diplomacy · noun — the art and practice of conducting international relations by negotiating alliances, treaties, agreements etc., bilaterally or multilaterally, between states and sometimes international organizations, or even between polities with varying status, such as those of monarchs and their princely vassals. It carries an Arena rating of 1523, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, diplomacy ranks #398 of 43,225 for Qualifying, #457 of 17,187 for Most Malleable Words, #708 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,117 of 17,197 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
diplomacy is pronounced /dɪˈpləʊməsi/.
Why “diplomacy” is a great word
The art and practice of conducting international relations through negotiation, or the tactful skill in dealing with people to avoid or settle conflict. From French diplomatie, a back-formation from diplomatique, ultimately from Latin diploma ('an official document, letter of recommendation or authority'), from Greek diploma ('paper folded in two'). Unlike statesmanship, which implies the wisdom of governing, or mediation, which is a third party's intervention, diplomacy is the method itself—the calibrated practice of the possible. It is the precisely ambiguous phrasing in a joint communiqué, the strategic choice of a table just large enough to keep adversaries apart yet close enough to talk, and the patient folding of a message until its creases hold the shape of compromise. It is the fragile, persistent labor of maintaining civilization's veneer by managing its inevitable cracks, one folded page at a time.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From French diplomatie, a back-formation from diplomatique, ultimately from Latin diploma (“a letter of recommendation or authority”); see diploma.
noun
- The art and practice of conducting international relations by negotiating alliances, treaties, agreements etc., bilaterally or multilaterally, between states and sometimes international organizations, or even between polities with varying status, such as those of monarchs and their princely vassals.e.g.“National diplomacy typically deploys its dexterity to secure advantage for one's nation.”
- Tact and subtle skill in dealing with people so as to avoid or settle hostility.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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