plea

[plee] /pli/
noun
1.
an appeal or entreaty:
a plea for mercy.
2.
something that is alleged, urged, or pleaded in defense or justification.
3.
an excuse; pretext:
He begged off on the plea that his car wasn't working.
4.
Law.
  1. an allegation made by, or on behalf of, a party to a legal suit, in support of his or her claim or defense.
  2. a defendant's answer to a legal declaration or charge.
  3. (in courts of equity) a plea that admits the truth of the declaration, but alleges special or new matter in avoidance.
  4. Obsolete. a suit or action.
Idioms
5.
cop a plea, Slang. cop1 (def 5b).
Origin
1175-1225; Middle English ple, earlier plaid < Old French < early Medieval Latin placitum law-court, suit, decision, decree, Latin: opinion (literally, that which is pleasing or agreeable), noun use of neuter of past participle of placēre to please
Can be confused
pleas, please.
Synonyms
1. request, petition, supplication, solicitation, suit. 3. justification.
Examples from the web for plea
  • Perry's suit is a request-a desperate plea-for a court to invent a rule.
  • The sage makes an eloquent plea in self-defense but is nonetheless found guilty and condemned to die.
  • Cooper rejected a plea bargain that called for a sentence of four to seven years.
  • Yet for over a decade he has languished in jail awaiting a response to his plea for mercy.
  • He resolutely denied her plea to have the picture removed.
  • Prosecutors declined to comment on the case or describe the details of his plea agreement.
  • plea bargaining provides another tool to extract evidence.
  • The guilty plea brings to a close a long chapter in hacker history.
  • But this is more a plea for wiser policymakers than a case against reducing rates.
  • It is the plea that someone should work on the future.
British Dictionary definitions for plea

plea

/pliː/
noun
1.
an earnest entreaty or request: a plea for help
2.
  1. (law) something alleged or pleaded by or on behalf of a party to legal proceedings in support of his claim or defence
  2. (criminal law) the answer made by an accused to the charge: a plea of guilty
  3. (in Scotland and formerly in England) a suit or action at law
3.
an excuse, justification, or pretext: he gave the plea of a previous engagement
Word Origin
C13: from Anglo-Norman plai, from Old French plaid lawsuit, from Medieval Latin placitum court order (literally: what is pleasing), from Latin placēre to please
Word Origin and History for plea
n.

early 13c., "lawsuit," from Anglo-French plai (late 12c.), Old French plait "lawsuit, decision, decree" (9c.), from Medieval Latin placitum "lawsuit," in classical Latin, "opinion, decree," literally "that which pleases, thing which is agreed upon," properly neuter past participle of placere (see please). Sense development seems to be from "something pleasant," to "something that pleases both sides," to "something that has been decided." Meaning "a pleading, an agreement in a suit" is attested from late 14c. Plea-bargaining is first attested 1963. Common pleas (early 13c.) originally were legal proceedings over which the Crown did not claim exclusive jurisdiction (as distinct from pleas of the Crown); later "actions brought by one subject against another."

Slang definitions & phrases for plea

plea

Related Terms

cop a plea


Idioms and Phrases with plea

plea

see: cop a plea