cartel

noun

Etymology: 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.

1. A group of businesses or nations that collude to limit competition within an industry or market.

   “oil cartel”

   “drug cartel”

2. A combination of political groups (notably parties) for common action.
3. A written letter of defiance or challenge.

   “He is cowed at the very idea of a cartel.”

   “Xerxes whipped the Sea, and writ a cartell of defiance to the hill Athos.”

4. An official agreement concerning the exchange of prisoners.

   “He then sent down a flag of truce in military style, proposing a cartel or exchange of prisoners – the corporal for the notary.”

5. A ship used to negotiate with an enemy in time of war, and to exchange prisoners.