ˈtrēd.]ē, -ēt], ]i\ noun
( -es )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English tretee, from Middle French traité, from Medieval Latin & Latin; Medieval Latin tractatus treaty, from Latin, handling, treatment, treatise, from tractatus, past participle of tractare to handle, manage, discuss, treat — more at treat
1. obsolete : treatise
in his excellent treaty of bodies — Sir Thomas Browne
2. : the action of treating and especially of negotiating : discussion aimed at an adjustment of differences or the reaching of an agreement — usually used in the phrase in treaty
unable to endure his loneliness, he was in treaty for a new wife — Times Literary Supplement
3.
a. : an agreement or arrangement made by negotiation:
(1) : private treaty
(2) : a contract in writing between two or more political authorities (as states or sovereigns) formally signed by representatives duly authorized and usually ratified by the lawmaking authority of the state
the president … shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties — U.S. Constitution
— see personal treaty , real treaty ; compare bilateral , convention , executive agreement , multilateral , protocol
b. : a document in which such a contract is set down
4. : a formal meeting between representatives of the United States government and of one or more Indian tribes designed to produce a settlement (as of issues in dispute)
Congress had promised them a treaty , which was to have been holden about this time — Rufus Putnam
5. : an agreement or contract (as between companies) providing for treaty reinsurance