Proviso
/prəˈvaɪzoʊ/noun
A condition or stipulation attached to an agreement or statement.
Did you know?The word entered English through legal Latin and French, where it meant something like “provided that,” showing how a single conditional phrase became a formal tool for control.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
provisus
“provided for; foreseen”
Late Latin
Latin
proviso (quod)
“it being provided that; on the condition that”
Middle French
Old French
proviso
“a saving clause; a condition”
14th–15th Century
English
proviso
“a condition attached to a legal document or statement”
Modern English
English
proviso
“a condition or qualification attached to something”