Treaty
noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A formal binding agreement concluded by subjects of international law, namely, states and international organizations; a convention, a pact. countable
"to sign a peace treaty"
- 2 a written agreement between two states or sovereigns wordnet
- 3 Chiefly in in treaty: discussions or negotiations in order to reach an agreement. archaic, uncountable
"To a meeting of the executors of late Viscˢˢᵉ Mordaunt's estate, to consider of the sale of Parsons Greene; being in treaty with Mr. Loftus, and to settle the halfe yeare's account."
- 4 Chiefly in private treaty: an agreement or settlement reached following negotiations; a compact, a contract, a covenant. archaic, countable
- 5 The manner or process of treating someone or something; treatment; also, the manner in which someone or something acts or behaves; behaviour. obsolete, uncountable
"Hoſ[t]. They call me Good-ſtock. / Lov[el]. Sir, and you confeſſe it, / Both i'your language, treaty, and your bearing."
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- 6 The addressing or consideration of a subject; discussion, treatment. obsolete, uncountable
- 7 A formal, systematic discourse on some subject; a treatise. countable, obsolete
"And though Galen doth ſometime nibble at Moſes, and beſide the Apoſtate Chriſtian, ſome Heathens have queſtioned his Philoſophicall part or treaty of the Creation: Yet is there ſurely no reaſonable Pagan, that will not admire the rationall and well grounded precepts of Chriſt; […]"
- 8 An act of beseeching or entreating; an entreaty, a plea, a request. countable, obsolete
"Now I must / To the young man ſend humble Treaties, dodge / And palter in the ſhifts of lovvnes, vvho / VVith halfe the bulke o' th' vvorld plaid as I pleas'd, / Making, and marring Fortunes."
- 1 To get into (a specific situation) through a treaty. transitive
- 2 To enter into a treaty. intransitive
Example
More examples"The treaty has been concluded after many twists and turns."
Etymology
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; to handle, manage; to debate, discuss; to exercise, practise; to perform, transact”), from trahō (“to drag, pull”) + -tō (frequentative suffix); and * also from Latin tractātum (“written work on a particular subject, treatise”), from Latin tractātus (“dragged, hauled, tugged; handled, managed; exercised, practised; performed, transacted”), the perfect passive participle of tractō (see above). The verb is derived from the noun.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.