plaintiff
Appearance
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English plaintif, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French plaintif (“complaining”; as a noun, “one who complains, a plaintiff”) from the verb plaindre. Doublet of plaintive.
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): /ˈpleɪntɪf/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -eɪntɪf
Noun
[edit]plaintiff (plural plaintiffs)
- (law, UK historical, otherwise current) A party bringing a suit in civil law against a defendant; accuser.
- Synonyms: actor, (English and Singapore law) claimant, complainant, litigant, (Scots law) pursuer
- Antonym: defendant
- Hypernyms: litigant, litigator
- Hyponyms: petitioner, suer
Usage notes
[edit]Plaintiff is used in civil law, and should not be confused with complainant, the alleged victim in a criminal prosecution (who is not a party to the legal proceeding).
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]party bringing a suit in civil law against a defendant
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Further reading
[edit]- “plaintiff”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “plaintiff”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- English terms derived from Old French
- English doublets
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/eɪntɪf
- Rhymes:English/eɪntɪf/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Law
- British English
- English terms with historical senses
- en:People