charter
adjEtymology From Middle English charter, chartre, borrowed from Old French chartre, from Latin chartula (diminutive of charta). See chart. Doublet of chartula.
1
Leased or hired.
charter
nounUK /ˈt͡ʃɑːtə/ · US /ˈt͡ʃɑɹtɚ/
Etymology From Middle English charter, chartre, borrowed from Old French chartre, from Latin chartula (diminutive of charta). See chart. Doublet of chartula.
7 senses
- 1A document issued by some authority, creating a public…
- 2A similar document conferring rights and privileges on a…
- 3A contract for the commercial leasing of a vessel, or…
- 4The temporary hiring or leasing of a vehicle.
- 5A deed (legal contract).
- 6A special privilege, immunity, or exemption.
- 7a provision whose unintended consequence would be to…
1
A document issued by some authority, creating a public or private institution, and defining its purposes and privileges.
2
A similar document conferring rights and privileges on a person, corporation etc.
3
A contract for the commercial leasing of a vessel, or space on a vessel.
4
The temporary hiring or leasing of a vehicle.
5
A deed (legal contract).
6
A special privilege, immunity, or exemption.
- My mother, / Who has a charter to extol her blood, / When she does praise me, grieves me.c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ix]:
7
UK, Derogatory a provision whose unintended consequence would be to encourage an undesirable activity
In a noun phrase with another noun which is either an agent or action
- In what Derbyshire police say amounts to a "thieves' charter," three judges ruled that because the car's identity had been changed it was impossible to trace the legal owner and therefore the person found in possession of it was entitled to keep it.2001 March 23, Clare Dyer, “Stolen car ruling 'a thieves' charter'”, in The Guardian, London:
- Synonyms
- chirograph
- Derived terms
- Blackmailer’s Charter, charterage, charter change, charter court, charterhouse, charterial, charterless, chartermaster, charter master, charter member, charter party, charter-party, time charter