suitor

[ soo-ter ]

/ ˈsu tər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR suitor ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a man who courts or woos a woman.

Law. a petitioner or plaintiff.

a person who sues or petitions for anything.

Informal. an individual who seeks to buy a business.

Nearby words

suite, suited, suiter, suiting, suitland-silver hill, suitor, suiyüan, suk, suka wena, sukarnapura, sukarno

Origin of suitor

1250–1300; Middle English s(e)utor, suitour < Anglo-French < Latin secūtor, equivalent to secū-, variant stem of sequī to follow + -tor -tor

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

Examples from the Web for suitor

I find both “admirer” and “suitor” to be presumptuous and one-sided.
What Should I Call the Man I Love?|Dushka Zapata|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When Cato still refused, the suitor then asked Cato for Cato's own wife.
Who Was the Real Cato?|David Frum|December 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Soni and Goodman attribute the complicated story to the shared Stoic philosophy of Cato and the suitor.
Who Was the Real Cato?|David Frum|December 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It was only from her suitor that I heard at last of her distress.
Her Mother's Secret|Emma D. E. N. Southworth

Poverty-stricken and dishonoured, Margaret Basset's son might not be so successful a suitor as the heir of Trevethlan.
Trevethlan: (Vol 2 of 3)|William Davy Watson
She made no reply, for the situation seemed as complex to her as to her suitor.
Pocket Island|Charles Clark Munn
Before the catastrophe, however, he was so repulsively ugly that no lady had ever been willing to receive him as a suitor.
The Hated Son|Honore de Balzac
He had forfeited the right of appearing before Zeus as a suitor; for indeed he was no longer such as he had been only yesterday.
A Thorny Path [Per Aspera], Complete|Georg Ebers

British Dictionary definitions for suitor

suitor

/ (ˈsuːtə, ˈsjuːt-) /

noun

a man who courts a woman; wooer

law a person who brings a suit in a court of law; plaintiff

rare a person who makes a request or appeal for anything

Word Origin for suitor

C13: from Anglo-Norman suter, from Latin secūtor follower, from sequī to follow

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