Definition of mutual in English: mutual Line breaks: mu¦tual Pronunciation: /ˈmjuːtʃʊəl , -tjʊəl/ ADJECTIVE 1(Of a feeling or action) experienced or done by each of two or more parties towards the other or others: a partnership based on mutual respect and understanding my father hated him from the start and the feeling was mutual MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES 1.1(Of two or more people) having the same specified relationship to each other: they cooperated as potentially mutual beneficiaries of the settlement MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES 2Held in common by two or more parties: we were introduced by a mutual friend MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES 3Denoting a building society or insurance company owned by its members and dividing some or all of its profits between them: Scottish Amicable may switch from mutual to plc status MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES NOUN Back to top A mutual building society or insurance company: life insurance firms are mutuals, owned by their policyholders MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES Origin late 15th century: from Old French mutuel, from Latin mutuus mutual, borrowed; related to mutare to change. Usage Some traditionalists consider using mutual to mean ‘common to two or more people’ ( a mutual friend; a mutual interest) to be incorrect, holding that a sense of reciprocity is necessary ( mutual respect; mutual need). The use they object to has a long and respectable history, however, being first recorded in Shakespeare and appearing in the writing of Sir Walter Scott, George Eliot, and, most famously, as the title of Dickens’s novel Our Mutual Friend. It is now generally accepted as part of standard English.
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 09:05:25 +0000
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