14 results for: Plea

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

plea

–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.

Law.

a.	an allegation made by, or on behalf of, a party to a legal suit, in support of his or her claim or defense.

b.	a defendant's answer to a legal declaration or charge.

c.	(in courts of equity) a plea that admits the truth of the declaration, but alleges special or new matter in avoidance.

d.	Obsolete. a suit or action.

—Idiom

5.	cop a plea, Slang. cop¹ (def. 5b).

[Origin: 1175–1225; ME ple, earlier plaid < OF < early ML placitum law-court, suit, decision, decree, L: opinion (lit., that which is pleasing or agreeable), n. use of neut. of ptp. of placére to please

]

—Synonyms 1. request, petition, supplication, solicitation, suit. 3. justification.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Plea

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

plea Audio Help (plē) Pronunciation Key
n.

An earnest request; an appeal: spoke out in a plea for greater tolerance.
An excuse; a pretext: "necessity,/The Tyrant's plea" (John Milton).
Law
1. An allegation offered in pleading a case.
2. A defendant's answer to the declaration made by the plaintiff in a civil action.
3. The answer of the accused to a criminal charge or indictment: entered a plea of not guilty.
4. A special answer depending on or demonstrating one or more reasons why a suit should be delayed, dismissed, or barred in equity law.
5. An action or suit.

[Middle English plai, lawsuit, from Old French plai, plaid, from Late Latin placitum, decree, from Latin, from neuter past participle of placēre, to please; see plāk-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
plea

c.1215, "lawsuit," from Anglo-Fr. plai (c.1170), O.Fr. plait "lawsuit, decision, decree" (842), from M.L. placitum "lawsuit," in classical L., "opinion, decree," lit. "that which pleases, thing which is agreed upon," properly neut. pp. 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 c.1381. Plea bargaining is first attested 1963. Common pleas (c.1215) 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."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

plea
noun
1.	a humble request for help from someone in authority [syn: supplication]
2.	(law) a defendant's answer by a factual matter (as distinguished from a demurrer)
3.	an answer indicating why a suit should be dismissed

American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

plea

see cop a plea.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
plea1 [pliː] noun

a prisoner's answer to a charge
Example: He made a plea of (not) guilty.

Arabic:	يَرُدُّ على تُهْمَه
Chinese (Simplified):	抗辩
Chinese (Traditional):	抗辯
Czech:	obhajoba
Danish:	påstand
Dutch:	pleidooi
Estonian:	kaitseväide
Finnish:	anomus
French:	défense
German:	die Antwort des Angeklagten
Greek:	απάντηση στο κατηγορητήριο
Hungarian:	védekezés
Icelandic:	svar stefnda við ákæru, málsvörn
Indonesian:	pernyataan
Italian:	richiesta, appello

Japanese:	申し立て
Korean:	?법률? 답변, 항변
Latvian:	(apsūdzētā) atbilde uz apsūdzību
Lithuanian:	pareiškimas, paaiškinimas
Norwegian:	påstand
Polish:	odpowiedź na zarzut
Portuguese (Brazil):	contestação, alegação
Portuguese (Portugal):	declaração
Romanian:	pledoarie
Russian:	заявление подсудимого
Slovak:	obhajoba
Slovenian:	zagovor
Spanish:	alegato, declaración
Swedish:	försvar, svaromål
Turkish:	savunma, beyan

plea2 [pliː] noun

an urgent request
Example: The hospital sent out a plea for blood-donors.

Arabic:	طَلَب مُسْتَعْجَل، إسْتِغاثَه
Chinese (Simplified):	恳求
Chinese (Traditional):	懇求
Czech:	naléhavá žádost
Danish:	appel; anmodning
Dutch:	dringend verzoek
Estonian:	palve
Finnish:	vetoomus
French:	appel urgent (à)
German:	dringende Bitte
Greek:	έκκληση
Hungarian:	kérelem
Icelandic:	beiðni, tilmæli
Indonesian:	imbauan
Italian:	richiesta, appello

Japanese:	嘆願
Korean:	간청, 탄원
Latvian:	lūgums; aicinājums
Lithuanian:	prašymas
Norwegian:	bønn, appell
Polish:	apel
Portuguese (Brazil):	apelo
Portuguese (Portugal):	apelo
Romanian:	cerere (urgentă)
Russian:	просьба, призыв
Slovak:	naliehavá žiadosť
Slovenian:	prošnja
Spanish:	petición urgente
Swedish:	vädjan
Turkish:	âcil yardım çağrısı

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: plea
Pronunciation: 'plE
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French plei plai legal action, trial, from Old French plait plaid, from Medieval Latin placitum, from Latin, decision, decree, from neuter of placitus, past participle of placEre to please, be decided
1 a : an allegation of fact in civil litigation made in response to a claim —compare DEMURRER b : a defendant's answer to a plaintiff's claim in civil litigation
NOTE: Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and in states where they have been adopted, civil pleas are abolished, and answers and motions are used instead. Such pleas were used at common law.

dil·a·to·ry plea
/'di-l&-"tOr-E-/
: a common-law plea which is intended to defeat the pending action or proceeding without involving any decision on the merits of the case

plea in abatement
: a plea entered by a party seeking postponement or dismissal of an action by setting forth some matter or defect regarding procedure, jurisdiction, or timing called also plea of abatement

plea in bar
: a plea that alleges the existence of an absolute bar (as a statute of limitations) to an action

plea of abatement
: PLEA IN ABATEMENT in this entry
2 a : an accused party's answer to a criminal charge or indictment b : a plea of guilty
3 : an earnest entreaty

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Plea

Plac"it\, n. [L. placitum. See Plea.] A decree or determination; a dictum. [Obs.] "The placits and opinions of other philosophers." --Evelyn.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Plea

Plea\, n. [OE. plee, plai, plait, fr. OF. plait, plaid, plet, LL. placitum judgment, decision, assembly, court, fr. L. placitum that which is pleasing, an opinion, sentiment, from placere to please. See Please, and cf. Placit, Plead.]

1. (Law) That which is alleged by a party in support of his cause; in a stricter sense, an allegation of fact in a cause, as distinguished from a demurrer; in a still more limited sense, and in modern practice, the defendant's answer to the plaintiff's declaration and demand. That which the plaintiff alleges in his declaration is answered and repelled or justified by the defendant's plea. In chancery practice, a plea is a special answer showing or relying upon one or more things as a cause why the suit should be either dismissed, delayed, or barred. In criminal practice, the plea is the defendant's formal answer to the indictment or information presented against him.

2. (Law) A cause in court; a lawsuit; as, the Court of Common Pleas. See under Common.

The Supreme Judicial Court shall have cognizance of pleas real, personal, and mixed. --Laws of Massachusetts.

3. That which is alleged or pleaded, in defense or in justification; an excuse; an apology. "Necessity, the tyrant's plea." --Milton.

No plea must serve; 't is cruelty to spare. --Denham.

4. An urgent prayer or entreaty.

Pleas of the crown (Eng. Law), criminal actions.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Plea

Plead\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pleaded (colloq. Pleador Pled); p. pr. & vb. n. Pleading.] [OE. pleden, plaiden, OF. plaidier, F. plaider, fr. LL. placitare, fr. placitum. See Plea.]

1. To argue in support of a claim, or in defense against the claim of another; to urge reasons for or against a thing; to attempt to persuade one by argument or supplication; to speak by way of persuasion; as, to plead for the life of a criminal; to plead with a judge or with a father.

O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor! --Job xvi. 21.

2. (Law) To present an answer, by allegation of fact, to the declaration of a plaintiff; to deny the plaintiff's declaration and demand, or to allege facts which show that ought not to recover in the suit; in a less strict sense, to make an allegation of fact in a cause; to carry on the allegations of the respective parties in a cause; to carry on a suit or plea. --Blackstone. Burrill. Stephen.

3. To contend; to struggle. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Plea

Please\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pleased; p. pr. & vb. n. Pleasing.] [OE. plesen, OF. plaisir, fr. L. placere, akin to placare to reconcile. Cf. Complacent, Placable, Placid, Plea, Plead, Pleasure.]

1. To give pleasure to; to excite agreeable sensations or emotions in; to make glad; to gratify; to content; to satisfy.

I pray to God that it may plesen you. --Chaucer.

What next I bring shall please thee, be assured. --Milton.

2. To have or take pleasure in; hence, to choose; to wish; to desire; to will.

Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he. --Ps. cxxxv. 6.

A man doing as he wills, and doing as he pleases, are the same things in common speech. --J. Edwards.

3. To be the will or pleasure of; to seem good to; -- used impersonally. "It pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell." --Col. i. 19.

To-morrow, may it please you. --Shak.

To be pleased in or with, to have complacency in; to take pleasure in.

To be pleased to do a thing, to take pleasure in doing it; to have the will to do it; to think proper to do it. --Dryden.

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PLEA

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