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Like many terms used in the legal profession, stipulate has its roots in Latin. It derives from stipulatus, the past participle of stipulari, a verb meaning "to demand a guarantee (from a prospective debtor)." Stipulate has been a part of the English language since the 17th century. In Roman law, oral contracts were deemed valid only if they followed a proper question-and-answer format; stipulate was sometimes used specifically of this same process of contract making, though it also could be used more generally for any means of making a contract or agreement. The "to specify as a condition or requirement" meaning of stipulate also dates to the 17th century, and is the sense of the word most often encountered in current use.
Synonyms
Examples of stipulate in a Sentence
Kate Gibson, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2024
Hitchcock famously stipulated that no audiences be admitted to Psycho after the film began, lest its first-act twist be spoiled.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 24 Sep. 2024
Administered by Japan's International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through the World Bank, the loan stipulates that it won't be used for military purposes.
—Katya Soldak, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
That Oh became a council member was itself the result of a kind of affirmative action; the city stipulates that at least two of the seven at-large seats on the city council must be held by members of minority parties.
—Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Stipulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stipulate. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
stipulate
verb
Louisiana Civil CodeNational Law JournalLuna v. Meinke, 844 F. Supp. 1284 (1994)West v. Bank of Commerce & Trusts, 167 F.2d 664 (1948)National Law JournalVerb
Latin stipulatus, past participle of stipulari to exact (as from a prospective debtor) a formal guarantee when making an oral contract
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