Bipartisan

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌbaɪˈpɑː(ɹ).tɪ.zæn/

Definitions

1. Characterized by collaborative efforts between two distinct political parties to reach shared objectives
2. Involving support or agreement from both political factions to enact policies or legislation
3. Involving cooperation and compromise between two different political parties to achieve common goals

Etymology: The word is a simple compound: the Latin prefix "bi-", meaning "two", joined to "partisan". Only the prefix and the base are given here, so the prefix's own ancestry runs back through Latin to the Proto-Indo-European root for "two", and it is the same "two" that appears in "bicycle" and "binary". The surprise lies in the base word. "Partisan" began as a noun for a soldier who fought as a member of an irregular armed band, and only later came to mean a supporter of a political faction or party. Joining "bi-" to it produced a term that describes not two fighters but two rival camps agreeing to work together, so the modern sense is the reverse of the image of two sides at war.

Synonyms: joint, cooperative

Antonyms: partisan, divided