plaintiff
[ pleyn-tif ]
/ ˈpleɪn tɪf /
noun Law.
a person who brings suit in a court (opposed to defendant).
Origin of plaintiff
1350–1400; Middle English
plaintif complaining person, noun use of the adj.:
plaintive
OTHER WORDS FROM plaintiff
plain·tiff·ship, nounWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH plaintiff
plaintiff plaintiveWords nearby plaintiff
plainsman,
plainsong,
plainstones,
plaint,
plaintext,
plaintiff,
plaintive,
plainview,
plainville,
plaister,
plait
Example sentences from the Web for plaintiff
British Dictionary definitions for plaintiff
plaintiff
/ (ˈpleɪntɪf) /
noun
(formerly) a person who brings a civil action in a court of law
Now replaced by: claimant Compare defendant (def. 1)
Word Origin for plaintiff
C14: from legal French
plaintif, from Old French
plaintif (adj) complaining, from
plainte
plaint
Cultural definitions for plaintiff
plaintiff
The party that institutes a suit in a court. The person or entity the plaintiff sues is the defendant.