โจทก์

Thai

Alternative forms

• (obsolete) โจท (jòot)
• (obsolete) โจทย์ (jòot)

 

Etymology

From Pali codaka (“crier”); ultimately from Sanskrit चोदक (codaka, idem). Cognate with Khmer ចោទ (caot), ចោទកៈ (caotĕəʼkaʼ), ចោទក៍ (chaôtk៍).

Pronunciation

Orthographic		โจทก์ o t͡ɕ d k ʻ
Phonemic		โจด o t͡ɕ ɗ
Romanization	Paiboon	jòot
	Royal Institute	chot
(standard) IPA(key)		/t͡ɕoːt̚˨˩/(R)
Homophones edit		โจท โจทย์ โจษ

Noun

โจทก์ • (jòot) (classifier คน or ราย)

1. (civil procedure) plaintiff.
2. (criminal procedure) prosecutor; prosecuting party.

Usage notes

• In the Thai criminal procedure law, a person who prosecutes a criminal can be a public officer, as a responsible prosecuting attorney or police officer, or a private citizen, as the victim. So, the present term refers to a prosecutor (one who prosecutes), not a prosecutor (prosecuting attorney). A prosecuting attorney is called อัยการ (ai-yá-gaan).
• In the Thai legal system, the term is only used in the courts of justice. In the administrative courts, an instituting party is called ผู้ฟ้องคดี (pûu-fɔ́ɔng-ká-dii). In the Constitutional Court, such a party is known as ผู้ร้อง (pûu-rɔ́ɔng).

Antonyms

• จำเลย (jam-ləəi, “defendant”)