stipulation

Forms

stipulation f (plural stipulations)^[1] Middle French stipulacion (about 1447).^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin stipulātiō (“a formal verbal promise, an obligation”).^[2][3][4] The Latin noun is formed on stipulor (“to demand a formal promise”), the verb behind stipuler.^[5][4][6] Bloch and Wartburg date the French word to 1231, without a source; the TLFi's first dated text is from 1266.^[2][3]

The FEW files the word under Latin stīpō (“to press together”).^[7] Picoche places the Latin verb in a family going back to an Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *stip- (“to be stiff, compact”), with stipula (“straw”) beside it.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In a charter of 1266 from the cartulary of Nesles it means a formal agreement or express assurance set down in a contract.^[2] Littré quotes a 13th-century text in which the parties make a promise par solempnée stipulation “by solemn stipulation”.^[6]

Semantic evolution

From its first use the word belonged to law.^[2][3] In Roman law it named the contract in which a creditor and a debtor bound themselves orally and solemnly; from the end of the 17th century this sense survives only in writing about Roman law (Thomas Corneille, 1694).^[3][5][2]

From 1541 (Calvin) it also meant a clause put into a contract, and in general any condition or detail stated expressly; the TLFi has this sense in the custom of Anjou about 1447.^[5][3][2] The modern legal phrase stipulation pour autrui is a contract by which one party has the other promise a performance in favour of a third person.^[2][4][9]

Timeline

• 1231 – Bloch and Wartburg's date for the word, without a source.^[2][3]
• 1266 – First dated record, in the cartulary of Nesles, for an assurance stated in a contract.^[2]
• c. 1447 – Stipulacion de paine in the custom of Anjou: an express condition in a legal act.^[2]
• 1541 – Calvin uses it of a clause or condition.^[5][3]
• 1694 – Thomas Corneille gives the Roman-law sense.^[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (law) A clause or condition set out in a contrat.^[10][9][4]
2. (law) Stipulation pour autrui: a contract in which one party has the other undertake a performance for the benefit of a third party.^[2][4][9]
3. A detail or requirement stated expressly: sauf stipulation contraire “unless otherwise stated”.^[10][9]
4. (Roman law) A solemn oral contract binding a creditor and a debtor.^[5][3]

Related words

• stipuler
• stipulant
• stipule
• Latin stipulātiō

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
5. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 270a
8. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
9. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert