partnership

n. 1. The state or condition of being a partner; as, to be in partnership with another; to have partnership in the fortunes of a family or a state. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A division or sharing among partners; joint possession or interest. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rome, that ne'er knew three lordly heads before,
First fell by fatal partnership of power. Rowe. [ 1913 Webster ]

He does possession keep,
And is too wise to hazard partnership. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An alliance or association of persons for the prosecution of an undertaking or a business on joint account; a company; a firm; a house; as, to form a partnership. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Law) A contract between two or more competent persons for joining together their money, goods, labor, and skill, or any or all of them, under an understanding that there shall be a communion of profit between them, and for the purpose of carrying on a legal trade, business, or adventure. Kent. Story. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Community of profit is absolutely essential to, though not necessarily the test of, a partnership. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Arith.) See Fellowship, n., 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

Limited partnership, a form of partnership in which the firm consists of one or more general partners, jointly and severally responsible as ordinary partners, and one or more special partners, who are not liable for the debts of the partnership beyond the amount of cash they contribute as capital. --
Partnership in commendam, the title given to the limited partnership (F. société en commandité) of the French law, introduced into the code of Louisiana. Burrill. --
Silent partnership, the relation of partnership sustained by a person who furnishes capital only. [ 1913 Webster ]