An archaic or obsolete form meaning to pledge or bind oneself; to make a mutual agreement.
From Latin 'compromittere' (com- + promittere, to promise). This is a back-formation or variant form from 'compromise,' and represents an earlier understanding of the word's meaning before it narrowed to its modern definition.
This verb shows how 'compromise' originally had a much broader meaning—it was about making mutual promises and pledges, not specifically about splitting differences. The semantic narrowing from 'mutual agreement' to 'splitting the difference' reveals how our concept of compromise has become more specific over time.
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