A mutual agreement or covenant made between parties; the act of bargaining together.
From Latin 'ad-' + 'stipulatio' (agreement, stipulation), literally meaning 'mutual bargaining'. A scholastic and legal term from the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
Medieval scholars loved this word because it captured something 'contract' doesn't—that both sides actively shaped the deal rather than one party imposing terms, making it a surprisingly progressive concept hidden in archaic vocabulary.
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