Added 1 October 2026
treaty
/ˈtɹiːti/ noun
In Latin: foedus Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about treaty at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
A formal binding agreement concluded by subjects of international law, namely, states and international organizations; a convention, a pact.
to sign a peace treaty
- Chiefly in in treaty: discussions or negotiations in order to reach an agreement. Chiefly in private treaty: an agreement or settlement reached following negotiations; a compact, a contract, a covenant.
- Chiefly in in treaty: discussions or negotiations in order to reach an agreement.
verb
Origin
The noun is derived from Middle English trete, trety (“bargaining, negotiation; discussion; conference, meeting; entreaty, persuasion; agreement, contract, covenant; arrangement, settlement; agreement between two rulers, states, etc.; written work on a particular subject, treatise; subdivision of a written work, section”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman treté, traité, treaté, and Old French traité, traitié [and other forms] (modern French traité (“agreement between two rulers, states, etc.; treatise”)); traité or traitié is: * a noun use of the past participle of traiter (“to treat; to deal with, handle”), from Latin tractāre, the present active infinitive of tractō (“to drag, haul, tug.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)