: a person who brings a legal action compare defendant
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We won't complain about the origins of plaintiff, although complain and plaintiff are distantly related; both can be traced back to plangere, a Latin word meaning "to strike, beat one's breast, or lament." Plaintiff comes most immediately from Middle English plaintif, itself an Anglo-French borrowing tracing back to plaint, meaning "lamentation." (The English word plaintive is also related.) Logically enough, plaintiff applies to the one who does the complaining in a legal case.
the judge ruled that the plaintiff's lawsuit was groundless, and he dismissed it
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Last week also saw the case that Combs and Jay-Z repeatedly raped a 13-year-old in 2000 dismissed by the Jane Doe plaintiff.—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 19 Feb. 2025 Our clients have taken this matter and these issues very seriously notwithstanding the jokes made publicly by the plaintiff and her husband.—Benjamin Vanhoose, People.com, 19 Feb. 2025 The plaintiffs are represented in part by GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR).—Samantha Riedel, Them, 19 Feb. 2025 Initially named as a plaintiff in a PFLAG lawsuit challenging the order, Chapman stepped back after deciding the exposure would be too stressful for the family.—Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for plaintiff
Word History
Etymology
Middle English plaintif, from Anglo-French, from pleintif, adjective
Middle French plaintif, from plaintif, adj., grieving, from plaint lamentation, from Latin planctus, from plangere to strike, beat one's breast, lament
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