Modus vivendi Modus vivendi Modus vivendi is a Latin phrase that means "mode of living" or “way of life”. It often is used to mean an arrangement or agreement that allows conflicting parties to coexist in peace. In science it is used to describe lifestyles. "Modus" means "mode", "way", "method", or "manner". "Vivendi" means "of living". The phrase is often used to describe informal and temporary arrangements in political affairs. For example, if two sides reach a "modus vivendi" regarding disputed territories, despite political, historical or cultural incompatibilities, an accommodation of their respective differences is established for the sake of contingency. In
Vivendi in its current form came into existence, following the sale of an 80% stake in the Vivendi Universal unit to General Electric to form NBC Universal (merging GE's NBC unit and Vivendi's Vivendi Universal unit) and the gradual recovery of the company from its disastrous over-expansion in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. The company announced that shareholders had approved the name change to "Vivendi". In August 2006, Vivendi signed a deal with Spiralfrog to distribute Vivendi's songs online in the United States and Canada. On 8 September, the company announced that Sierra Entertainment would be publishing the new