plaintiff

[pleyn-tif] /ˈpleɪn tɪf/
noun, Law.
1.
a person who brings suit in a court (opposed to defendant).
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English plaintif complaining person, noun use of the adj.: plaintive
Related forms
plaintiffship, noun
Can be confused
plaintiff, plaintive.
Examples from the web for plaintiff
  • For the plaintiff this has been a painful episode.
  • The plaintiff failed to make his case.
  • Nevada law only requires one plaintiff be identified at the time of filing a class action lawsuit, he said.
  • The plaintiff was not satisfied, so he cried fraud.
  • The lead plaintiff in a lawsuit, he was part of an identity theft ring.
  • The plaintiff is generally entitled to open the argument.
  • But the most important among them would be the lead plaintiff.
  • For a plaintiff to recover damages, this action or failure must be the "proximate cause" of an injury, and actual loss must occur.
  • The jury rendered a verdict for plaintiff for $2970 60.
  • The research firm's clients include plaintiff attorneys and auto suppliers.
British Dictionary definitions for plaintiff

plaintiff

/ˈpleɪntɪf/
noun
1.
(formerly) a person who brings a civil action in a court of law Now replaced by claimant Compare defendant (sense 1)
Word Origin
C14: from legal French plaintif, from Old French plaintif (adj) complaining, from plainteplaint
Word Origin and History for plaintiff
n.

c.1400, from Anglo-French pleintif (late 13c.), noun use of Old French plaintif "complaining; wretched, miserable," from plainte (see plaint). Identical with plaintive at first; the form that receded into legal usage retained the older -iff spelling.

plaintiff in Culture

plaintiff definition


The party that institutes a suit in a court. The person or entity the plaintiff sues is the defendant.