What is the difference between contract and deal?

Deal is a synonym of contract.

In informal terms the difference between contract and deal

is that contract is an order, usually given to a hired assassin, to kill someone while deal is a thing, an unspecified or unidentified object.

In obsolete terms the difference between contract and deal

is that contract is not abstract; concrete while deal is a division, a portion, a share.

In transitive terms the difference between contract and deal

is that contract is to gain or acquire (an illness) while deal is to sell, especially to sell illicit drugs.

In intransitive terms the difference between contract and deal

is that contract is to make an agreement or contract; to covenant; to agree; to bargain while deal is to handle, to manage, to cope.

contract

English

(wikipedia contract)

Etymology 1

From (etyl), from (etyl) contract, from (etyl) contractum, past participle of .

Noun

(en noun)

An agreement between two or more parties, to perform a specific job or work order, often temporary or of fixed duration and usually governed by a written agreement.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-10, volume=408, issue=8848, magazine=(The Economist), author=Lexington

, title= Keeping the mighty honest , passage=British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.}}

(legal) An agreement which the law will enforce in some way. A legally binding contract must contain at least one promise, i.e., a commitment or offer, by an offeror to and accepted by an offeree to do something in the future. A contract is thus executory rather than executed.

(legal) A part of legal studies dealing with laws and jurisdiction related to contracts.

(informal) An order, usually given to a hired assassin, to kill someone.

(bridge) The declarer's undertaking to win the number of tricks bid with a stated suit as trump.

Hypernyms

* (agreement that is legally binding) agreement

Hyponyms

* (agreement that is legally binding) bailment

Derived terms

* contractual * fixed-term contract * contract of employment

Adjective

(-)

(obsolete) Contracted; affianced; betrothed.

(Shakespeare)

(obsolete) Not abstract; concrete.

* Robert Recorde, , 1557:

But now in eche kinde of these, there are certaine nombers named Ab?tracte'': and other called nombers ''Contracte .

Etymology 2

From (etyl), from (etyl) contracter, from (etyl) contractum, past participle of . the verb developed after the noun, and originally meant only "draw together"; the sense "make a contract with" developed later.

Verb

(en verb)

(ambitransitive) To draw together or nearer; to shorten, narrow, or lessen.

The snail's body contracted into its shell.

to contract one's sphere of action

* Wordsworth

Years contracting to a moment.

* Dr. H. More

In all things desuetude doth contract and narrow our faculties.

(grammar) To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.

The word "cannot" is often contracted into "can't".

To enter into a contract with. (rfex)

To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain or covenant for.

* Hakluyt

We have contracted an inviolable amity, peace, and league with the aforesaid queen.

* Strype

Many persons prohibited by law.

To make an agreement or contract; to covenant; to agree; to bargain.

to contract for carrying the mail

To bring on; to incur; to acquire.

She contracted the habit of smoking in her teens.

to contract a debt

* Alexander Pope

Each from each contract new strength and light.

* Jonathan Swift

Such behaviour we contract by having much conversed with persons of high stature.

To gain or acquire (an illness).

* 1999 , Davidson C. Umeh, Protect Your Life: A Health Handbook for Law Enforcement Professionals (page 69)

An officer contracted hepatitis B and died after handling the blood-soaked clothing of a homicide victim

To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.

* Shakespeare

Thou didst contract and purse thy brow.

To betroth; to affiance.

* Shakespeare

The truth is, she and I, long since contracted , / Are now so sure, that nothing can dissolve us.

Synonyms

* (lessen) abate, decrease, lessen, reduce * (shorten) shorten, shrink * catch, get

Antonyms

* (lessen) increase, expand * (shorten) grow, lengthen

deal

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) . More at dole.

Noun

(en noun)

(obsolete) A division, a portion, a share.

An indefinite quantity or amount; a lot (''now usually qualified by'' (great) ''or (good)).

*:And so they alle bare hym vnto the hermytage / and vnarmed hym / and layd hym in his bedde / & euer more his wound bledde pytously / but he stered no lymme of hym / Thenne the knyghte heremyte put a thynge in his nose and a lytel dele of water in his mouthe / And thenne sir launcelot waked of his swoune / and thenne the heremyte staunched his bledynge

*1814 , (Jane Austen), Mansfield Park , Ch.2:

*:There is a vast deal of difference in memories, as well as in every thing else, and therefore you should make allowance for your cousin, and pity her deficiency.

*1851 , (Herman Melville), Moby-Dick , Ch.32:

*:There is a deal of obscurity concerning the identity of the species thus multitudinously baptized.

*{{quote-book, year=1928, author=Lawrence R. Bourne

, chapter=3, title=[http://openlibrary.org/works/OL5387037W Well Tackled!] , passage=“They know our boats will stand up to their work,” said Willison, “and that counts for a good deal . A low estimate from us doesn't mean scamped work, but just that we want to keep the yard busy over a slack time.”}}

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=David Simpson

, volume=188, issue=26, page=36, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title=[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/18/falling-upwards-richard-holmes-review Fantasy of navigation] , passage=Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.}}

A unit of volume equal to 12 ft × 11 in × 1.5 in, used to measure firewood.

Synonyms

* (act of apportioning or distributing) allotment, apportionment, distribution, doling out]], [[share, sharing, sharing out * (large number or amount or extent) batch, flock, good deal, great deal, hatful, heap, load, lot, mass, mess, mickle, mint, muckle, peck, pile, plenty, pot, quite a little, raft, sight, slew, spate, stack, tidy sum, wad, whole lot, whole slew

Derived terms

* (indefinite quantity) a great deal, a good deal, big deal, real deal

Etymology 2

From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) .

Verb

To distribute among a number of recipients, to give out as one’s portion or share.

The fighting is over; now we deal out the spoils of victory.

* Tickell

Rome deals out her blessings and her gold.

To administer or give out, as in small portions.

* 1820 , , The Abbot , ch. 30:

"Away, proud woman!" said the Lady; "who ever knew so well as thou to deal the deepest wounds under the pretence of kindness and courtesy?"

* {{quote-news

, year=2011 , date=April 15 , author=Saj Chowdhury , title=Norwich 2 - 1 Nott'm Forest , work=BBC Sport , url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/13009332.stm , page= , passage=Norwich returned to second in the Championship with victory over Nottingham Forest, whose promotion hopes were dealt another blow.}}

To distribute cards to the players in a game.

I was dealt four aces.

The cards were shuffled and dealt by the croupier.

(baseball) To pitch.

The whole crowd waited for him to deal a real humdinger.

To have dealings or business.

* 1838 , , Oliver Twist , ch. 11:

Mr. Brownlow contrived to state his case; observing that, in the surprise of the moment, he had run after the boy because he saw him running away; and expressing his hope that, if the magistrate should believe him, although not actually the thief, to be connected with thieves; he would deal as leniently with him as justice would allow.

To conduct oneself, to behave.

* 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , III.ii:

In Deheubarth'' that now South-wales is hight, / What time king ''Ryence raign'd, and dealed right [...].

(obsolete) To take action; to act.

* 1485 , Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur , Book IV:

Wel said syr Uwayne go on your waye, and lete me dele .

To trade professionally (followed by in ).

She deals in gold.

To sell, especially to sell illicit drugs.

This club takes a dim view of members who deal drugs.

To be concerned with.

* 1922 , , Ulysses , episode 14:

Science, it cannot be too often repeated, deals with tangible phenomena.

To handle, to manage, to cope.

* 1897 , , Dracula , ch 19:

Then there was the sound of a struggle, and I knew that the attendants were dealing with him.

I can't deal with this.

Synonyms

* (distribute among a number of recipients) apportion, divvy up, share, share out, portion out * (administer in portions) administer, allot, deal out, dish out, dispense, distribute, dole out, hand out, lot, mete out, parcel out, shell out * * pitch, throw * (have dealings with) * (trade) sell, trade, bargain * sell * (be concerned with) *

Derived terms

* deal with * dealer * dealy

Noun

(en noun)

An act of dealing or sharing.

The distribution of cards to players; a player's turn for this.

I didn’t have a good deal all evening.

I believe it's your deal .

A particular instance of buying or selling, a transaction

We need to finalise the deal with Henderson by midnight.

* 2014 , Jamie Jackson, "[http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/aug/26/angel-di-maria-completes-move-to-manchester-united Ángel di María says Manchester United were the ‘only club’ after Real]", The Guardian , 26 August 2014:

The deal , which overtakes the £50m paid to Liverpool by Chelsea for Fernando Torres in January 2011 as the highest paid by a British club, takes United’s summer spend to £130.7m, following the £27m spent on Luke Shaw, the £28m for Ander Herrera and £16m for Marcos Rojo.

Specifically, a transaction offered which is financially beneficial; a bargain.

* 2009 , The Guardian , Virginia Wallis, 22 Jul 2009:

You also have to look at the kind of mortgage deals available to you and whether you will be able to trade up to the kind of property you are looking for.

An agreement between parties; an arrangement

* 2009 , Jennifer Steinhauer, New York Times , 20 Jul 2009:

California lawmakers, their state broke and its credit rating shot, finally sealed the deal with the governor Monday night on a plan to close a $26 billion budget gap.

He made a deal with the devil.

(informal) A situation, occasion, or event.

"''I've never killed anybody before. I don't see what's the big deal ."

Line spoken by character played by John Travolta in the movie Broken Arrow .

What's the deal ?

(informal) A thing, an unspecified or unidentified object.

The deal with four tines is called a pitchfork.

Synonyms

* (cards held in a card game by a player at any given time) hand * (instance of buying or selling) business deal, sale, trade, transaction * (a beneficial transaction) steal, bargain * (agreement between parties fixing obligations of each) contract, pact

Derived terms

* no deal * package deal * raw deal * sweetheart deal

Etymology 3

From (etyl) (m), cognate with (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)

(uncountable) Wood that is easy to saw (from conifers such as pine or fir)

(countable) A plank of softwood (fir or pine board)

Synonyms

* * (plank of softwood)

Adjective

(-)

Made of deal.

A plain deal table

* 1913 ,

She glanced round the kitchen. It was small and curious to her, with its glittering kissing-bunch, its evergreens behind the pictures, its wooden chairs and little deal table.

* 1919 ,

Through the open door you see a red-tiled floor, a large wooden bed, and on a deal table a ewer and a basin.

Statistics

Anagrams

* * * * * English irregular verbs English terms with multiple etymologies ----