Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Cartel \Car*tel"\, n. [F., fr. LL. cartellus a little paper,
   dim. fr. L. charta. See 1st {Card}.]
   1. (Mil.) An agreement between belligerents for the exchange
      of prisoners. --Wilhelm.

   2. A letter of defiance or challenge; a challenge to single
      combat. [Obs.]

            He is cowed at the very idea of a cartel., --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.



   {Cartel}, or {Cartel ship}, a ship employed in the exchange
      of prisoners, or in carrying propositions to an enemy; a
      ship beating a flag of truce and privileged from capture.

Cartel \Car"tel\, v. t.
   To defy or challenge. [Obs.]

         You shall cartel him.                    --B. Jonson.

Source : WordNet®

cartel
     n : a consortium of independent organizations formed to limit
         competition by controlling the production and
         distribution of a product or service; "they set up the
         trust in the hope of gaining a monopoly" [syn: {trust}, {corporate
         trust}, {combine}]