charter

What do rock gods do when they travel? They charter their own plane, of course. Charter means you rent or lease a particular service or object. Anyone can charter something, though lesser mortals tend to limit themselves to buses.

Charter comes from the Latin charta, meaning "paper, card or map." As a noun, charter refers to a written document outlining — or mapping — the rights and obligations of a company or organization, or even, in older days, a town or entire colony. New York City was given a charter, for example, by the British monarch in the 17th century, guaranteeing it certain rights in exchange for goods and services. Today corporations still have charters governing their behavior.