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▪ I. charter, n.1|ˈtʃɑːtə(r)|
Forms: 3–6 chartre, (3 cartre), 5 chartour, -yr, (-yre), -ere, (7 carter), 5– charter.
[ME. chartre, a. OF. chartre, ONF. cartre (for *cartle):—L. cartula charter, lit. small paper or writing, dim. of carta, charta paper. Cf. chapter, F. chapitre:—L. capitulum.]
lit. A leaf of paper (in OE. called bóc, book); a legal document or ‘deed’ written (usually) upon a single sheet of paper, parchment, or other material, by which grants, cessions, contracts, and other transactions are confirmed and ratified.
1292Britton ii. viii. De chartres. Quant al garnement de escrit, qe home apele chartre, fet a saver qe en moutz des maneres sount chartres.
1. A written document delivered by the sovereign or legislature:
a. granting privileges to, or recognizing rights of, the people, or of certain classes or individuals.
Great Charter, that signed by King John guaranteeing the fundamental liberties of the English people: see Magna Charta. Charter of the Forest (Charta Forestæ), a charter conceded by Henry III in 1217, and revised 1224, restraining the severity of the forest laws of previous reigns.
a1250[Forged] Charter æðelstan (dated 939) in Cod. Dipl. V. 235 Ich æðelstan..grantye and confirmye by ðisse minre chartre. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 77 Þe emperour with god cartre, & mid ys owne cel, Hym ȝef of þe se..þe warde..Þis false mon wende þo mid his cartre a-boute. Ibid. 498 Alle hor chartren ywis, That adde of is fader..Of franchise & of other thing, al clene were vndo. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. vii. (1520) 88 b/1 The Kynge made to them two charters..the great chartrye of fraunchyses, and..the charter of forest. 1570Levins Manip. 71 A charter, diploma. 1591Lambarde Arch. (1635) 65 The great Charter of England..for which the Englishmen had no lesse striven, than the Trojans for their Helena. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, ii. i. 48 Our Substitutes at home shall haue Blanke-charters: Whereto..They shall subscribe them for large summes of Gold. 1651Hobbes Leviath. (1839) 276 Charters are donations of the sovereign; and not laws, but exemptions from law. 1766Blackstone Comm. i. 135 The language of the great charter is, that no freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, but by the lawful judgment of his equals, or by the law of the land. 1818Cruise Digest III. 163 When King Edward I created the Black Prince Duke of Cornwall, he gave him a charter, by which he granted to him the name and honour of Duke of Cornwall. 1835Lytton Rienzi x. i, There is but one nobility, and Nature signs its charter. 1846Arnold Hist. Rome I. x. 179 The second great charter of Roman liberties. 1875Stubbs Const. Hist. II. xiv. 27 The Charter of the Forest..was a great measure of relief; the inhabitants of the counties not living within the forests are released from the duty of attending the courts except on special summons; the forests made in the last two reigns are disafforested; much of the vexatious legislation of Henry II is annulled.
†b. granting pardon. Hence to have one's charter = to receive pardon. Obs.
a1300Havelok 676 And with þi chartre make [me] fre. 1413Lydg. Pylgr. Sowle i. xxxiv. (1859) 38 Oure lordes graunt and chartre of pardon. 1468Fabyan in Plumpton Corr. 18 Whan they shulde have been hanged, there chartours were shewyd, & so preservyd. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. cclii. 323 Maister John hume had his chartre and was pardoned by the kyng. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 241 b, Why almyghty god sholde gyue his..charter of pardon to man. a1626Bacon Maxims Com. Law xi. 49 If a man be attainted and have a charter of pardon.
c. creating or incorporating a borough, university, company, or other corporation.
1474Act 12 & 13 Edw. IV, in Oxf. & Camb. Enactm. (1869) 8 Among certeyn liberties and privileges by charters..graunted unto the Chaunceller and Scolers of the said universite. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 39 If you denie it, let the danger light Vpon your Charter, and your Cities freedome. 1680Prideaux Lett. (1875) 78 The University will be at large to act according to the utmost extent of their charter. 1684Ibid. 136 Y⊇ University concern is about y⊇ town carter..to induce them to surrender it, y⊇ Earle of Abington promised them y⊇ addition of several new grants. 1725Berkeley Proposal etc. Wks. III. 218 If his Majesty would graciously please to grant a Charter for a College. 1765–9Blackstone Comm. (1793) 204 The king's charter either creating new or reviving old boroughs. 1817W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius II. 888 The Royal Exchange Assurance and the London Assurance Companies were established by charters, bearing date the 22d day of June, 1720. 1844H. H. Wilson Brit. India I. 497 The main question..was the renewal of the Company's charter. 1861Buckle Civilis. II. viii. 575 The earliest charter was granted to an English town in the twelfth century.
d. People's Charter: the name given to the famous document (published 8 May 1838) embodying the principles and demands of the Chartists.
1838W. Lovett Address (issued in Mch. or Apl.) In the course of a few weeks this Bill will be prepared and printed for circulation, under the title of ‘The People's Charter’. 1838Northern Star (Leeds) 6 Aug. 7/2 That this meeting cordially approves of the People's Charter as the outline of an Act to provide for the general representation of the people..in Parliament. 1845Penny Cycl. 1st Supp. I. 331/2 The ‘People's Charter’. The principal points of this proposed charter are, universal suffrage, vote by ballot, annual parliaments, the division of the country into equal electoral districts, the abolition of property qualification in members, and paying them for their services. 1877C. Mackay Forty Years' Recoll. II. 50 The Charter—a document exceedingly well drawn up—derived its name from the French Charter of 1830.
2. A written evidence, instrument, or contract executed between man and man:
a. gen.
c1270Saints' Lives (Laud MS.) (1887) 290 Þe chartre he wrouȝte sone And a-selede hire with is ryng. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xi. 122 For may no cherle chartre make ne his catel selle, With-outen leue of his lorde. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 78/1 And toke a chartre and wrote the conscrypcion of the wedlok. 1494Fabyan vii. 545 Many blanke chartours were deuysyd and brought into the cytie, whiche many of the moost substancyall men of the same were fayne to seale to theyr payne and charge. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 26 Ye shall gyue to Perron your wyfe this nyght y⊇ charter of her endowry. 1786Burns A Dream xiii, But first hang out, that she'll discern Your hymeneal charter. 1847C. G. Addison Law Contracts i. i. 19 The Normans..caused the ancient Saxon contracts and writings to be sealed..and gave them the name of charters or Deeds.
b. applied esp. to the documents or deeds relating to conveyance of landed property.
c1386Chaucer Merch. T. 929 Min heritage, toun and tour, I give it yow, makith chartres as yow leste. 1641Termes de la Ley 55 Charters of lands are writings, deeds, evidences, and instruments, made from one man to an other, upon some estate conveyed or passed between them of lands or tenements. 1656H. Phillips Purch. Pattern (1676) 2 Make thy Charter run To thee, thine Heirs. 1818Cruise Digest I. 259 In Madox's collection of ancient charters there are some leases..which considerably exceed that period. 1885L. Goodeve Real Prop. 286 A record of the gift or alienation [of land], called the Charter of Feoffment.
c. spec. A document embodying the contract between owners and merchants for the hire of a ship and safe delivery of the cargo; more fully charter-party. Also, the contract thus made.
1794in Nicolas Disp. Nelson (1845) I. 428 He was under no Charter. Customary clause in Charter-parties, The Brokerage on this Charter is at the rate of Five per cent.
d. Used attrib. of or pertaining to an aircraft hired by contract for a particular purpose, or to a flight in such an aircraft, or to a business firm using such aircraft, etc.
1922Flight XIV. 522/1 In addition to this regular service 16 special-charter flights were made during this period. 1958‘N. Shute’ Rainbow & Rose i. 2 He had two Austers for instruction and occasional charter flights. 1960Guardian 26 July 5/4 A charter firm..flew the children free from Nice. 1964Financial Times 3 Mar. 13/5 Nearly all British airlines..can be called charter airlines in that they will undertake charter flights if asked.
e. ellipt. An aircraft, boat, etc., available on charter; a charter holiday or flight.
1959Aviation Week 14 Dec. 36/2 Plenitude of piston equipment for charters as most carriers waited for jets. 1961Daily Mail 15 June 4 We don't normally do charters. 1969Which? Feb. 62/1 (heading) Why charters can be cheaper. 1974K. Millett Flying (1975) ii. 181 It is Steven who finds the signs for the obscure North Terminal where the charters are. 1979United States 1980/81 (Penguin Travel Guides) 186 Best for fishing is Galveston..off piers or from deep-sea charters. 1984New Yorker 14 May 42/3, I was driving a charter to New Orleans.
3. Privilege; immunity; publicly conceded right.
1565Jewel Def. Apol. (1611) 263 Ye haue a Charter to speake what ye list. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 48, I must haue liberty Wiithall, as large a Charter as the winde. ― Sonn. lviii.1665Glanvill Sceps. Sci. xii. 67 To impose Names is part of the Peoples Charter. 1805Wordsworth Prelude vi. (1850) 149 And mighty forms seizing a youthful fancy Had given charter to irregular hopes. 1839De Quincey Lakes Wks. II. 167 Every man..must grant a charter of large enthusiasm to such an occasion.
†4. As a rendering of L. charta taken: Paper; a paper, writing, letter, document, etc. Obs. rare.
1382Wyclif Prov. Prol., Ioyne the epistil whom joyneth presthood; Ȝhe, the chartre twynne not [Vulg. ne dividat charta], whom the looue of Crist knytteth. ― Job vii. 16 And the chartre taken [accepta charta], thei maden the conscripcioun of the wedloc.
5. Comb., as charter-beer, charter-box, charter-chest, charter-room; charter-bond = charter-party; charter-boy, a boy on the Charter-house foundation; charter-brother, an inmate and pensioner of the Charter-house; charter-colony, a colony founded by Royal Charter; charter-day, a day appointed by charter for some special purpose; charter-exemption, exemption from taxes, etc. by Royal Charter; charter-government, a government founded by Royal Charter; charter-hand = court-hand; charter-hold (see charter-land); † charter-horn, a horn used as a charter or instrument of conveyance; † charter-man, ? licentiate, ? licenser; charter-park, a park held by charter; † charter-patent, a letter-patent; charter-system, the system of working a mine by a chartermaster; † charter-tailzie, charter of entail: see tailye. See also charter-house, -land, -master, -party, -school.
1634Brereton Trav. (1844) 156 A kind of beer called *Charter beer.
1836Marryat Midsh. Easy 172 He would forfeit his *charter-bond.
1856Emerson Eng. Traits, Ability, Wks. (Bohn) II. 36 If all remedy fails, right of revolution is at the bottom of his *charter-box.
1866Carlyle Inaug. Address 181 Compiled out of all kinds of parchments, *charter-chests. 1881J. Russell Haigs 11 Those in the charter-chest of the family date from 1425 onwards.
1766Hist. Europe in Ann. Reg. 41/1 There are several sorts of colonies in British America: the *charter-colonies, the proprietary governments, and the King's colonies.
1817W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius II. 1007 Upon an omission to elect at the *charter-day, or to do such acts as were by the charter required to be done at certain times..a forfeiture of the charter might be incurred, and the corporation dissolved.
1775Wesley Wks. 1872 XI. 85 The plea of *charter-exemption drops.
1796Morse Amer. Geog. I. 293 The *charter governments were empowered to enact laws, and no ratification by the king was necessary.
1888J. H. Hessels in Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 682/1 The court or *charter hand was used for charters, title-deeds, papal bulls, &c. 1893[see hand n. 16]. 1954N. Denholm-Young Handwriting in Eng. & Wales iv. 31 The term Court Hand..is nowadays used to denote the great variety of hands employed in everyday life, as opposed to book hands, from the twelfth to the fifteenth century... For a time the alternative..term Charter Hand was in vogue, chiefly perhaps among authors associated with the British Museum.
1710Prideaux Orig. Tithes iv. 203 His *Charter-hold Lands.
1774C. Lyttelton in Archæol. III. 22 Account of certain *Charter-Horns in the Cathedral of Carlisle.
1683Dryden Vind. Dk. of Guise Wks. 1725 V. 333 The *Charter-man in the very Title-page.
1703Lond. Gaz. No. 3900/4 A *Charter-Park walled about.
1599Greene Alphons. (1861) 291 I seal your *charter-patent.
1816Scott Antiq. xxiv, There's a parchment book in the *charter-room at Knockwinnock Castle.
1864Daily Tel. 26 Oct., ‘Doggies’ and ‘butties’, as they are called by the pitmen, work the mines for the owners, under terms of arrangement known as the ‘*charter system’.
1634S. Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. 111 I cannot but think, seeing the ends of the earth are given to Christ (and Scotland is the end of the earth, and so we are in Christ's *charter-talizie) but our Lord will keep His possession.
Add:[5.] Charter Mark:in the U.K., an award granted to institutions for exceptional public service under the terms of the Citizen's Charter (see *citizen n. 5).
1991Economist 27 July 23/2 All public bodies taking part in the charter programme will be candidates to receive a ‘*Chartermark’ where their services are deemed to be up to scratch... But in the public sector, without competition, name badges and chartermarks could soon be empty gimmicks. 1992Observer 2 Feb. 16/1 (Advt.), The Citizen's Charter sets a new Standard for public services. The Charter Mark recognises this Standard. If you think your organisation meets the Standard, why not apply for a Charter Mark? 1992Private Eye 8 May 13/1 Such sound management has lead [sic] Dr John Roylance, chief executive of the United Bristol Healthcare Trust (UBHT), to apply for a ‘charter mark’, the department of health's new gold standard of service provision.
▪ II. † ˈcharter, n.2 Obs.
Also chartour.
[a. OF. chartier:—L. c(h)artārium place for papers, archives.]
A repository for charters or deeds.
a1600Aberdeen Reg. (Jam.) Ane tyne [tin] chartour weyand four pund tua unsis.
▪ III. charter, v.|ˈtʃɑːtə(r)|
[f. charter n.1]
1. trans. To grant a charter to; to bestow or establish by charter.
c1425Wyntoun Cron. ix. xxiii. 210 Þe thred Robert, charterit, and sesit eftyrwart..þat Lady. 1800Colquhoun Comm. Thames i. 5 The Russia Company..was chartered..in 1555. 1859C. Barker Assoc. Princ. Mid. Ages ii. 48 Early in the reign of Edward III..we find the Goldsmiths' Company chartered.
2. To privilege, license.
1542Udall tr. Erasm. Apoph. 255 b, He was..chartreed or priuileged from bearyng almaner offices of charge. 1795Southey Joan of Arc x. 719 If discipline be utterly Relax'd, Vice charter'd, Wickedness let loose. 1879Geo. Eliot Coll. Breakf. P. 795 With spreading lands Where pleasure charters all.
3. To hire (a ship or aircraft) by charter-party. Hence colloq. to hire (a vehicle, etc.).
1806Gazetteer Scotl. 217/1 They had no vessels of their own, but chartered vessels from Whitehaven, Bristol. 1836W. Irving Astoria III. 215 It was impossible to charter a ship for the purpose. 1869W. Bradwood The O.V.H. (1870) 191 To charter a dogcart for the afternoon. 1875J. Bennet Winter Medit. iv. xxi. 638 A carriage may be chartered for a given journey at a certain price. 1933A. Huxley Let. 24 Mar. (1969) 368 Yesterday we joined a party of Americans in chartering an aeroplane to fly to Copan in Honduras, to see the great Maya ruins there.
Hence ˈchartering vbl. n.
1818Jas. Mill Brit. India II. iv. i. 7 The Company preferred the hiring of ships, called chartering. 1883Pall Mall G. 9 July 5/2 Chartering limited to sailing vessels. |