precontract

[noun pree-kon-trakt; verb pree-kuh n-trakt, -kon-trakt]

noun

a preexisting contract that legally prevents a person from making another contract of the same nature.
(formerly) such an agreement constituting a legally binding betrothal.

verb (used with object)

to bind by means of a precontract.
to contract for or agree to do (something) by means of a precontract.

verb (used without object)

to make a precontract.

Origin of precontract

1375–1425; late Middle English (noun); see pre-, contract

Related formspre·con·trac·tive, adjectivepre·con·trac·tu·al

[pree-kuh n-trak-choo-uh l] /ˌpri kənˈtræk tʃu əl/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pre-contract

Historical Examples of pre-contract

But for my pre-contract, I had striven long ago to win her, and had been a happier man, mayhap.
The Dove in the Eagle's Nest
Charlotte M. Yonge
In the first years of the colonies there existed a formal ceremony of betrothal called in Plymouth a pre-contract.
Customs and Fashions in Old New England
Alice Morse Earle
Among the New England colonists there was a formal ceremony of betrothal, called a pre-contract or contraction.
The Historical Child
Oscar Chrisman
A frail fibre of hope offered itself in the story of the pre-contract with the Count of Lorraine.
History of England from the fall of Wolsey to the death of Elizabeth. Vol. III
James Anthony Froude
The documents relating to the pre-contract were not sent; his vexation converted a shadow into a reality.
History of England from the fall of Wolsey to the death of Elizabeth. Vol. III
James Anthony Froude

British Dictionary definitions for pre-contract

precontract

noun (priːˈkɒntrækt)

a contract or arrangement made beforehand, esp a betrothal

verb (ˌpriːkənˈtrækt)

to betroth or enter into a betrothal by previous agreement
to make (an agreement, etc) by prior arrangement

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012