plea

C1 Topic:Register & Style

US /pliː/ See IPA manual

Freq #6293

Meanings

1

noun
An urgent, emotional request for help.

Her plea for forgiveness moved everyone in the room.
2

noun
(law) A defendant's formal answer in court, stating whether they are guilty.

He entered a plea of not guilty.
3

noun
An excuse or reason given to justify something.

He stayed home on the plea of feeling unwell.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an urgent, emotional... supplication

More plaidoyer

Word family

Forms pleas

Derived forms counterpleainterpleaplea-bargain

Related forms plead pleasant please pleasurable pleasure

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

plea bargain
an agreement in which a defendant pleads guilty in exchange for a reduced charge or concession

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English ple, from Old French plait, plaid, from Medieval Latin placitum (“a decree, sentence, suit, plea, etc., Latin an opinion, determination, prescription, order; literally, that which is pleasing, pleasure”), neuter of placitus, past participle of placere (“to please”). Cognate with Spanish pleito (“lawsuit, suit”). Doublet of placit. See also please, pleasure.

ple Middle English plait Old French placitum la-med

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Topics

External links

# plea

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /pliː/
**Frequency rank:** 6293

## Meanings
1. An urgent, emotional request for help.
2. (law) A defendant's formal answer in court, stating whether they are guilty.
3. An excuse or reason given to justify something.

## Examples
- Her plea for forgiveness moved everyone in the room.
- He entered a plea of not guilty.
- He stayed home on the plea of feeling unwell.

## Synonyms
- plaidoyer

## Derived Forms
- counterplea
- interplea
- plea-bargain

## Related Forms
- plead
- pleasant
- please
- pleasurable
- pleasure

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ple
- Root: plait
- Root: placitum

## Etymology
From Middle English ple, from Old French plait, plaid, from Medieval Latin placitum (“a decree, sentence, suit, plea, etc., Latin an opinion, determination, prescription, order; literally, that which is pleasing, pleasure”), neuter of placitus, past participle of placere (“to please”). Cognate with Spanish pleito (“lawsuit, suit”). Doublet of placit. See also please, pleasure.

## AI Etymology
Plea comes from Middle English ple, from Old French plait, plaid, from Medieval Latin placitum (“a decree, sentence, suit, plea, etc., Latin an opinion, determination, prescription, order; literally, that which is pleasing, pleasure”), neuter of placitus, past participle of placere (“to please”). Cognate with Spanish pleito (“lawsuit, suit”). Doublet of placit. See also please, pleasure. The historical chain includes ple (Middle English), plait (Old French), and placitum (Medieval Latin). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as counterplea, interplea, and plea-bargain and related forms such as plead, pleasant, and please. In present use it covers an urgent, emotional request for help, (law) A defendant's formal answer in court, stating whether they are guilty, and an excuse or reason given to justify something.

## Topics
- Register & Style
- General Vocabulary

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