plaintiff

[pleyn-tif]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR plaintiff ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Law.

a person who brings suit in a court (opposed to defendant).

Origin of plaintiff

1350–1400; Middle English plaintif complaining person, noun use of the adj.: plaintive

Related formsplain·tiff·ship, noun

Can be confusedplaintiff plaintive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for plaintiff

complainant, litigant, prosecutor, suer

Examples from the Web for plaintiff

Contemporary Examples of plaintiff

Other plaintiff companies include Stone River Management Co. and Dunstone Co. 9.
After Hobby Lobby, These 82 Corporations Could Drop Birth Control Coverage
Abby Haglage
June 30, 2014
United States District Judge Nanette Laughrey ruled for the plaintiff, awarding her $450,0000.
Why the Crisis in VA Hospitals Shames Our Country on Memorial Day
Jake Adelstein
May 26, 2014
“While there have been well-documented rumors and cases filed, he was sued and the plaintiff lost the lawsuit,” he said.
The NBA’s War With Donald Sterling Is Just Getting Started
Robert Silverman
April 29, 2014
A plaintiff who does not receive resolution must take the case to the UN Security Council.
Serbia and Croatia’s Competing Genocide Claims
Adam LeBor
March 11, 2014
One key argument made by the plaintiff was that current limits on contributions represent an absurd limitation on speech.
McCutcheon v. FEC: Big Money Fights Back at the Supreme Court
Ben Jacobs
October 9, 2013

Historical Examples of plaintiff

Rufus Choate represented the defendant and Daniel Webster the plaintiff.
The Age of Invention
Holland Thompson
The defendant in the present action was not the man whom he married to the plaintiff.
A Son of Hagar
Sir Hall Caine
Did the defendant knock the plaintiff down with malice prepense?
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;
Various
The celebrated radical barrister, Hesketh, was engaged for the plaintiff.
Barrington
Charles James Lever
Will these powerful considerations avail the plaintiff in error?
Opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States, at January Term, 1832, Delivered by Mr. Chief Justice Marshall in the Case of Samuel A. Worcester, Plaintiff in Error, versus the State of Georgia
John Marshall

British Dictionary definitions for plaintiff

plaintiff

noun

(formerly) a person who brings a civil action in a court of lawNow replaced by: claimant Compare defendant (def. 1)

Word Origin for plaintiff

C14: from legal French plaintif, from Old French plaintif (adj) complaining, from plainte plaint

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for plaintiff

c.1400, from Anglo-French pleintif (late 13c.), noun use of Old French plaintif "complaining; wretched, miserable," from plainte (see plaint). Identical with plaintive at first; the form that receded into legal usage retained the older -iff spelling.

plaintiff in Culture

plaintiff

The party that institutes a suit in a court. The person or entity the plaintiff sues is the defendant.