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Definition 2024


ombudsman

ombudsman

See also: ombudsmän

English

Noun

ombudsman (plural ombudsmen)

  1. An appointed official whose duty is to investigate complaints, generally on behalf of individuals such as consumers or taxpayers, against institutions such as companies and government departments.
  2. A designated internal mediator in an organization whose duty is to assist members with conflict resolution and other problems and to serve as an independent consultant to recommend changes to policies or procedures to improve organization effectiveness, efficiency, and humaneness.

Usage notes

  • This term is derived from Swedish, in which language the suffix -man is not gender-specific. Nevertheless, the words ombudsperson, ombud, and ombudswoman have been coined to remedy the perceived gender-specificity of ombudsman in English.

Derived terms

Translations


Czech

Etymology

From Swedish ombudsman, from Old Norse umboðsmaðr.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɔmbʊtsˌman/

Noun

ombudsman m

  1. ombudsman

Dutch

Etymology

From Swedish ombudsman, from Old Norse umboðsmaðr.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɔm.bʏts.mɑn/

Noun

ombudsman m (plural ombudsmannen, diminutive ombudsmannetje n)

  1. ombudsman

Derived terms


French

Etymology

From Swedish ombudsman, from Old Norse umboðsmaðr.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɔm.byds.man/

Noun

ombudsman m, f (plural ombudsmans)

  1. An appointed official within an organization whose duty is to investigate complaints against that organization by its customers, taxpayers, and sometimes employees, and often to act as a consultant to improve services and processes.

Usage notes

  • In Quebec, the office in government services is called protecteur du citoyen. A similar office in France is that of the médiateur, though its precise functions differ.

Portuguese

Etymology

From Swedish ombudsman, from Old Norse umboðsmaðr.

Noun

ombudsman m (plural ombudsmen or ombudsmans or ombudsman)

  1. ombudsman (official who investigates complaints)

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Swedish ombudsman, from Old Norse umboðsmaðr.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ombǔdzman/

Noun

ombùdsman m (Cyrillic spelling омбу̀дсман)

  1. ombudsman

Synonyms


Swedish

Etymology

ombud + man. The origin of the word is found in Old Norse umboðsmaðr and the word “umbuds man”, meaning representative. The first preserved use in Swedish is from 1552.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɔm.bʉːdsˌman/]]

Noun

ombudsman c

  1. ombudsman

Declension

Descendants

Related terms


Turkish

Etymology

From English ombudsman, from Swedish ombudsman, from Old Norse umboðsmaðr.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /om.buds.mɑn/

Noun

ombudsman (definite accusative ombudsmanı, plural ombudsmanlar)

  1. ombudsman

Declension