A promise can be an agreement between two parties.
The etymological origin of the term promise that concerns us now is found in Latin. And it emanates, more precisely, from the word "promissus", which is made up of two different parts: the prefix "pro-", which is equivalent to "before", and "missus", which is the participle of the verb " mittere”, which can be translated as “throw”.
Promise is the expression of the will to do something for someone or to make a certain sacrifice in case of achieving some achievement. A promise can be understood as an agreement between two parties through which one of them undertakes to do something upon the fulfillment of a condition or the expiration of a deadline.
For example: “I give you my promise: if I get this job, next year we will go on vacation to the Caribbean,” “Juan gave me his promise to quit smoking before my birthday,” “The boy's promise was not believed by his mother.”
The promise as an oath
It is possible to associate a promise with an oath . The commitment acquired by the promiser is a verbal commitment, where the person pledges his honor or dignity . If, when the time comes, the subject does not fulfill his promise, he will have lost credit or respect with the person to whom he failed, but he will hardly be able to suffer any type of legal consequence. The sanction, therefore, will be rather symbolic.
A man can promise his wife that he will stop drinking alcohol within three months. Once the period is over, the man continues drinking. Therefore, he will have broken his promise. His wife, ultimately, will have the option of forgiving his fault or imposing some type of punishment on him, beyond her internal disappointment (or not).
A type of contract is called a promise.
a contract
Within the scope of law, a promise is understood as a contract through which one or both parties involved in it undertake to comply with a specific condition within the period of time stipulated convenient.
Of this type of contract, we could also highlight the following identifying features:
• It is regulated by law.
• It is not subordinate to any other.
• It must appear in writing.
• It can be unilateral or bilateral, precisely based on whether that obligation must be fulfilled by one of the parties or both.
• In order for it to be real and carried out as such, it must have essential elements such as the person who obliges and the person who undertakes, the conditions, the elements that are the objects of the promise, the stipulated time...
The promise can even be made to God in a prayer. The consequence of non-compliance, of course, will remain on the subject's conscience.
Other uses of the term promise
We would also have to say that it is common to use the term “simple promise.” This is used to refer to something that has been undertaken without having to swear or promise.
Other uses of the concept of promise are linked to the person who, due to his qualities, promises great achievements ( "This child is the great promise of the club" ) and to the indication or sign that makes one expect some good ( "The sunny day is a promise of fun on the beach.”
It should also be noted that within the cinematographic field is the film “Eastern Promises” , released in 2007 and directed by David Cronenberg. Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts are the protagonists of this story that revolves around the world of the Russian mafia.