treat

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
treat/triːt/

▶verb

• 1 behave towards or deal with in a certain way.

  ■ present or discuss (a subject).

• 2 give medical care or attention to.

• 3 apply a process or a substance to.

• 4 (treat someone to) provide someone with (food, drink, or entertainment) at one's expense.

  ■ (treat oneself) do or have something very pleasurable.

• 5 (usu. treat with) negotiate terms.

▶noun

• 1 a surprise gift, event, etc. that gives great pleasure.

• 2 (one's treat) an act of treating someone to something.

• 3 N. Amer. a sweet, biscuit, or other sweet item of food.

– phrases
—— a treat Brit. informal doing something specified very well: their tactics worked a treat.

■ (look a treat) look attractive.

– derivatives
treatable adjective,
treater noun.

– origin ME: from OFr. traitier, from L. tractare ‘handle’, frequentative of trahere ‘draw, pull’.