The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Party \Par"ty\ (p[aum]r"t[y^]), n.; pl. Parties
(p[aum]r"t[i^]z). [F. parti and partie, fr. F. partir to
part, divide, L. partire, partiri. See Part, v.]
1. A part or portion. [Obs.] "The most party of the time."
--Chaucer.
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2. A number of persons united in opinion or action, as
distinguished from, or opposed to, the rest of a community
or association; esp., one of the parts into which a people
is divided on questions of public policy.
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Win the noble Brutus to our party. --Shak.
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The peace both parties want is like to last.
--Dryden.
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3. A part of a larger body of company; a detachment;
especially (Mil.), a small body of troops dispatched on
special service.
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4. A number of persons invited to a social entertainment; a
select company; as, a dinner party; also, the
entertainment itself; as, to give a party.
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5. One concerned or interested in an affair; one who takes
part with others; a participator; as, he was a party to
the plot; a party to the contract.
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6. The plaintiff or the defendant in a lawsuit, whether an
individual, a firm, or corporation; a litigant.
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The cause of both parties shall come before the
judges. --Ex. xxii. 9.
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7. Hence, any certain person who is regarded as being opposed
or antagonistic to another.
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If the jury found that the party slain was of
English race, it had been adjudged felony. --Sir J.
Davies.
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8. Cause; side; interest.
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Have you nothing said
Upon this Party 'gainst the Duke of Albany? --Shak.
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9. A person; as, he is a queer party. [Now accounted a
vulgarism.]
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Note: "For several generations, our ancestors largely
employed party for person; but this use of the word,
when it appeared to be reviving, happened to strike,
more particularly, the fancy of the vulgar; and the
consequence has been, that the polite have chosen to
leave it in their undisputed possession." --Fitzed.
Hall.
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Party jury (Law), a jury composed of different parties, as
one which is half natives and half foreigners.
Party man, a partisan. --Swift.
Party spirit, a factious and unreasonable temper, not
uncommonly shown by party men. --Whately.
Party verdict, a joint verdict. --Shak.
Party wall.
(a) (Arch.) A wall built upon the dividing line between
two adjoining properties, usually having half its
thickness on each property.
(b) (Law) A wall that separates adjoining houses, as in a
block or row.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Party \Par"ty\, a. [F. parti divided, fr. partir to divide. See
Part, v., and cf. Partite.]
1. (Her.) Parted or divided, as in the direction or form of
one of the ordinaries; as, an escutcheon party per pale.
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2. Partial; favoring one party; partisan.
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I will be true judge, and not party. --Chaucer.
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Charter party. See under Charter.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Party \Par"ty\, adv.
Partly. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
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Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
366 Moby Thesaurus words for "party":
Adamite, American Party, Anti-Monopoly Party, Bull Moose Party,
Communist Party, Conservative Party, Constitutional Union Party,
Democratic Party, Democratic-Republican Party, Farmer-Labor Party,
Federalist Party, Free Soil Party, Greenback Party, Kaffeeklatsch,
Know-Nothing Party, Labour Party, Liberal Party,
Liberal Republican Party, Liberty Party, Mardi Gras,
National Republican Party, Populist Party, Progressive Party,
Prohibition Party, Republican Party, Saturnalia,
Socialist Labor Party, Socialist Party, Socialist Workers Party,
Tammany Hall, Tory Party, Whig Party, a party to, accessory,
accomplice, accusant, accuser, actor, adherents, advocate,
affiliation, age group, aid, allegator, alliance, ally, appellant,
approver, assemblee, assembly, assignation, associate, at home,
bacchanal, bacchanalia, backer, ball, band, banquet, bash,
battalion, beano, being, bevy, bipartisan, biparty, bloc, blowout,
body, branch, brawl, breakaway group, brigade, bunch, bust, cabal,
cadre, caller, calling party, camp, carnival, carousal, carouse,
cast, cat, caucus, celebration, certifier, champion, chap,
character, church, city hall, claimant, clique, club, cluster,
coalition, cocktail party, coffee klatch, cohort, colloquium,
combine, commission, committee, communion, community, company,
complainant, complement, conclave, concourse, confederacy,
confederate, confederation, confirmer, congregation, congress,
contingent, contributor, conventicle, convention, convocation,
copartner, corps, cosignatory, cosigner, costume party, cotenant,
coterie, council, covey, creature, crew, crowd, customer, dance,
date, debauch, defendant, defender, delator, denomination,
denominational, detachment, detail, diet, dinner, dinner party,
division, do, donation party, duck, earthling, eisteddfod,
endorser, entertainment, ethnic group, exponent, faction,
factional, fair, feast, federation, fellow, fellowship, festival,
festive occasion, festivity, fete, field day, fiesta, fleet,
forgathering, forum, frolic, function, gala, gala affair, gala day,
gang, garden party, gathering, get-together, great doings,
groundling, group, grouping, groupment, guarantor, guy, hand, head,
helper, hen party, high jinks, homo, hop, house party,
house-raising, housewarming, human, human being, impeacher,
impugner, in-group, indictor, individual, informer, insurer,
interest, interest group, interested, jamboree, joker, junta,
junto, kermis, lawn party, league, levee, libelant, life, litigant,
litigationist, litigator, living soul, machine, major party, man,
mask, masque, masquerade, masquerade party, meet, meeting,
minor party, minority group, mob, mortal, movement,
multiple party system, nose, notary, notary public, offshoot, one,
one-party system, opposition party, order, organization, orgy,
out-group, outfit, pack, panel, partaker, partial, participant,
participator, parties litigant, partisan, partner, party in power,
peer group, person, personage, personality, persuasion, petitioner,
phalanx, phoner, picnic, plaintiff, platoon, plenum,
political machine, political party, posse, pressure group, prom,
promoter, proponent, prosecutor, quorum, rally, ratifier, rave,
reception, regiment, religious order, rendezvous, ring, romp,
salon, saturnalia, schism, school, seance, seconder, sect,
sectarian, sectarism, sectary, sectional, segment, session, set,
shareholder, sharer, shindig, shindy, shower, side, signatory,
signer, silent majority, single, sit-in, sitting, smoker,
social gathering, society, soiree, somebody, someone, soul,
splinter, splinter group, splinter party, spree, squad, stable,
stag, stag party, string, subscriber, suitor, supporter,
surprise party, symposium, synod, team, telephoner, tellurian,
terran, the prosecution, third party, tribe, troop, troupe,
turnout, two-party system, underwriter, union, unit, upholder,
variety, version, vocal minority, waygoose, wayzgoose, wing,
wingding, witness, worldling
The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
@-party
/at'par`tee/, n.
[from the @-sign in an Internet address] (alt.: ?@-sign party? /at'si:n par
`tee/) A semi-closed party thrown for hackers at a science-fiction
convention (esp. the annual World Science Fiction Convention or ?Worldcon?
); one must have a network address to get in, or at least be in company
with someone who does. One of the most reliable opportunities for hackers
to meet face to face with people who might otherwise be represented by mere
phosphor dots on their screens. Compare boink.
The first recorded @-party was held at the Westercon (a U.S. western
regional SF convention) over the July 4th weekend in 1980. It is not clear
exactly when the canonical @-party venue shifted to the Worldcon but it had
certainly become established by Constellation in 1983. Sadly, the @-party
tradition has been in decline since about 1996, mainly because having an
@-address no longer functions as an effective lodge pin.
We are informed, however, that rec.skydiving members have maintained a
tradition of formation jumps in the shape of an @.
A
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
@-party
/at'par-tee/ (Or "@-sign party") An antiquated
term for a gathering of hackers at a science-fiction convention
(especially the annual Worldcon) to which only people who had an
electronic mail address were admitted.
The term refers to the commercial at symbol, "@", in an e-mail
address and dates back to the era when having an e-mail address
was a distinguishing characteristic of the select few who worked
with computers.
Compare boink.
[Jargon File]
(2012-11-17)
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
PARTY, practice, contracts. When applied to practice, by party is understood
either the plaintiff or defendant. In contracts, a party is one or more
persons who engage to perform or receive the performance of some agreement.
Vide Parties to contracts; Parties to 'actions; Parties to a suit in equity.