(ˈ)kär|tel, -ȧ|t- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French, from Old Italian cartello letter of defiance, placard, from carta card, leaf of paper — more at card
1. : a letter of defiance or challenge (as to single combat)
2.
a. : a written agreement between belligerent nations especially for the treatment and exchange of prisoners and the regulation of nonbelligerent relations
b. : an exchange of prisoners
c. : cartel ship
3. : a card or paper bearing writing or printing
he ordered a cartel with some Greek verses — Horace Walpole
4.
[German kartell, literally, written agreement between opposing belligerents, from French cartel, literally, letter of defiance]
: a voluntary often international combination of independent private enterprises supplying like commodities or services that agree to limit their competitive activities (as by allocating customers or markets, regulating quantity or quality of output, pooling returns or profits, fixing prices or terms of sale, exchanging techniques, trademarks, or patents, or by other methods of controlling production, price, or distribution)
5.
[German & French; German kartell, from French cartel ]
: a combination of or an agreement between political groups for common action — compare bloc