guaranty

English

Etymology

From Old French guarantie, from Old French guarantie (“protection, defense”), from Old French garantir, guarantir (“to warrant, vouch for something”), from Old French garant, guarant, warant (“a warrant; warranter, supporter, defender, protector”), from Frankish *warand, *warjand (“a warrant”), from Frankish *warjan (“to fend for, designate something as true, vouch for”), from Proto-Germanic *warjaną (“to defend, protect”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to close, cover, protect, save, defend”). Cognate with Middle Low German warent, warend (“a warrant”), German gewähren (“to grant”). More at warrant. Doublet of guarantee and warranty.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɡæɹənti/

Noun

guaranty (plural guaranties)

1. (law) An undertaking to answer for the payment of some debt, or the performance of some contract or duty, of another, in case of the failure of such other to pay or perform; a warranty; a security.
2. Something serving as a security for such an undertaking.
   • 1864, Various, The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 85, November, 1864‎^[1]:

     No doubt the city of New York and the State of California contain capital enough for the completion of the entire road,--would subscribe to it, too, upon sufficient guaranties.

3. An assurance or guarantee.
   • 1904, Olive Tilford Dargan, Semiramis and Other Plays‎^[2]:

     America has sent us guaranties She will demand that Maximilian Be held but as a prisoner of war.

   • 1945, René Wellek, “The Philosophical Basis of Masaryk’s Political Ideals” in Ethics LV, № 4 (July 1945), page 299, right column:

     The concept of God and immortality is for him a guaranty of this eternal difference between right and wrong.

Related terms

• guarantor

Translations

undertaking to answer for payment, performance of contract, etc.

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Esperanto: garantiaĵo
• Finnish: takaus (fi)
• German: Garantievertrag m
• Russian: догово́р гара́нтии m (dogovór garántii)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

something serving as a security for such an undertaking

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Esperanto: garantiaĵo
• Finnish: vakuus (fi)
• Spanish: garantía (es) f

assurance or guarantee

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Esperanto: garantio
• Finnish: vakuutus (fi), tae (fi)
• Spanish: garantía (es) f

References

• “guaranty”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “guaranty”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Verb

guaranty (third-person singular simple present guaranties, present participle guarantying, simple past and past participle guarantied)

1. Alternative form of guarantee
   • 1742, Samuel Johnson, The Works of Samuel Johnson, Vol. 6‎^[3]:

     His imperial majesty likewise guaranties to the king of Prussia the perpetual possession of upper Silesia; and the king guaranties to the emperour the perpetual possession of upper Austria, as soon as he shall have occupied it by conquest."

   • 2014, Michael Curley, Finance Policy for Renewable Energy and a Sustainable Environment, →ISBN:

     They are classified as “loans” because they involve traditional market-rate loans, but with one important additional feature: Their payments are guarantied by a financially powerful third party.

   • 2017, J.A. De La Puente, L. Boullart, Real-Time Programming 1992, →ISBN, page 185:

     Real-time systems require a predictable behaviour in terms of guarantied deadlines.