different between obligation vs warranty

English

Etymology

From Middle English obligacioun, from Old French obligacion, from Latin obligatio, obligationem, from obligatum (past participle of obligare), from ob- (“to”) + ligare (“to bind”), from Proto-Indo-European *ley?- (“to bind”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?b.l???e?.??n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

obligation (countable and uncountable, plural obligations)

1. The act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie to someone.
2. A social, legal, or moral requirement, duty, contract, or promise that compels someone to follow or avoid a particular course of action.
3. A course of action imposed by society, law, or conscience by which someone is bound or restricted.
4. (law) A legal agreement stipulating a specified action or forbearance by a party to the agreement; the document containing such agreement.
   • 1668 December 19, James Dalrymple, “Mr. Alexander Seaton contra Menzies” in The Deci?ions of the Lords of Council & Se??ion I (Edinburgh, 1683), page 575

     The Pupil after his Pupillarity, had granted a Di?charge to one of the Co-tutors, which did extingui?h the whole Debt of that Co-tutor, and con?equently of all the re?t, they being all correi debendi, lyable by one individual Obligation, which cannot be Di?charged as to one, and ?tand as to all the re?t.

Usage notes

• Adjectives often used with "obligation": moral, legal, social, contractual, political, mutual, military, perpetual, etc.

Synonyms

• (the act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie to someone): commitment
• (requirement, duty, contract or promise): duty

Antonyms

• (requirement, duty, contract or promise): right

Related terms

Translations

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin obligatio, obligationem, from the verb oblig? (“tie together”).

Pronunciation

Noun

obligation f (plural obligations)

1. obligation

Related terms

• obliger

Further reading

• “obligation” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle English

Noun

obligation

1. Alternative form of obligacioun

English

Etymology

From Old French warrantie, Old Northern French variant of Old French guarantie (Modern French garantie). Doublet of guarantee and guaranty. More at warrant.

Pronunciation

• (US) enPR: wôr'?nti, IPA^(key): /?w??.?n.ti/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /?w?.??n.ti/

Noun

warranty (countable and uncountable, plural warranties)

1. (countable) A guarantee that a certain outcome or obligation will be fulfilled; security.
   • 1691, John Locke, Some Considerations on the consequences of the Lowering of Interest and the Raising of the Value of Money, Thomas Davison, Whitefriars (1823), page 88:

     Those who have had the care and government of politic societies introduced coinage, as a remedy of those two inconveniences. The stamp was a warranty of the public, that, under such a denomination, they should receive a piece of such a weight, and such a fineness; […]
2. (countable, law, real estate, obsolete) An obsolete legal agreement that was a real covenant and ran with the land, whereby the grantor and his heirs of a piece of real estate held in freehold were required to officially guarantee their claim and plead one’s case for the title. If evicted by someone with a superior claim (paramount title) they were also required to hand over other real estate of equal value in recompense. It has now been replaced by personal covenants and the covenant of warranty.
   1. (law, countable, real estate) A covenant, also called the covenant of warranty, whereby the grantor assures the grantee that he or she not be subject to the claims of someone with a paramount title, thereby guaranteeing the status of the title that is being conveyed.
3. (countable, law) A legal agreement, either written or oral (an expressed warranty) or implied through the actions of the buyer and seller (an implied warranty), which states that the goods or property in question will be in exactly the same state as promised, such as in a sale of an item or piece of real estate.
4. (countable) A written guarantee, usually over a fixed period, provided to someone who buys a product or item, which states that repairs will be provided free of charge in case of damage or a fault.

   I took out an extended warranty on my television for five years at a cost of $100.

   I made sure to check the terms of my warranty for my computer to ensure I was covered in case it broke down.

   It's always a good idea to get a good warranty on anything you buy that you think may break down.

5. (countable, insurance law) A stipulation of an insurance policy made by an insuree, guaranteeing that the facts of the policy are true and the insurance risk is as stated, which if not fulfilled renders the policy void.
6. (uncountable, rare) Justification or mandate to do something, especially in terms of one’s personal conduct.
   • 1683, John Kettlewell, An Help and Exhortation to Worthy Communicating, 379:

     […] Since, if they disobey any precept, that is no excuse to us, nor gives us any warranty for companies fake to disobey likewise.

Translations

Verb

warranty (third-person singular simple present warranties, present participle warrantying, simple past and past participle warrantied)

1. To warrant; to guarantee.

References

• warranty in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.