: 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
Recent Examples on the WebAccording to court filings submitted in the federal lawsuit over recent days, the plaintiffs’ lawyers either have already deposed or plan to depose every other senior department official with information about operations within the county jail system.—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2024 Jeffery Christian, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said he had been abused at two Illinois youth detention centers where he was held as a teenager.—Mitch Smith, New York Times, 6 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for plaintiff
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plaintiff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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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