembly in Scotland.
1769 Weekly Mag. 25 May 255 The Assembly had under consideration various contested commissions to different members who had voted in the election of a moderator.
1837 J. R. McCulloch Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire II. iv. viii. 422 The Assembly chooses a new moderator yearly, who, in recent times, is always a clergyman.
1870 J. Nicholson Idylls o' Hame 26 He'll yet be a D.D., An that a first-rater—be made Moderator.
1900 S. R. Crockett Stickit Minister's Wooing 140 ‘Moderator and ruling elders of this congregation,’ said Willie.
1960 Scotsman 3 Aug. 6 The Moderator of the General Assembly is not the Head of the Kirk, and is simply the chairman of the supreme court.
1990 Methodist Recorder 7 June 4/2 Morning worship was led by the then URC interim Moderator, the Rev. David Dale, with..the Rev. Dr. Richard G. Jones, as the preacher.
ΚΠ
1565 T. Stapleton Fortresse of Faith f. 158v These meane moderatours, and half halters.
5.
a. A person chosen or appointed to preside over a meeting or assembly and conduct its business; a presiding officer or president, esp. (U.S.) one elected to oversee a town meeting.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > [noun] > president or chairperson of
presidenta1382
prolocutor1570
moderator1573
spokesman1607
committee chair1643
chairman1654
referendary1655
speaker1656
chair1659
convener1681
chairperson1971
1573 T. Cartwright Replye to Answere Whitgifte 29 What is it then that is sayde in Exodus that Moises..sate as it were moderatoure in that election?
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 103 The Lady Flauia,..as Moderater commaunded them both to silence, willyng Euphues as Umper in these matters, briefly to speake his minde.
1641 in Col. Laws Mass. (1889) 49 So shal the presedent or moderator have [a casting voice] in all Civill Courts or Assemblies.
1649 in Rec. Muddy River & Brookline, Mass. (1875) 36 (note) It is ordered yt there be a Moderator chosen annually to regulate publicke towne meetings.
1698 S. Sewall Diary (1878) I. 474 Anniversary Town-Meeting... I being present, am chosen Moderator.
1766 M. Cutler Jrnl. 28 Mar. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) I. 13 There should be a President appointed, to act as Moderator, to propose all matters to the Club.
1791 S. Freeman Town Officer 113 Having first chosen a Moderator, to manage and regulate the business of the Meeting.
1850 J. B. Marsden Hist. Early Puritans (1853) 107 A presiding moderator always concluded the exercise, which lasted from nine to eleven o'clock.
1882 Mass. Public Stat. 232 At every town meeting..a moderator shall be first chosen.
1905 Providence (Rhode Island) Jrnl. 8 Mar. 4 The annual town meeting of the town of Seekonk was called to order Monday by Town Clerk Hill, who announced that the first business was the election of a Moderator.
1980 Northeast Woods & Waters Dec. 9/1 The evening before, at the New England Aquarium, I was moderator at a Fisherman's Forum when the matter of salt water recreational licenses came up.
b. Scottish. The president or chairman of the High Constables of Edinburgh.
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1649 Rec. Burgh Edinb. in J. D. Marwick High Constables (1865) 117 [The constables] to doe all diligence for clenȝing the toun.., the moderator of the constables to intimate this ordour to the rest of the constables.
1678 in M. Wood Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1950) X. 353 Captan Patoun [is elected] to be captan of the orange colours and moderator of the captanes for this year to come.
1865 J. D. Marwick High Constables 117 The term ‘moderator’ was synonymous with president... With the exception of the period between 1745 and 1796, when the term ‘preses’ was in use by the constables, the head of the body has uniformly retained the title of moderator.
1915 Rules & Regulations for High Constables 9 The Constables..shall act under the direct orders of the Moderator.
1958 Edinb. Evening News 20 May The Moderator..wearing the uniform of the High Constables and Guard of Honour, with his badge of office and Moderator's silver-mounted ebony baton.
c. Originally and chiefly North American. A person who chairs a television or radio discussion. Also in extended use (see quot. 1973).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > [noun] > topic of or subject for conversation or gossip > discussion > chairperson
moderator1943
1943 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 8 477/2 Dr. Edward C. Jandy, Associate Pofessor of Sociology, is serving as moderator of a series of programs on post-war planning each Saturday night from 7 to 7.30 p.m.
1952 in A. Rothe Current Biogr. 433/2 Since 1946 he [sc. Senator Blair Moody] has also been moderator of the radio and television program Meet Your Congress.
1972 Evening Telegram (St. John's, Newfoundland) 24 June 1/2 Ron Pumphrey, moderator of an open-line program on St. John's radio station VOCM.
1973 Guardian 17 Oct. 12/4 The present moderators..were picked by London broadcasting to do a specific job, that of answering the phone and referring the questions to a guest expert.
1989 Lit. Rev. Aug. 57/2 Fisticuffs have also broken out on the Morton Downey Show, whose eponymous moderator routinely silences his guests with lines like ‘zzzzip it, puke-breath’.
d. Computing. A person who or device which monitors or regulates a newsgroup or other electronic forum.
ΚΠ
1981 Telecom Digest (Electronic text) 1 No. 1 (heading) From: the Moderator... Subject: Administrivia.
1983 Computers & Electronics (Nexis) Apr. 84 Individual SYSOPS develop a following based upon their ability to organize and direct an interesting group. The PARTI only has the system computer as moderator.
1998 Orange County (Calif.) Reg. (Nexis) 3 May k5 His proposed newsgroup..would have moderators—people who monitor postings and cancel anything deemed inappropriate.
2000 New Scientist 18 Nov. 17/3 According to the moderator of the always fascinating RISKS Digest [sc. a newsgroup]..computers should never be allowed near tasks as important as electing our political leaders.
6. In academic use.
a. An officer appointed to preside over or assist in the conduct of scholastic disputations or (in later use) other examinations for degrees at any of various universities.spec. (at Cambridge University) either of two officers responsible for the proper conduct of examinations for the Mathematical Tripos (now historical); (at Oxford University) an examiner for Moderations (see moderation n. 4a).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > examiner > at universities
regentc1447
moderator1573
moderatrix1577
tripos1660
tripus1670
praeses1761
senate-house examiner1855
opposer1891
1573 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 51 As he was abroad in the schooles, so wuld neds seme a moderator at home too in the haul.
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 132 That occulate Anatomist Petrus Pauius of Leydon..my first Maister & Moderator in Anatomie.
1674 H. Hickman Hist. Quinq-articularis (ed. 2) Epist. sig. a3v The main work of the Moderator is, to keep the Disputants to form.
1766 T. Clap Ann. Yale-Coll. 27 The Rev. Mr. Woodbridge acted as Moderator; and he and Mr. Buckingham and other Ministers present signed Certificates, that they judged them to be worthy of the Degree of Bachelor of Arts.
1797 Cambr. Univ. Cal. 142 Moderators are appointed and paid by the proctors.
1850 Abstr. New Exam. Stat. Oxf. (1851) 1 The ‘First Examination’ under Moderators will take place for the first time in Easter Term 1852.
1906 Oxf. Univ. Cal. 176 Honour lists issued by Moderators from 1891.
1949 Dict. National Biogr. 1931–40 863/1 In 1932 he acted as examiner and moderator in drawing to the Training Colleges' Delegacy of the University of London.
1997 Univ. Oxf. Decrees & Regulations 23 The First Public Examination shall be conducted by the Moderators.
b. At Dublin University: an honours graduate.So called because, prior to reform of the curriculum in 1833, students who performed well were asked to moderate the examinations of other students.
ΚΠ
1838 Dublin Univ. Cal. 15 Of the successful candidates in each department [sc. Physics and mathematics, Classics, Ethics and logics] there are two grades, called Senior and Junior Moderators.
1845 W. B. S. Taylor Hist. Univ. Dublin 155 [List of] Works examined in for moderators in mathematics and physics.
1882 Society 16 Dec. 18/2 Mr. Maunsell graduated..as a Moderator and Silver Medallist.
1927 Dict. National Biogr. 1912–21 530/2 [He] graduated B.A. in 1860, winning first place among the moderators in mathematics and in experimental science.
1992 T. A. Boylan & T. P. Foley Polit. Econ. & Colonial Irel. App. 157 He was educated at Trinity College, where he graduated in 1823 as moderator and gold medallist in science.
c. A person who reviews examination papers or grades in relation to established academic standards, in order to ensure consistency of marking. Cf. moderate v. 4c, moderation n. 4b.
ΚΠ
1939 Higher School Cert. Exam. (Secondary School Exam. Council) ii. ii. 30 The functions to be discharged by Chief Examiners, Assistant Examiners and Moderators (sometimes known as Revisers).
1963 Exam. Bull. (Secondary School Exam. Council) i. 20/2 The moderators should test for two things. First, is the general level of marking too generous or too stringent, and second is the teachers' marking consistent within itself?
1991 ACE Bull. July–Aug. 1/2 The advice from our local moderator was that I would be graded at Level W for failing to understand that a question required an answer, rather than another question.
7.
a. A person who or thing which mitigates something or makes something moderate. Usually with of.In quot. 1589: spec. litotes as a rhetorical device.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > [noun] > one who or that which mitigates or moderates
slakea1300
mitigativea1398
allayerc1487
slaker?1518
assuager1547
abater1583
mollifier1583
mitigator1586
moderator1589
softener1599
rebater1601
lightener?1611
allay1614
swager1617
mitigation1622
temperer1630
alleviator1665
alleviative1672
sheather1762
soberera1849
buffer1858
charmer1871
suppressant1884
modifier1890
moderant1897
shock-absorber1924
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xvi. 153 We temper our sence with wordes of such moderation, as in appearaunce it abateth it but not in deede, and is by the figure Liptote, which therefore I call the Moderator.
1624 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 2) iii. iv. ii. ii. 535 Hope, that sweet moderator of passions as Simonides calls it.
1696 T. Tryon Misc. i. 6 This Essential Powder or pure Life, is the Moderator or Friendly Quality in all Minerals.
1816 J. Scott Paris Revisited x. 323 It was known to be..her [sc. Russia's] policy, to recommend herself to France as the magnanimous moderator of the severity of her Allies.
a1832 J. Bentham Fragm. on Govt. Pref. to ed. 2, in Wks. (1843) I. 241/2 That appetite, which age, the grand moderator of most appetites, has left hitherto undamped.
1965 New Statesman 17 Sept. 386/2 Ayub and Shastri..are the moderators in both countries. They now know they can take nothing from each other or diminish each other's power.
b. U.S. History. Usually in form Moderator. A member of any of various groups formed in active opposition to the Regulators, originally in the Carolinas (c1767–71), later in Texas and elsewhere in the south-western United States. Cf. regulator n. 4.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > law-enforcement or peace-officer > [noun] > vigilante committee > member of vigilante band or committee
regulator1753
moderator1767
vigilante1856
1767 Ld. Montagu in A. Gregg Hist. Old Cheraws (1867) 182 A new set of people, who call themselves Moderators, have appeared against the Regulators.
1847 Desperadoes of South-West in Harbinger 7 Aug. 136/1 The regulators..soon find that their foes organize also; arm themselves, and prepare for systematic resistance, under the denomination of ‘moderators’.
1889 H. H. Bancroft et al. Hist. Texas 1801–89 355 A society which styled itself the Moderators was organized, and a kind of vendetta warfare was carried on for three years.
1989 C. R. Wilson & W. Ferris Encycl. Southern Culture 1499/1 The first act of the Moderators, the murder of the leader of the Regulators, was met with bloody reprisal.
8. Short for moderator lamp n. at Compounds 2. Also: the mechanism which regulates the flow of oil to the wick in a moderator lamp. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > artificial light defined by light-source > [noun] > oil-lamp > moderator-lamp
moderator1851
moderator lamp1851
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > artificial light defined by light-source > [noun] > oil-lamp > moderator-lamp > part of
moderator1851
1851 Pract. Mechanic's Jrnl. Mar. 273 It is however in the mode adopted for the adjustment of the oil supply to the burner that the improvement for which the inventor claims the name ‘Moderator’ consists.
1864 Chambers's Encycl. VI. 23/2 The greatest improvement ever effected in oil-lamps was in the so-called French moderator.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) III. 35 As the pressure employed is so great, the oil would, but for the ‘moderator’, flow over with too much rapidity. This moderator, or regulator, is a tapering rod of iron-wire.
1972 C. A. Meadows Discovering Oil Lamps 8 The Carcel lamp remained the principal oil lighting device until 1836 when Franchot produced his famous Moderator lamp. The Moderator had a spring-loaded piston to give pressure to the feed [etc.].
9. Nuclear Physics. A substance that slows down neutrons passing through it; spec. one used in a nuclear reactor to control the rate of fission by reducing the speed of fast neutrons so that they cause fission more readily.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > nuclear fission > nuclear fuel > [noun] > substance reducing speed
moderator1945
1945 H. D. Smyth Gen. Acct. Devel. Atomic Energy Mil. Purposes ii. 20 The light elements are most effective as ‘moderators’, i.e., slowing-down agents, for neutrons.
1958 W. K. Mansfield Elem. Nucl. Physics iv. 38 If the U235 content exceeds about 50 per cent it is possible to achieve a chain reaction without the use of a moderator.
1969 G. M. Bennison & A. E. Wright Geol. Hist. Brit. Isles i. 18 Since carbon is a good moderator of neutrons, carbonaceous rocks are liable to give a spurious indication of porosity.
1978 H. M. Rosenberg Solid State (ed. 2) ii. 33 The only useful source of thermal neutrons are the slow neutrons in the moderator of a nuclear reactor.
1991 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 27 June 63/3 One of the reasons that Heisenberg failed to make a reactor was because he very badly underestimated the amount of heavy water—deuterium—he would need as a moderator for neutrons.
Compounds
C1. Anatomy and Physiology. General attributive, designating certain structures exerting or formerly thought to exert a regulatory action, e.g. by preventing excessive movement, as moderator band, moderator ligament, moderator nerve, etc.
ΚΠ
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. (at cited word) Moderator-ring, that ring which the muscles of the eye make round the optic nerve.
1782 Monro's Anat. Human Bones (new ed.) 76 Each lateral or moderator ligament of the head.
1890 J. S. Billings National Med. Dict. II. 163/2 Moderator band, a considerable fibrous or muscular band stretching across right ventricle of heart, from base of anterior papillary muscle to the septum.
1892 New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon at Moderator Moderator nerves, centrifugally conducting nerves which, when excited to action, prevent or inhibit some function from taking place.
1962 Lancet 12 May 1024/2 Neurogenic hypertension, produced by denervation of the moderator nerves, required that both the nerves from the aortic arch and the carotid sinus be resected.
1993 S. J. Ettinger Pocket Compan. Textbk. Vet. Internal Med. lxxvii. 387 These changes relate to abnormal moderator band networks bridging the left ventricular septum.
C2.
moderator lamp n. now historical an oil lamp in which the flow of oil from the reservoir to the burner is maintained as a uniform flow by a regulating mechanism (cf. modérateur n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > artificial light defined by light-source > [noun] > oil-lamp > moderator-lamp
moderator1851
moderator lamp1851
1851 Pract. Mechanic's Jrnl. Mar. 273 Hadrot's Moderator Lamp.
1904 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 469/1 New lampshades..decorated the globes of the moderator-lamps.
1977 J. Fearn Domest. Bygones (1985) 26/2 The Moderator lamp of 1836 had a spring-loaded piston to feed fuel under pressure.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1398