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.

Idioms
5.
cop a plea, Slang. 1 (def 5b).
/pliː/
noun
1.
an earnest entreaty or request: a plea for help
2.

3.
an excuse, justification, or pretext: he gave the plea of a previous engagement
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.”

Related Terms

cop a plea
see: cop a plea

Read Also:

  • Plea-bargain

    [plee-bahr-gin] /ˈpliˌbɑr gɪn/ verb (used without object) 1. to engage in . verb (used with object) 2. to deal with or achieve by : to plea-bargain a reduced sentence. noun 3. the agreement arrived at as a result of .

  • Plea-bargaining

    [plee-bahr-gin] /ˈpliˌbɑr gɪn/ verb (used without object) 1. to engage in . verb (used with object) 2. to deal with or achieve by : to plea-bargain a reduced sentence. noun 3. the agreement arrived at as a result of . noun 1. an agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant whereby the defendant is allowed […]

  • Plead

    [pleed] /plid/ verb (used without object), pleaded or pled, pleading. 1. to appeal or entreat earnestly: to plead for time. 2. to use arguments or persuasions, as with a person, for or against something: She pleaded with him not to take the job. 3. to afford an argument or appeal: His youth pleads for him. […]

  • Pleach

    [pleech] /plitʃ/ verb (used with object) 1. to interweave (branches, vines, etc.), as for a hedge or arbor. 2. to make or renew (a hedge, arbor, etc.) by such interweaving. 3. to braid (hair). /pliːtʃ/ verb 1. (mainly Brit) to interlace the stems or boughs of (a tree or hedge) Also plash

  • Pleadable

    [plee-duh-buh l] /ˈpli də bəl/ adjective 1. capable of being pleaded, as a case in court.


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