- charter
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/chahr"teuhr/, n.1. a document, issued by a sovereign or state, outlining the conditions under which a corporation, colony, city, or other corporate body is organized, and defining its rights and privileges.2. (often cap.) a document defining the formal organization of a corporate body; constitution: the Charter of the United Nations.3. authorization from a central or parent organization to establish a new branch, chapter, etc.4. a grant by a sovereign power creating a corporation, as the royal charters granted to British colonies in America.5. Also called charter party. a contract by which part or all of a ship is leased for a voyage or a stated time.6. a tour, vacation, or trip by charter arrangement: The travel agency is offering charters to Europe and the Caribbean.7. special privilege or immunity.v.t.8. to establish by charter: to charter a bank.9. to lease or hire for exclusive use: The company will charter six buses for the picnic.10. to give special favor or privilege to.adj.11. of or pertaining to a method of travel in which the transportation is specially leased or hired for members of a group or association: a charter flight to Europe.12. that can be leased or hired for exclusive or private use: a charter boat for deep-sea fishing.13. done or held in accordance with a charter: a charter school.[1200-50; ME chartre < OF < L chartul(a) little paper (by assimilation), equiv. to chart(a) (see CHARTA) + -ula -ULE]
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IDocument granting certain specified rights, powers, privileges, or functions from the sovereign power of a state to a person, corporation, city, or other unit of local organization.In Magna Carta (1215), King John granted certain liberties to the English people. Elsewhere in medieval Europe, monarchs issued charters to towns, guilds, universities, and other institutions, granting the institution certain privileges and sometimes specifying how they should conduct their internal affairs. Later, charters were granted to overseas trading companies (e.g., the British East India Co.), granting them monopolies in certain areas. Britain's colonies in North America were established by charter. Modern charters may be corporate or municipal. A corporate charter, issued by a governmental body, grants individuals the power to form a corporation, or limited-liability company. A municipal charter is a law that creates a new political subdivision and allows the people within it to organize themselves into a municipal corporation, in effect delegating to the people the powers of local self-government.II(as used in expressions)* * *
▪ documenta document granting certain specified rights, powers, privileges, or functions from the sovereign power of a state to an individual, corporation, city, or other unit of local organization. The most famous charter, Magna Carta (“Great Charter”), was a compact between the English king John and his barons specifying the king's grant of certain liberties to the English people. Elsewhere in medieval Europe, monarchs typically issued charters to towns, cities, guilds, merchant associations, universities, and religious institutions; such charters guaranteed certain privileges and immunities for those organizations while also sometimes specifying arrangements for the conduct of their internal affairs.By the end of the European Middle Ages, monarchs granted charters that guaranteed overseas trading companies monopolies of trade (and in some cases government) within a specified foreign geographic area. A corporation that was so endowed was called a chartered company (q.v.). Virtually all the British colonies in North America were established by charters; these charters granted land and certain governing rights to the colonists while retaining certain powers for the British crown.Modern charters are of two kinds, corporate and municipal. A corporate charter is a grant made by a governmental body giving a group of individuals the power to form a corporation, or limited-liability company. A municipal charter is a law passed by a government allowing the people of a specific locality to organize themselves into a municipal corporation—i.e., a city. Such a charter in effect delegates powers to the people for the purpose of local self-government.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
