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treatise

UK/ˈtɹiːtɪs/US/ˈtɹiːtɪs/
nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,070 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: treatises

A treatise is a long formal piece of writing on one subject. Write a treatise, a treatise on optics, a lengthy treatise.

It is longer and more systematic than an essay and aims to cover the whole subject rather than argue one point. Calling a memo a treatise is the standard joke about something far too long.

Definitions of treatise

  1. 1nountreatiseA long formal piece of writing on one subject.C1

    “He wrote a long treatise on the history of Roman law.”

treatise is a writing.

Where it comes from

Old French traitis comes from traitier, to treat or deal with, from Latin tractare.

  1. Old French

    traitis — treatise, account

  2. Anglo-Norman

    tretiz

  3. Middle English

    tretys

  4. English, today

    treatise

Built from

  • traitier · Old French — to deal with, treat

From Middle English tretys, from Anglo-Norman tretiz and Old French traitis (“treatise, account”), from traitier (“to deal with, treat”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

treatise in the wild

  • The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the late Spring and Autumn period (roughly 5th century BC).

    The Art of War

  • The treatise comprises a detailed explanation and analysis of the 5th-century BC Chinese military, from weapons, environmental conditions, financial logistics and strategy to morale, rank and discipline.

    The Art of War

  • Lawyers commonly use legal treatises in order to review the law and update their knowledge of pertinent primary authority namely, case law, statutes, and administrative regulations.

    Legal treatise

  • Despite being secondary authority, select treatises are frequently cited in court decisions, including opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States.

    Legal treatise

  • A monograph is a treatise on a specialized topic.

    Treatise

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.