prosecution

C1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˌpɹɑ.sɪˈkju.ʃən/ UK /ˌpɹɒs.ɪˈkjuː.ʃən/ See IPA manual

Freq #5306

Meanings

1

noun
The process of charging and trying someone for a crime in court.

The evidence was strong enough to lead to a prosecution.
2

noun
The lawyers who argue against the accused person in a criminal trial.

The prosecution called its first witness on Monday morning.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the process of charging and... criminal prosecution

Word family

Forms prosecutions

Derived forms antiprosecutionnonprosecutionoverprosecutionprosecutional

Related forms persecution prosecute sequence

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

criminal prosecution
legal proceedings brought against someone accused of committing a crime

Adjective + noun

Etymology

Equivalent to prosecute + -ion, from Middle French prosecution, from Late Latin prōsecutio, from Latin prōsequor (“follow, pursue”), from pro- (“onward”) + sequor (“follow”) (English sequel). Compare persecution, and see more at prosecute.

*sekʷ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# prosecution

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌpɹɑ.sɪˈkju.ʃən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌpɹɒs.ɪˈkjuː.ʃən/
**Frequency rank:** 5306

## Meanings
1. The process of charging and trying someone for a crime in court.
2. The lawyers who argue against the accused person in a criminal trial.

## Examples
- The evidence was strong enough to lead to a prosecution.
- The prosecution called its first witness on Monday morning.

## Derived Forms
- antiprosecution
- nonprosecution
- overprosecution
- prosecutional

## Related Forms
- persecution
- prosecute
- sequence

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *sekʷ-

## Etymology
Equivalent to prosecute + -ion, from Middle French prosecution, from Late Latin prōsecutio, from Latin prōsequor (“follow, pursue”), from pro- (“onward”) + sequor (“follow”) (English sequel). Compare persecution, and see more at prosecute.

## AI Etymology
Prosecution is equivalent to prosecute + -ion, from Middle French prosecution, from Late Latin prōsecutio, from Latin prōsequor (“follow, pursue”), from pro- (“onward”) + sequor (“follow”) (English sequel). Compare persecution, and see more at prosecute. The historical chain includes *sekʷ- (Proto-Indo-European). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as antiprosecution, nonprosecution, overprosecution, and prosecutional and related forms such as persecution, prosecute, and sequence. In present use it covers the process of charging and trying someone for a crime in court and the lawyers who argue against the accused person in a criminal trial.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown