Plead
/pliːd/noun
To make an earnest appeal or present a case formally in a court of law.
Did you know?The legal word “plea” comes from the same medieval French family as “plead,” while their deeper Latin ancestor, placēre, also produced words connected with pleasing, appeasing, and acceptance.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*plāk-
“To be agreeable or to make peace; the reconstructed root behind later words for pleasing and appeasing.”
Classical Latin
Latin
placēre
“To please, be agreeable, or be acceptable.”
Late Latin
Latin
placitum
“A judgment, decision, or something agreed upon; literally, what was pleasing or acceptable.”
Old French
Old French
plait
“A legal case, lawsuit, or argument presented before a court.”
12th–13th Century
Anglo-French
pleder
“To plead or argue a legal case.”
Middle English
English
pleden
“To argue a case, make a legal appeal, or earnestly entreat.”
Modern English
English
plead
“To appeal earnestly or present a case in court.”