# treaty

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈtɹiːti/ · frequency rank #4,277

## Definitions
1. A formal binding agreement concluded by subjects of international law, namely, states and international organizations; a convention, a pact.
2. Chiefly in in treaty: discussions or negotiations in order to reach an agreement.
3. Chiefly in private treaty: an agreement or settlement reached following negotiations; a compact, a contract, a covenant.
4. The manner or process of treating someone or something; treatment; also, the manner in which someone or something acts or behaves; behaviour.
5. The addressing or consideration of a subject; discussion, treatment.
6. A formal, systematic discourse on some subject; a treatise.
7. An act of beseeching or entreating; an entreaty, a plea, a request.

## Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English trete, trety (“bargaining, negotiation; discussion; conference, meeting; entreaty, persuasion; agreement, contract, covenant; arrangement, settlement; agreement between two rulers, states, etc.; written work on a particular subject, treatise; subdivision of a written work, section”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman treté, traité, treaté, and Old French traité, traitié [and other forms] (modern French traité (“agreement between two rulers, states, etc.; treatise”)); traité or traitié is:
* a noun use of the past participle of traiter (“to treat; to deal with, handle”), from Latin tractāre, the present active infinitive of tractō (“to drag, haul, tug; to handle, manage; to debate, discuss; to exercise, practise; to perform, transact”), from trahō (“to drag, pull”) + -tō (frequentative suffix); and
* also from Latin tractātum (“written work on a particular subject, treatise”), from Latin tractātus (“dragged, hauled, tugged; handled, managed; exercised, practised; performed, transacted”), the perfect passive participle of tractō (see above).
The verb is derived from the noun.

## Easily confused with
- **Trey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/treaty-vs-trey)
- **Trent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/treaty-vs-trent)
- **twenty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/treaty-vs-twenty)
- **trendy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/treaty-vs-trendy)
- **trusty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/treaty-vs-trusty)
- **tray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-treaty)
- **treat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/treat-vs-treaty)
- **Tracy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tracy-vs-treaty)
- **tread** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tread-vs-treaty)
- **teary** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/teary-vs-treaty)
- **threat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/threat-vs-treaty)
- **treated** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/treated-vs-treaty)
- **threats** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/threats-vs-treaty)

## Common misspellings (9)
`rteaty`, `teraty`, `traety`, `treatty`, `treatyy`, `treayt`, `tretay`, `trreaty`, `ttreaty`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/treaty