DEFINITION
noun
: a person who brings a legal action.
EXAMPLES
1. In the end, the jury found for the plaintiff, and ordered the company to pay a significant amount in damages.
2. “Together, Prince’s lawyers allege, these websites ‘constitute an interconnected network of bootleg distribution which is able to broadly disseminate unauthorised copies of Prince’s musical compositions and live performances.’ The plaintiffs cited shared bootlegs such as Prince’s 24 March 2011 performance in Charlotte, North Carolina….” — From an article by Sean Michaels at guardian.co.uk, January 27, 2014.
DID YOU KNOW?
We won’t complain about the origins of “plaintiff,” although “complain” and “plaintiff” are distantly related; both can be traced back to “plangere,” a Latin word meaning “to strike, beat one’s breast, or lament.” “Plaintiff” comes most immediately from Middle English “plaintif,” itself an Anglo-French borrowing tracing back to “plaint,” meaning “lamentation.” (The English word “plaintive” is also related.) Logically enough, “plaintiff” applies to the one who does the complaining in a legal case.
