gentlemen's agreement

gen·tle·man's agreement

or gen·tle·men's agreement (jĕn′tl-mənz)n. An agreement guaranteed only by the pledged word or unspoken understanding of the parties.

gentlemen's agreement

gentleman's agreement

na personal understanding or arrangement based on honour and not legally binding

gen′tlemen's

(or gen′tleman's) agree′ment,

n. an agreement that, although unenforceable at law, is binding as a matter of personal honor. [1885–90, Amer.]

Thesaurus

Noun

gentlemen's agreement - a personal agreement based on honor and not legally bindingagreement, understanding - the statement (oral or written) of an exchange of promises; "they had an agreement that they would not interfere in each other's business"; "there was an understanding between management and the workers"

gentlemen's agreement

gentlemen's agreement,

in U.S. history, an agreement between the United States and Japan in 1907 that Japan should stop the emigration of its laborers to the United States and that the United States should stop discrimination against Japanese living in the United States. This agreement was ended in 1924 by the act of Congress excluding immigration from Japan, as immigration from China had been previously excluded.

Gentlemen's Agreement

Related to Gentlemen's Agreement: gentleman's agreement

Gentlemen's Agreement

Although agreements between individuals often create legally binding commitments, instances may arise in which mutual promises yield no legally enforceable agreement. Sometimes called "gentlemen's agreements," parties may honor them because moral obligations compel observance or because future relations will be more difficult if the present arrangement is broken. International organizations likewise may depend on such informal arrangements so as to maintain comity among members.

Occasionally the enabling treaties that create an international organization will leave some procedural or voting matter unresolved. Rather than amend the formal document, which is usually a difficult task, an informal working agreement will develop to resolve a particular problem. As long as the consensus holds to honor the informal agreement, there is no need to embody it into a legal document.

gentlemen's agreement

gen·tle·man's agreement

gentlemen's agreement

gentleman's agreement

gen′tlemen's

(or gen′tleman's) agree′ment,

gentlemen's agreement

gentlemen's agreement,

Gentlemen's Agreement

Gentlemen's Agreement

gentlemen's agreement

Words related to gentlemen's agreement

noun a personal agreement based on honor and not legally binding

Related Words