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Promise vs Deal - What's the difference?

promise | deal | Related terms |

In obsolete terms the difference between promise and deal

is that promise is bestowal or fulfillment of what is promised while deal is a division, a portion, a share.

In transitive terms the difference between promise and deal

is that promise is to commit to something or action; to make an oath; make a vow while deal is to sell, especially to sell illicit drugs.

In intransitive terms the difference between promise and deal

is that promise is to give grounds for expectation, especially of something good while deal is to handle, to manage, to cope.

As an adjective deal is

made of deal.

promise

English

Alternative forms

* promyse

Noun

(en noun)
  • An oath or affirmation; a vow.
  • A transaction between two persons whereby the first person undertakes in the future to render some service or gift to the second person or devotes something valuable now and here to his use.
  • * 1668 July 3rd, , “Thomas Rue contra'' Andrew Hou?toun” in ''The Deci?ions of the Lords of Council & Se??ion I (Edinburgh, 1683), pages 547–548
  • He pur?ued Andrew Hou?toun upon his promi?e , to give him the like Sallary for the next year, and in ab?ence obtained him to be holden as confe?t and Decerned.
  • Reason to expect improvement or success; potential.
  • * Washington Irving
  • My native country was full of youthful promise .
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), chapter=1
  • , title=(The China Governess) citation , passage=The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement.}}
  • (computing, programming) A placeholder object that can be manipulated in code before it has been assigned a value.
  • (obsolete) Bestowal or fulfillment of what is promised.
  • * Bible, Acts i. 4
  • He commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father.

    Verb

    (promis)
  • To commit to something or action; to make an oath; make a vow.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=70, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Engineers of a different kind , passage=Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.
  • To give grounds for expectation, especially of something good.
  • The clouds promise rain.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1897, author=
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 citation , passage=I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me. I look upon notoriety with the same indifference as on the buttons on a man's shirt-front, or the crest on his note-paper.}}

    Usage notes

    * This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . See

    Synonyms

    *

    See also

    * (election promise)

    Statistics

    *

    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

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