What does stipulator mean?
A stipulator is a person who formally agrees to a condition, promise, or obligation, most often in a legal or contractual setting. The word is associated with the act of stipulating: making terms explicit or accepting an arrangement in binding form. It may refer broadly to a contracting party, but it can also identify the individual who introduces or accepts a particular stipulation. Because of its formal legal character, stipulator is uncommon in general conversation, where party, signatory, or contracting party may sound more natural. In older legal prose, the term may appear in connection with promises, conditions, agreements, and obligations. Its distinctive value is that it identifies not merely someone involved in an arrangement, but someone who makes or enters into a formal undertaking.
nounA person who makes a stipulation, especially one who enters into a formal agreement or promise. The term is most often used in legal or contractual contexts.
- A person who enters into a formal agreement or promise.
- A person who states or sets a condition in a contract or other legal instrument.
"Each stipulator was required to accept the terms of the agreement."
"The stipulator promised to deliver the documents by the end of the month."
"No stipulator was bound by the clause unless it had been included in the original agreement."
Used when referring to multiple people who have formally entered into an agreement or made a stipulation.
"The stipulators were bound by the terms of the contract."
A stipulator does more than merely suggest: in legal language, the word identifies someone who formally agrees to a condition or obligation.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does stipulator come from?
Stipulator comes from Latin stipulator, a noun formed from stipulari, meaning to make a formal agreement or promise. English borrowed the family of words through legal and financial usage, including stipulate and stipulation. The Latin verb is associated with making or engaging in a bargain, and its development reflects the emphasis on agreed terms and formal undertakings.
How stipulator is actually used
A formal and relatively uncommon term, found especially in legal and contractual writing. It is less common in everyday speech than 'party' or 'person who agrees'.
Easily confused with stipulator
A stipulator is a person who makes or enters into a stipulation; stipulate is the verb used to state such a condition or agreement.