Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite

As we can say principal for user/group/role, is there a common word for person/company/organization?

share|improve this question
I do not understand this question. Maybe it would help if you provide a couple of sentences -- one where you use the word principal for user/group/role, and another where you need a word to represent person/company/organization? Thanks! – Jay Elston May 22 '11 at 4:10
@Jay: it's a database table about suppliers and customers, so, a supplier/customer maybe a person, or a company, or an organization. As we have a single table for user/group/role, I'd also want to use a single table for person/company/organization. – Xiè Jìléi May 22 '11 at 9:37

4 Answers

up vote 6 down vote accepted

The word you are looking for is party.

share|improve this answer
Can an "organisation" not being a body corporate can be a party to anything? – Marcin May 22 '11 at 13:26
2  
That was going to be my guess as well, and Ray's answer reinforces this. The Marx brothers, my source for legal advice, once had this in a contract: "The party of the first part shall be known in this contract as the party of the first part." How do you like that? That's pretty neat, eh? (youtube.com/watch?v=SzfiBMRDc5Y) – Jay Elston May 22 '11 at 19:48
Love the Marx Brothers! – Thursagen May 25 '11 at 21:47
up vote 2 down vote

I am taking a wild guess that you are trying to find an economy related term.

How about (economic) "entity"?

share|improve this answer
entit...y....oh drat. ;P there it is. +1 – Garet Claborn May 22 '11 at 7:59
Entity seems too common, i.e., everything looks like an entity. – Xiè Jìléi May 22 '11 at 9:34
up vote 1 down vote

In my databases this is known as a legal entity (i.e. anything that can be bound by a contract). Typically, there are 4 main 'types'; Person, Company, Organization, Government

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

In most contexts, legal person explicitly includes companies and the like.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.