plaintiff

C2+ Topic:Law & Government

Also spelled planitiff

US /ˈpleɪntɪf/ UK /ˈpleɪntɪf/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a person who brings a legal action against another in a court of law

The plaintiff sought damages for the company's negligence.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who brings a legal... claimantcomplainantaccuser litigant petitioner prosecutor suitor

Opposites

defendant respondent

Word family

Related forms plaint plaintive complaint

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman pleintif ('complaining'), from Old French plaintif, from plainte ('complaint'), from Latin planctus ('lamentation'), from plangere ('to beat, lament'). The legal sense developed in Anglo-Norman.

plaintif Old French planctus Latin plangere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Law & Government

# plaintiff

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈpleɪntɪf
**IPA (UK):** ˈpleɪntɪf

## Meanings
1. a person who brings a legal action against another in a court of law

## Examples
- The plaintiff sought damages for the company's negligence.

## Synonyms
- claimant
- complainant
- accuser
- litigant
- petitioner
- prosecutor
- suitor

## Antonyms
- defendant
- respondent

## Related Forms
- plaint
- plaintive
- complaint

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: plaintif
- Root: planctus
- Root: plangere

## Etymology
From Anglo-Norman pleintif ('complaining'), from Old French plaintif, from plainte ('complaint'), from Latin planctus ('lamentation'), from plangere ('to beat, lament'). The legal sense developed in Anglo-Norman.

## AI Etymology
Plaintiff is from Anglo-Norman pleintif ('complaining'), from Old French plaintif, from plainte ('complaint'), from Latin planctus ('lamentation'), from plangere ('to beat, lament'). The legal sense developed in Anglo-Norman. Important recorded forms include plaintif (Old French), planctus (Latin), and plangere (Latin). Morphologically, the ending or combining element turns the older base into the present English part of speech. The modern sense follows that older lexical line closely. In current use it covers a person who brings a legal action against another in a court of law. The wider family includes related words such as plaint, plaintive, and complaint.

## Topics
- Law & Government

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plaintiff

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