Quid pro quo

Quid pro quo (Latin: "something for something") is a Latin phrase used in English to mean an exchange of goods or services, in which one transfer is contingent upon the other; "a favor for a favor". Phrases with similar meanings include: "give and take", "tit for tat", "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours", and "one hand washes the other". Other languages use other phrases for the same purpose. The Latin phrase quid pro quo means literally something for something and the English meaning is the same. It can be applied to a substitution, where one thing is replaced by something similar, or at least ostensibly similar, honestly or fraudulently. It can also be applied more broadly, covering almost any transaction, such as the exchange of money for goods or services. It stands in contrast to a donation, where something is given without any expectation of something in return. In 1654, the expression quid pro quo was used to generally refer to something done for personal gain or with the expectation of reciprocity in the text The Reign of King Charles: An History Disposed into Annalls, with a somewhat positive connotation. It refers to the covenant with Christ as something "that prove not a nudum pactum, a naked contract, without quid pro quo." Believers in Christ have to do their part in return, namely "foresake the devil and all his works". Quid pro quo would go on to be used, by English speakers in legal and diplomatic contexts, as an exchange of equally valued goods or services and continues to be today. Another Latin phrase with a similar meaning is do ut des (Latin for "I give, so that you may give"). In common law, quid pro quo indicates that an item or a service has been traded in return for something of value, usually when the propriety or equity of the transaction is in question. A contract must involve consideration: that is, the exchange of something of value for something else of value.