cartel
n.-
1 political alliance (n.) C1 Advanced Formal Politicsa group of different political parties that work together for a specific goal.
a combination of political groups or parties for common action.
ExampleThe two smaller parties formed a cartel to gain more power in the election.
ExampleThe parliamentary cartel was established to ensure a unified front against the proposed constitutional amendments during the winter session.
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2 prisoner exchange agreement (n.) C2 Proficiency Archaic Formal Lawan official agreement between enemies during a war to trade prisoners.
a written agreement between belligerent nations for the exchange of prisoners of war.
ExampleThe generals signed a cartel to return the captured soldiers to their homes.
ExampleUnder the terms of the maritime cartel, both navies agreed to a temporary ceasefire to facilitate the transfer of wounded personnel.
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3 letter of defiance (n.) C2 Proficiency Archaic Literarya formal letter sent to someone to challenge them to a fight or a duel.
a written letter of defiance or a formal challenge to a duel.
ExampleThe knight sent a cartel to his rival, demanding a trial by combat.
ExampleThe protagonist's refusal to answer the cartel was seen as a grave insult to the family's honour in the local court.
In the business sense, borrowed from German Kartell, first used by Eugen Richter in 1871 in the Reichstag. In the political sense, which was the vehicle for this metaphor, the English sense, like the German sense, was borrowed from French cartel in the sixteenth century, from Italian cartello, diminutive of carta (“card, page”), from Latin charta.