pleadv.

Brit.

/pliːd/, U.S.

/plid/

Inflections: Past tense and past participle pleaded, (chiefly Scottish and U.S.) pled;

Forms:

α. Middle English plaide, Middle English plaidi, Middle English playdi, Middle English pledde, Middle English pleidi, Middle English pleydy, Middle English plide, Middle English plod (transmission error), Middle English–1500s playde, Middle English–1600s pled, Middle English–1600s plede, 1500s pleed, 1500s–1600s pleade, 1500s– plead, 1800s– plade (English regional (Shropshire)); Scottish pre-1700 plaid, pre-1700 pleade, pre-1700 pled, pre-1700 pleed, pre-1700 pleid, pre-1700 pleyd, pre-1700 1700s– plead, pre-1700 1800s plede.

β. Middle English playty, Middle English pleatt, Middle English pleet, Middle English pleity, Middle English pleyte, Middle English–1500s pleete, Middle English–1500s plete, 1500s pleate; N.E.D. (1907) also records a form Middle English playte.

Also past tense and past participle.

α. Middle English pladd, Middle English pladde, Middle English pleyd, 1500s– pled, 1600s– plead, 1800s– plad (English regional); N.E.D. (1907) also records a form late Middle English pled.

β. early Middle English aplaited.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French plaider, pledeer.

Etymology: In α forms < Anglo-Norman plaider, plaidier, pleder, pledire, pledre, pleider, pleidier and Old French pledeer, pledier, Old French, Middle French plaidier, Middle French plaideer, plaider (French plaider ) (intransitive) to take part in a lawsuit (c1100), to argue, debate (late 12th cent.), to go to law, litigate (late 12th cent.), in Anglo-Norman also to plead with, beg, implore (a person) (end of the 12th cent. or earlier), also (transitive) to speak in court on behalf or in favour of (a person, a cause) (c1240 in Old French in a figurative use with the Virgin Mary as speaker and with cognate object), to go to law with, sue (a person) (mid 13th cent.), to maintain (a plea or cause) in a court of law (c1275 or earlier in Anglo-Norman) < Anglo-Norman pled , etc., Old French plaid , etc. plea n.; compare post-classical Latin placitare to hold pleas, to litigate (see placitatory adj.). With the β forms compare Anglo-Norman pleiter and Middle French (Walloon) plaitier (1386; < Anglo-Norman pleit , Middle French plait plea n.) and post-classical Latin plaitare (9th cent.; variant (with loss of intervocalic -c- ) of placitare : see above); perhaps compare also β forms of plea n. and the Romance etymons and cognates cited at that entry. Compare later plea v.In Middle English prefixed and unprefixed forms of the past participle are attested (see y- prefix). The acceptability of plead and pled as past tense and past participle forms has been questioned by commentators on usage; both forms have often been associated with legal usage. For a full discussion of this, with examples, see B. A. Garner Dict. Mod. Legal Usage (ed. 2, 1995) 667. In to plead not guilty at sense 7a after Anglo-Norman pleder de rien coupable (1344 or earlier; compare Law French plaider de rien coupable ): compare:1344 Year Bk. 18 Edw. III 4 Et quant a les bienz..il pleda de rien coupable. Sense 8 is apparently not paralleled in French until later (1690).

†1. intransitive. To contend in debate; to wrangle, argue with or against. Also transitive with it. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > controversy, dispute, argument > contend, dispute, argue [verb (intransitive)]

flitec900

witherc1000

disputea1225

pleadc1275

strive1320

arguec1374

tolyc1440

toilc1450

wrestlec1450

altercate1530

disagree1534

dissent1538

contend1539

controvert1563

wrangle?1570

contestate?1572

to fend and prove?1578

contest1603

vie1604

controverse1605

discept1639

ergot1653

digladiatea1656

misprove1662

spar1698

argufy1804

spat1809

to cross swords1816

argle1823

to bandy words1828

polemize1828

controversialize1841

caffle1851

polemicize1881

ergotize1883

argy-bargy1887

cag1919

snack1956

α.

c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) 184 We muȝe bet mid fayre worde..Plaidi [v.r. Playde] mid foȝe & mid riȝte.

c1300 St. James Great (Laud) 15 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 34 (MED) Godes desciple and þe feondes bi-gonne to playdi faste.

c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Katherine (Arun. 396) (1893) iv. 2281 (MED) This dilatacyon..occupieth ny al the newe testament, That men myght plod [v.r. plede] in hir, if þat hem lyst.

a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 199 Sen he ples with me to pleid, I sall him knawin mak hyne to Calis.

1557 Bible (Whittingham) Rom. ix. 20 Who art thou which playdest against God?

1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus ii. f. 23 Quhat than, gif thay of my craft with me pleid?

1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 9 Come..you that loue to pleade-it-out inuincibly at the barre of the dunghill, & will rather loose your liues, then the last word.

a1628 J. Carmichaell Coll. Prov. in Scots (1957) No. 1243 Pleid with your peirs, quo Parkie.

β. c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 154 Ich schal makye contekhede By-tuyce þyne and wyues sede, And moche to pleity.a1400 (?c1280) Nativity Mary & Christ (Stowe) (1975) 780 (MED) Þere seten wyse men of here lawe and pleteden of her rihte.a1425 in M. Day Wheatley MS (1921) 73 (MED) A Lord! with þee we woten not plete.a1450 York Plays (1885) 206 (MED) Agaynste resoune I will noȝt plete.a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 106 (MED) It is best that we trete; I lyst not to plete, To stand in thi dangere.1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job xvi. 21 Though a body might pleate with God, as one man doth with another.

2. Law.

a. intransitive. To address the court as an advocate on behalf of either party; to maintain or urge the claim, or state the case, of a party to a suit. Frequently with for, against.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] > plead as advocate

pleadc1300

to show lawc1390

postule1517

proposea1533

postulate1566

α.

c1300 St. Katherine (Harl.) 77 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S.-Eng. Legendary (1956) 536 (MED) Gret schame ich vnderstonde An emperour to siche aboute..After maistres to plaidi aȝen a ȝung wenche.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 2069 (MED) Ther was with him non advocat To make ple for his astat; Bot thogh him lacke forto plede, Him lacketh nothing of manhede.

?c1430 (c1383) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 24 (MED) Lordis fallen foule in ypocrisie..sendynge of men boþe of lawe and of armes & prikynge bi here owen persones for to plede.

1455 in J. T. Gilbert Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 288 (MED) No man of lawe schold pled befor Mayre and Baylyfys..bot gyf that the accyon pas xx s.

a1500 in R. L. Greene Early Eng. Carols (1935) 262 In Westmynster Hall the criers call; The sergeauntes plede apace.

1581 R. Mulcaster Positions xxxix. 204 The first and chiefe..in law among lawyers though he do not pleade.

1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. ix. sig. V2^v And with him..came Many graue persons, that against her pled .

1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvi. 145 Sentences..to be taken by them that plead, for Lawes in that particular case.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 397 Let others better mold the running Mass Of Mettals..Plead better at the Bar.

1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 407. ¶5 There was a Councellor who never pleaded without a Piece of Pack-thread in his Hand.

1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xvi. 540 He had pleaded with distinction in the tribunals of Rome.

1797 W. Godwin Enquirer ii. v. 225 He will plead for the plaintiff today.

1891 W. Whitman Compl. Poetry & Prose 15 Let the lawyer plead in the court, and the judge expound the law.

1931 J. Gavorse Suetonius' Lives Twelve Caesars Introd. p. xii The court of the centumviri, where I was to plead, admits of no adjournment.

1982 Medico-Legal Jrnl. 50 10 Leaving his Counsel to do what we call ‘The weeps’, i.e. to plead in mitigation of sentence.

β. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 201 (MED) He pletede [L. peroraret] to fore a iuge and hadde þe maistrie.c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. vii. 39 Men of lawe..þat pleteden for Mede.1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. (1482) ccxxxii. 248 It was ordeyned that men of lawe fro that tyme forth shold plete in hir moder tonge.1502 tr. Ordynarye of Crysten Men (de Worde) iii. iii. sig. Q.iii He pleated by thre yeres in the..grete assyse in the Cyte of Bourgeys.

b. transitive. To maintain (a plea or cause) by argument in a court of law. Also in figurative context.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > maintain by argument in court [verb (transitive)]

plead1429

plea1581

redargue1652

implead1658

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > maintain by argument in court [verb (transitive)] > bring forward as plea

allegec1300

plead1429

ledge?a1500

α.

1429 Acts Parl. Scotl. II. 19/1 In all causis that thai plede..he sal suere that..the cause is gude and lele that he sal pleid.

1482 Monk of Evesham 77 He was to many that pledyd her causis of god consciens a vyolent oppressur.

1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Oi^v They thinke it most mete, that euery man shuld pleade his owne matter, & tell the same tale before the iudge, that he would tel to his man of lawe.

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccxxxv The Prince sent two of his counsellours..to playde the case.

c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxxiv. 121 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 99 Rise god, pleade thyne owne case.

1643 D. Cawdrey Good Man 27 A naturall man called out to publicke services, is ready to plead his owne private interests.

1675 H. Prideaux Lett. (1875) 36 Our law case is not yet ended; four advocates come down from D^rs Commons to plead it next term.

1723 J. Henley in J. Henley et al. tr. Pliny the Younger Epist. & Panegyrick iv. xxix. 205 He pleaded his own Cause in the Senate.

1777 W. Cameron in Sc. Paraphr. xvii. vi Plead the widow's cause.

1801 M. Edgeworth Prussian Vase in Moral Tales III. 28 Would to Heaven, my son could have..such a trial! And..that..I might plead his cause!

1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles iv. xiv. 147 Anxious his suit Lord Ronald pled.

1879 G. C. Harlan Eyesight i. 11 The lawyers have a saying that ‘the man who pleads his own case has a fool for a client’.

1903 E. K. Chambers Mediæval Stage I. iv. 79 The débat is a kind of poetical controversy put into the mouths of two types or two personified abstractions, each of which pleads the cause of its own superiority.

1929 R. S. Lynd & H. M. Lynd Middletown ii. x. 122 It is not intended here to take the conventional forms under which divorce cases are pled as anything more than very roughly suggesting.

1992 D. Pannick Advocates vii. 235 The advocate spends much of his working life as a cipher who is required to appear for anyone, pleading their case however reprehensible and hopeless, and professionally obliged not to give the court his opinions.

β. ?1463 R. Cutler in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 259 Ȝeluerton cam doun fro þe benche and plete þe mater.1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope ix They remytted the cause to be discuted or pleted before the Juge.1539 Bible (Great) Job xxiii. 3 O that I myght come before his seate, to pleate my cause before him.?1548 J. Bale Image Bothe Churches (new ed.) i. sig. Lvii^v It is Christes onlye offyce to receyue all complayntes, to pleate them, and to iudge them.

†3. Law.

a. transitive. To go to law with, to sue (a person). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > carry on or institute (an action) [verb (transitive)] > sue or institute action against

pleada1325

implead1387

follow1389

pursue1454

process1493

to put in suit1495

to call (a person) unto the law?a1513

sue1526

suit1560

prosecute1579

to fetch a person over the hips1587

trounce1638

law1647

prosecute1656

action1734

to fetch law of1832

court1847

chicane1865

actionize1871

run1891

α.

1431 in J. R. N. Macphail Highland Papers (1916) II. 167 Gyf ony wald vex thaim or pled thaim in the rychtis of the saide landis.

c1450 (c1405) Mum & Sothsegger (BL Add. 41666) (1936) 1582 (MED) Hit wol not gayne a goky a grete man forto plede.

c1600 in Balfour's Practicks (1754) 199 Gif ony man be pleidit and persewit for ony land or tenement.

β. a1325 Statutes of Realm (2011) vii. 49 Ant ȝif ani be aplaited bifore iustises, ant pute forth excepcion, ant bisechez þat te iustises him þat alowen, wuche heo nellez noȝt alowen, [etc.].a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1969) Isa. lviii. 3 Alle ȝoure detouris ȝee pleten [a1425 L.V. axen; L. repetitis]; lo to plees & to stryues ȝee fasten.a1400 in K. W. Engeroff Untersuchung ‘Usages of Winchester’ (1914) 86 Ȝif he is ypleted [Fr. enpleide] by wryt of plee of londe, so may he habbe, Ȝif he wele, þre folwande somaunces.1433 in A. T. Bannister Reg. Thome Spofford (1919) 154 (MED) Ther schuld no man pleet another.c1503 tr. Charter of London in R. Arnold Chron. f. v^v/1 We haue graunted to our citezens of london that none of them pleete [printed pletee] othor wythout the wallis of London.

b. intransitive. To raise or prosecute a suit or action; to go to law, litigate. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > go to law or litigate [verb (intransitive)]

pursue1389

suea1422

pleada1425

proceed1425

pleac1450

to wage one's (or the) law1455

to go to (the) law?a1513

to put at ——1534

to prosecute the law against (also upon)1535

law?a1550

to follow a suit1571

prosecute1611

to go to suit1690

litigate1726

α.

1442 Rolls of Parl. V. 45/1 The Kyng..made the said William..able to purchace Londes..and also plede and be empleded.

1467–8 Rolls of Parl. V. 624/2 That she also be able to plide and to be impleded in eny of the Kynges Courtes.

1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng xi. f. 13 Shall nat plede nor be impleded of their tenementes.

β. a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) ii. 1468 False Poliphete Is now aboute eftsones for to plete, And brynge on yow advocacies newe.a1425 (?c1384) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 348 (MED) Þei moven londis to bateilis and pesible persones to plete.a1500 Story of Alexander 281 He..sawe two men of þe same towne bifore a iuge pletyng.a1500 Merchant & Son 42 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1864) I. 135 Thou schalt be pletyd with, when y am gon.c1503 tr. Charter of London in R. Arnold Chron. f. xxxiiij/2 Ye shal not pleete w^t noo freman of the Cite w^tout the cite.1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes ii, in Wks. 184/1 Rather than thei shoulde pleate and striue in the law before the infidels.1563 R. Reynolds Foundacion of Rhetorike f. 61^v The malifactour hath no excuse,..the accuser by juste Lawe pleateth, when the law is thereby supported and saved.

a. intransitive. gen. To make an earnest appeal, entreaty, or supplication; to beg, implore. Frequently with against, for, or with. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > request > make a request [verb (intransitive)] > beseech or implore

beseech?c1225

praya1250

plead1340

pursuec1390

implore?a1513

perplead1581

entreat1593

beg1598

oratec1600

contest1607

deprecate1626

imprecatea1645

obtest1650

prig1700

special-plead1814

plea1868

α.

c1390 Castle of Love (Vernon) (1967) 1026 (MED) Hou wolde God plede for vs?

1586 in W. A. Craigie Maitland Quarto MS (1920) lxxxv. 2 If Sapho..Did pleid for prais & place amangs the nyne [etc.].

1624 F. Quarles Iob Militant xi. 60 Let me, a while, with my Accusers plead [rhyme dead].

1640 Whole Bk. Psalmes: ‘Bay Psalm Bk.’ **1 The objections made against this doe most of them plead against joyning to sing in heart as well as in voyce.

1662 R. Neile in J. Cosin Corr. 4 Mar. (1872) II. App. 313 My Lord hath been..plead with for something for him to keepe him here.

1721 A. Ramsay Content 374 My mind, indulgent, in their favour pled.

1757 J. Home Douglas iii We search'd his clothes, And found these jewels, whose rich value plead Most powerfully against him.

1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc iii. 508 Such a look..As shall one day, with damning eloquence, Against the oppressor plead!

1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. i. x. 88 Do not scorn to plead for me.

1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xii. 158 All Roger's services could not plead against this ill-timed tenderness to a foe.

1882 J. H. Blunt Reformation Church of Eng. II. 197 It does not appear that any one pleaded for his pardon except himself.

1932 ‘J. Aston’ They winter Abroad xii. 192 The shades of Rugby and Caius, or wherever it was that he had been bred to be a Hawk, pled against him mutely.

1941 E. R. Eddison Fish Dinner vii. 103 Should a been unlorded long since,..but the Vicar pled for him.

1964 C. Chaplin My Autobiogr. Prelude, 4 Although I pleaded with her to let me stay, she insisted on my going.

1987 C. Phillips European Tribe xiii. 114 His life was saved by an old woman who pleaded tearfully with the three KGB men.

2003 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 20 Apr. b11/5 They pleaded with their commanders to give them some action.

β. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 99 Þus beginþ þet pater noster..Loke hou oure guode spekeman..Iesu crist..þe tekþ wel to playty and wyslyche and sotilliche an ssortliche to speke.a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 114 Medefulli plete wiþ men.c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 9596 Deffibus..Pletid vnto Paris with a pore voise, Whether the Duke were od dede.

†b. transitive. To beg or entreat for (a favour, mercy, pity, etc.). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > request > request or ask for [verb (transitive)]

yearnOE

bid971

seek971

askOE

beseechc1175

banc1275

yerec1275

cravec1300

desirec1330

impetrec1374

praya1382

nurnc1400

pleadc1400

require1400

fraynec1430

proke1440

requisitea1475

wishc1515

supply1546

request1549

implore?c1550

to speak for ——1560

entreat1565

impetratec1565

obtest?1577

solicit1595

invoke1617

mendicate1618

petition1621

imprecate1636

conjurea1704

speer1724

canvass1768

kick1792

I will thank you to do so-and-so1813

quest1897

to hit a person up for1917

α.

c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 1304 (MED) I schal kysse at your comaundement..fo [read so] plede hit no more.

1594 C. Marlowe & T. Nashe Dido i. ii That crave such favour..As poor distressed misery may plead.

1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 46. ¶6 The Misery of my Case, and great Numbers of such Sufferers, plead your Pity and speedy Relief.

1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey III. xiv. 177 If so, a cloak and vesture be my meed; 'Till his return, no title shall I plead.

1757 W. Wilkie Epigoniad ix. 270 Favor, your sex and innocence will plead, Ev'n with the worst.

β. c1500 New Notborune Mayd in E. Rimbault Anc. Poet. Tracts (1842) 35 Mercy I pleate.

†c. transitive. Scots Law. To petition for in a court of law. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > claim at law > [verb (transitive)]

betellc1275

suec1325

pursuea1382

demand1489

arraine (i.e. arrame) an assize1528

pleadc1650

c1650 J. Row & J. Row Hist. Kirk Scotl. (1842) 190 If a minister throw povertie be not able to plead his gleeb and manse, that the rest assist him by contributing till he evict it.

1811 T. Chalmers Let. in W. Hanna Mem. T. Chalmers (1850) I. 231 Had been apprized..that my augmentation was to be pled on the 18th.

†5. transitive. To argue or dispute upon in a court of law; to practise (the law). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > maintain by argument in court [verb (transitive)] > dispute upon in court

pleadc1390

α.

c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. Prol. 86 Seriauns..to seruen atte Barre; Pleden for pons and poundes þe lawe.

1587 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Iland Brit. (new ed.) ii. i. 138/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) I The canon law..which is dailie pleaded.

a1721 M. Prior Turtle & Sparrow in New Coll. Poems (1725) 15 She..could plead the Law, And quarrel for a Barley-Straw.

β. 1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes i, in Wks. 158/1 Thei..that longed to lerne the lawe. Not to plete it and for glory to dispute it, but to teche it agayne mekely.

6. Law.

a. intransitive. To put forward any allegation or formal statement forming part of the proceedings in an action at law. Also transitive: to allege (something) formally in the course of the pleadings; to put forward formally so as to make part of the proceedings. to plead over: to continue a case by responding normally to a pleading which has been judged to be defective. Cf. plea n. 4a.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)]

mootOE

to plead a cause1297

plead1429

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] > reply even though mistake has been made

to plead over1429

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > maintain by argument in court [verb (transitive)] > allege in course of pleadings

show?c1225

plead1429

α.

1429 Acts Parl. Scotl. II. 19/1 That advocatis & forspekaris in temperalle courtis pledande and alsua the partiis at thai pleid for [etc.].

1444 Rolls of Parl. V. 112/1 Aftur that the Tenauntz or Defendauntes in suche Suytes have pledet to an issue..the seid Tenauntz or Defendauntz often tymes imaginen and pleden forein and fals Plees..yef any person or persons, Tenaunt or Defendaunt in any action..aftur that they have pleded to an issue in eny Suyte or Action, and thissue joyned and entred of record..yat yef thei or eny of yeym aftur at another day in Court plede eny forein Plee, triable in any other Shire yen where the Writte is brought..and the Defendauntz or Pleintifs in suche forein Plees plede to issue, that suche issue in suche forein Plee be tried where the Writte is brought.

a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1905) i. 120 A Charter of Stephyn Agothe, I-pleyd in the kyngis Courte, for a tenemente in Irelandes lane.

1491 Act 7 Hen. VII c. 2 §1 Courtes where the seid proteccions shalbe pleded or leyed for any of the seid persons in all plees, plees of Dowre..except.

1564 in D. H. Fleming Reg. Christian Congregation St. Andrews (1889) I. 210 The said Jonat and I beand befoir your wysdomis pledand in the said caus.

1658 H. Grimston tr. G. Croke Reports II. 651 His Plea in bar is not answered, when he doth not rely upon it, but pleads over in bar.

1691 H. Consett Pract. Spiritual Courts (1700) 107 A Term-Probatory is said to be that time or delay, which was given to the Plaintiff, wherein he might prove what he Pleads.

1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. Introd. 76 All other private customs must be particularly pleaded.

1824 H. J. Stephen Treat. Princ. Pleading ii. 165 Faults in pleading are, in some cases, aided by pleading over.

1872 Wharton's Law Lexicon (ed. 5) 739/1 Plead over, to follow up an opponent's pleading by replying, etc., so overlooking some defect to which exception might have been taken.

1875 Judicature Act O. xxvii. r. 5 When any party has amended his pleading under rule 2 or 3 of this Order, the other party may apply..for leave to plead or amend his former pleading.

1891 Law Rep.: Queen's Bench Div. 1 630 The paragraph was properly pleaded and ought not to be struck out.

1932 L. B. Boudin Govt. by Judiciary I. 527 The lower court overruled this plea, and directed him to plead over.

1996 Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo) 28 Apr. 8/7 The Crown have not, in my judgement, either pleaded or established by evidence any misuse by the defendant of his position as a former member of the SIS.

β. 1520 Chron. Eng. vii. f. 83/1 That no letter nor commaundement that came from Rome shold be receyued nor pleted in Englande.

b. intransitive. To put forward a formal answer or objection on the part of the defendant to the plaintiff's bill. Cf. plea n. 4b.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] > answer plaintiff

pleada1471

a1471 Rolls of Parl. V. 396/1 Provided also that this Acte stop nat ne conclude the said Thomas and Richard..to aunswer or plede to eny matier abovesaid.

1477 Rolls of Parl. VI. 187/2 They may answere and plede to the action, or in abatement of the pleyntes.

1490–1 in J. T. Gilbert Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 371 To pledde to a quest in lyke wise in ther owne persones.

1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. vii. sig. Ee8^v The damzell was attacht, and shortly brought Vnto the barre, whereas she was arrayned: But she thereto nould plead, nor answere ought.

1659 T. Fuller Appeal Iniured Innocence i. 3 In our Common Law, Mutes at the Bar, who would not plead to the Indictment are Adjudged guilty.

1681 J. Dryden Spanish Fryar v. ii. 75 Queen, He will not hear me out! Tor. Was ever Criminal forbid to plead?

1727 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 299 The Assembly desired him to propound what he had to say against their being his judges... Then his two lawyers, Mr Grant and Mr Murray, pled upon that head.

1796 E. Burke Let. to Noble Lord in Wks. (1815) VIII. 8 I ought to be allowed a reasonable freedom,..and no culprit ought to plead in irons.

1824 H. J. Stephen Treat. Princ. Pleading i. 62 If the defendant does not demur, his only alternative method of defence is, to oppose or answer the declaration by matter of fact. In so doing he is said to plead.

1862 A. Trollope Orley Farm II. xviii. 138 To this accusation I will not plead.

1962 N. Mandela in Struggle is my Life (1978) ii. x. 125 Your Worship, before I plead to the charge, there are one or two points I would like to raise.

1997 J. Walsh 40 Martyrs 37 Jane Wiseman refused to plead, which led automatically to the death sentence; in her case death was to be by ‘pressing’.

c. transitive. To put forward as a formal answer, objection, or defence to a charge. to plead specially: to allege as a plea in abatement or in bar of an action (see plea n. 4c).

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] > enter specific plea

to plead specially1768

to plead the baby act1837

to read the baby act1899

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > maintain by argument in court [verb (transitive)] > bring forward as plea > as special plea

to plead specially1768

1530 St. German's Secunde Dyaloge Doctour & Student xlix. f. cxxvi Yf the defendaunt..in any accyon plede a ple that amountyth to the generall yssue.

1602 W. Fulbecke Parallele or Conf. Law i. 72 This ple he was enforced to pled by the court.

1642 tr. J. Perkins Profitable Bk. ii. §148. 66 If a man bring an Action of debt against me..and I plead against him acquittance.

1659 H. L'Estrange Alliance Divine Offices 22 St. Augustine plead it in bar to Celer's action of unkindnesse against him.

1681 Arraignm.,Tryal & Condemnation S. Colledge 16 You ought not to have helps to plead dilatories.

1756 D. Hume Hist. Eng. (1812) II. xxxvi. 286 The counsellors pleaded constraint as an excuse for their treason.

1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. xx. 305 Every defence which cannot thus be specially pleaded may be given in evidence upon the general issue at the trial.

1790 C. Durnford & E. H. East Rep. Cases King's Bench 3 693 If an executor may plead plene administravit and neglect to do so, I see no difference between such a case and one where he does so plead and the plea is found against him.

1808 W. Selwyn Abridgem. Law Nisi Prius II. xix. 708 An executor may plead the same plea in bar, that his testator might have pleaded.

1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth ix, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. III. 249 Ramorny, pale as death,..pled his knighthood, and demanded the privilege of dying by the sword.

1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. i. v. 30 It would be vain to plead..the king's command to do an unlawful act.

1875 Judicature Act O. xix. r. 15 No defendant in an action for the recovery of land who is in possession..need plead his title.

1933 R. C. Hutchinson Unforgotten Prisoner xii. 383 One can commit perjury and plead absence of mind.

1958 Argosy Sept. 118 Do you understand now that if you force me to shoot, I can plead self-defence?

1989 Lancet 22 Apr. 912/2 Diabetic patients who commit crimes while hypoglycaemic may be able to plead (non-insane) automatism.

7. Law.

a. intransitive. to plead not guilty: to enter a plea of not guilty. So to plead guilty: to enter a plea of guilty; (gen.) to admit responsibility for an action.to plead guilty appears later, and evidently arose in imitation of plead not guilty. Guilty is technically not a plea, but a confession. Blackstone Comm. IV. 324, 332, 399 never uses plead guilty, but writes of the prisoner confessing the fact.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] > plead guilty or not guilty

to plead not guilty1454

α.

1583 Sir T. Smith's De Republica Anglorum ii. xxiii. 78 If he [sc. the prisoner] pleade there not guiltie, the Clarke asketh him howe he will be tryed, and telleth him he must saie, by God and the Countrie, for these be the words formall of this triall after Inditement.

1660 Exact Accompt Trial Regicides 19 If you have any thing of Justification, plead Not guilty.

1681 Arraignm.,Tryal & Condemnation S. Colledge 6 Cl. of Cr. You must plead to the Court, Guilty or not Guilty.

1704 Boston News-let. 19 June 1/2 The said Quelch was brought to the Bar, being charged with Nine several Articles of Piracy and Murder whereupon he had been Arraigned and Pleaded, Not Guilty.

1724 ‘C. Johnson’ Gen. Hist. Pyrates iv. 79 All the Prisoners arraigned, pleaded Not Guilty.

1806 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 15 60 I may..be represented as discouraging experiments. To this I must, in some measure, plead guilty.

1827 J. Bentham Rationale Judicial Evid. II. iii. xv. 316 Where it happens to a prisoner to answer in the affirmative,—in appropriate language to plead guilty,—if he insists on it, the general understanding seems to be that he has a right to have such his plea recorded: in which case there is a necessary end of the trial, and the verdict follows of course.

1875 Judicature Act O. xix. r. 16 Nothing in these Rules contained shall affect the right of any defendant to plead not guilty by statute.

1892 ‘D. Donovan’ In Grip of Law 58 When called upon to plead, she pled not guilty in a firm clear voice.

1933 D. Thomas Let. Nov. (1987) 38 I plead guilty to bathos, but offer in excuse the fact that I copied out the poem as soon as I had written it.

1966 Dumfries. Standard 2 Feb. 1/3 Duncan Wright, of Greenholm, Lochmaben, who pled not guilty of resetting about 20 blackfaced ewes, and two lambs stolen from John M^cConnell's farm at Dunscore.

1994 I. Botham My Autobiogr. xiv. 277 As he was in the toilet at the time the incident happened, there was no way he should accept the charges, let alone plead guilty.

β. 1454 Rolls of Parl. V. 239/2 In that Court..the seid Thomas wilfully appered, and..to the said Bille and Action aunswered and pleted not gylty.

b. transitive. To enter a plea on behalf of (a person). Chiefly in to plead (a person) guilty, to plead (a person) not guilty. Also reflexive. Now chiefly U.S.

ΚΠ

1838 R. Southey Wat Tyler iii. 64 John Ball: I plead me guilty. Sir John Tr.: It is against the custom of this court That the prisoner should plead guilty.

1925 Northeastern Reporter 148 363 Mr. Costello at this time, your honor, we plead the defendant guilty..to general homicide.

1976 ‘B. Shelby’ Great Pebble Affair 65 My lawyer..pleaded me guilty.

1988 Newsday 11 Dec. 9/2 Sarosi has pleaded himself guilty of arranging an unlawful adoption.

c. intransitive. colloquial. Short for to plead guilty at sense 7a.

ΚΠ

1959 Earl Jowitt & C. Walsh Dict. Eng. Law II. 1352/1 The word ‘plead’ is used colloquially to mean plead guilty.

1963 ‘J. Prescot’ Case for Hearing viii. 119 I'll stake my pension on a conviction. In fact, if the lad's any sense he'll hold up his hand and plead.

1970 P. Laurie Scotl. Yard vi. 137 Said he'd plead, then when he got in the box he gave you a grin and said, ‘Not guilty’.

1996 A. Devlin Prison Patter 88/2 The use of ‘plead’ within the official criminal justice process..is usually taken to mean ‘plead guilty’ unless expressly stated otherwise.

8. transitive. gen. To allege or urge in defence, apology, or excuse, or as extenuating an offence.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > maintain by argument in court [verb (transitive)] > bring forward as plea > in defence or mitigation

plead1588

1588 Haddington Burgh Rec. 7 Mar. in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Plede Quhairby na persoun sall plead ignorance of the samein act.

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. xviii. xxvii. 593 Thou shouldest not either plead ignorance, or neglect the same.

1621 T. W. tr. S. Goulart Wise Vieillard 101 Old age is miserable, that can plead nothing else for Antiquitie, but the wrinckles of the face and the white haires.

1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 833 If weakness may excuse, What Murtherer,..Incestuous, Sacrilegious, but may plead it?

1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 12 And have, at least, Their Precedent to plead.

1733 G. Berkeley Theory of Vision §33. 29 If I am mistaken, I can plead neither Haste nor Inattention.

1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. ii. 73 Those people..plead religious principles for the form of their attire.

1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. I. 256 I can only plead my inexperience in this branch of literature.

1861 T. A. Trollope La Beata II. xv. 148 He was fain to plead the standing excuse of a bad headache.

1880 S. C. Buxton Hand-bk. Polit. Quest. 43 That literate voters are induced to plead illiteracy so that the briber may know which way they vote.

1938 Amer. Home Oct. 107/1 The best way to make a mark is to ‘girdle’ the tree completely around, somewhere near eye-level. Then no witless axman can plead that he ‘thought all the time that the mark was on the other side’.

1952 M. Laski Village xiii. 187 ‘I'm really sorry,’ pleaded Margaret contritely.

1988 D. M. Thomas Memories & Hallucinations v. 41 I had to write to various institutions in America, cancelling my readings, pleading illness.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	plead
释义	† pleadn. Forms: late Middle English plede, 1500s plead, 1500s pleade; Scottish pre-1700 plaid, pre-1700 plead, pre-1700 pled, pre-1700 plede, pre-1700 pleid, pre-1700 pleide, pre-1700 pleyd, pre-1700 plyde. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: plead v. Etymology: < plead v. Compare earlier plea n. Chiefly Scottish. Obsolete. 1. Dispute, controversy; a quarrel; (Law) a suit or action at law. to hold plead: to hold a court, assembly, etc.; to try an action at law. Cf. plea n. 2, 4. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > controversy, dispute, argument > [noun] > instance of flitec1000 plead1379 traverse1415 controversyc1430 disputation1557 tilt1567 wrangle1579 controverse1596 velitation1607 dispute1611 rixation1623 polemic1626 fireball1638 polemy1642 risse1684 polemical1808 spar1836 row1879 set-to1898 cag1916 barge1934 yike1976 stand-up2005 1379–80 in J. Slater Early Scots Texts (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Edinb.) (1952) No. 2 Nowthir I no myn ayres..may..aganis thaim questioun or plede moue in tyme to cum. 1437 MS Rec. Aberdeen IV. 100 Apoun the plede amovit betuix thaim. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) xi. l. 104 He..maid Stewart with hym to fall in pled. ?a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Sheep & Dog l. 1236 in Poems (1981) 50 And thair began the pleid. a1530 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Royal) viii. iv. 440 Quhare thar is in pleid [v.r. pley] twa men Askand the Crowne off a kynrike. 1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer iv. sig. Yy.i^v Bicause the pleade beetweene you may happen be to longe. 1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 149 I fand the loste from blis, Throuch Adamis sin and pleid. 1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 269 The matter..is in plead. 1616 Inverurie Burgh Court f. 201 That..nane..tack upon hand to hold court or pleid within this bruch till the new election of magistrattis. 2. Law. A pleading in law; an allegation, a claim. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > a lawsuit speechc897 mootc1225 pleadingc1275 pleac1300 actiona1325 quarrela1325 suit1348 pursuit1380 sokena1387 process1395 plead1455 pleament1480 suit in law1530 ployc1600 suit in equity1604 suit in chancery1621 lawsuit1624 instance1654 legal action1656 lis1932 society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > [noun] > a pleading or plea pleaa1393 plead1455 1455 Aberdeen Burgh Rec. 4 Sept. (MS. V.) i. 242 All pledis & caus at the marchandis may haue [at] the said maister to be sessit..quhil the maister be..payit. c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 195 To ask resoun and move plede before him..suld be small redress & bot ane vnprouffitable plede. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cccvij The foundation of your pleade is so fallen, y^t I nede not to answere thy protestation. 1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus iii. f. 50^v Quhairthrow we all was quite of Plutois pleid. 1643 in D. M. Hunter Court Bk. Barony & Regality of Falkirk & Callendar (1991) 79 And absolveis the said Walter from ane plyde persewit..againes him. 3. Discussion, debate, speech, harangue. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > [noun] mootingOE disputinga1225 mootc1225 sputingc1250 disputisounc1290 arguingc1385 sputisounc1390 debate1393 determinationc1400 luyte1477 disputation1489 dispicion?1510 argumenta1513 plead?a1513 traversing1524 dispicience1531 ruffle1532 debatement1536 argumentationa1538 debating1548 pro et contraa1554 canvassing1565 litigation1567 toil1597 discussion1598 tongue-work1598 agitation1600 canvass1611 fence1637 contestation1638 dispute1638 tongue-fence1643 actitation1661 a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 104 Thir birdis..Singing of lufe amang the levis small, Quhois ythand pleid ȝit maid my thocht is grene. a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 818 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 120 The barde held a gret pleid In ye hie hall. 1568 (a1500) Freiris Berwik 250 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 268 Ga fill þe stowp hald me no mair in pleid For I am verry tyrit wett and cauld. 1573 J. Davidson Breif Commendatioun Vprichtnes xl. 197 How he suld fend from furie and thair fead, Syne leaue this lyfe with list for all thair plaid. a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 494 Thus endit scho that first begouth that pleid. Compounds † plead house n. Obsolete = plea-house n. at plea n. Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > judicial body, assembly, or court > place where court is held > [noun] > courthouse doom-housec1000 speech-housec1050 tolsel1373 porcha1382 pleading house1440 courthouse1483 plead housec1485 pleading place1565 law-housea1610 county hall1670 judiciary1681 Palais de Justice1792 plea-house1818 doom-hall1870 c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 254 A plede yat is maid before a juge ordynare, jn a plede hous. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online December 2020). pleadv. Brit. /pliːd/, U.S. /plid/ Inflections: Past tense and past participle pleaded, (chiefly Scottish and U.S.) pled; Forms: α. Middle English plaide, Middle English plaidi, Middle English playdi, Middle English pledde, Middle English pleidi, Middle English pleydy, Middle English plide, Middle English plod (transmission error), Middle English–1500s playde, Middle English–1600s pled, Middle English–1600s plede, 1500s pleed, 1500s–1600s pleade, 1500s– plead, 1800s– plade (English regional (Shropshire)); Scottish pre-1700 plaid, pre-1700 pleade, pre-1700 pled, pre-1700 pleed, pre-1700 pleid, pre-1700 pleyd, pre-1700 1700s– plead, pre-1700 1800s plede. β. Middle English playty, Middle English pleatt, Middle English pleet, Middle English pleity, Middle English pleyte, Middle English–1500s pleete, Middle English–1500s plete, 1500s pleate; N.E.D. (1907) also records a form Middle English playte. Also past tense and past participle. α. Middle English pladd, Middle English pladde, Middle English pleyd, 1500s– pled, 1600s– plead, 1800s– plad (English regional); N.E.D. (1907) also records a form late Middle English pled. β. early Middle English aplaited. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French plaider, pledeer. Etymology: In α forms < Anglo-Norman plaider, plaidier, pleder, pledire, pledre, pleider, pleidier and Old French pledeer, pledier, Old French, Middle French plaidier, Middle French plaideer, plaider (French plaider ) (intransitive) to take part in a lawsuit (c1100), to argue, debate (late 12th cent.), to go to law, litigate (late 12th cent.), in Anglo-Norman also to plead with, beg, implore (a person) (end of the 12th cent. or earlier), also (transitive) to speak in court on behalf or in favour of (a person, a cause) (c1240 in Old French in a figurative use with the Virgin Mary as speaker and with cognate object), to go to law with, sue (a person) (mid 13th cent.), to maintain (a plea or cause) in a court of law (c1275 or earlier in Anglo-Norman) < Anglo-Norman pled , etc., Old French plaid , etc. plea n.; compare post-classical Latin placitare to hold pleas, to litigate (see placitatory adj.). With the β forms compare Anglo-Norman pleiter and Middle French (Walloon) plaitier (1386; < Anglo-Norman pleit , Middle French plait plea n.) and post-classical Latin plaitare (9th cent.; variant (with loss of intervocalic -c- ) of placitare : see above); perhaps compare also β forms of plea n. and the Romance etymons and cognates cited at that entry. Compare later plea v.In Middle English prefixed and unprefixed forms of the past participle are attested (see y- prefix). The acceptability of plead and pled as past tense and past participle forms has been questioned by commentators on usage; both forms have often been associated with legal usage. For a full discussion of this, with examples, see B. A. Garner Dict. Mod. Legal Usage (ed. 2, 1995) 667. In to plead not guilty at sense 7a after Anglo-Norman pleder de rien coupable (1344 or earlier; compare Law French plaider de rien coupable ): compare:1344 Year Bk. 18 Edw. III 4 Et quant a les bienz..il pleda de rien coupable. Sense 8 is apparently not paralleled in French until later (1690). †1. intransitive. To contend in debate; to wrangle, argue with or against. Also transitive with it. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > controversy, dispute, argument > contend, dispute, argue [verb (intransitive)] flitec900 witherc1000 disputea1225 pleadc1275 strive1320 arguec1374 tolyc1440 toilc1450 wrestlec1450 altercate1530 disagree1534 dissent1538 contend1539 controvert1563 wrangle?1570 contestate?1572 to fend and prove?1578 contest1603 vie1604 controverse1605 discept1639 ergot1653 digladiatea1656 misprove1662 spar1698 argufy1804 spat1809 to cross swords1816 argle1823 to bandy words1828 polemize1828 controversialize1841 caffle1851 polemicize1881 ergotize1883 argy-bargy1887 cag1919 snack1956 α. c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) 184 We muȝe bet mid fayre worde..Plaidi [v.r. Playde] mid foȝe & mid riȝte. c1300 St. James Great (Laud) 15 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 34 (MED) Godes desciple and þe feondes bi-gonne to playdi faste. c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Katherine (Arun. 396) (1893) iv. 2281 (MED) This dilatacyon..occupieth ny al the newe testament, That men myght plod [v.r. plede] in hir, if þat hem lyst. a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 199 Sen he ples with me to pleid, I sall him knawin mak hyne to Calis. 1557 Bible (Whittingham) Rom. ix. 20 Who art thou which playdest against God? 1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus ii. f. 23 Quhat than, gif thay of my craft with me pleid? 1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 9 Come..you that loue to pleade-it-out inuincibly at the barre of the dunghill, & will rather loose your liues, then the last word. a1628 J. Carmichaell Coll. Prov. in Scots (1957) No. 1243 Pleid with your peirs, quo Parkie. β. c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 154 Ich schal makye contekhede By-tuyce þyne and wyues sede, And moche to pleity.a1400 (?c1280) Nativity Mary & Christ (Stowe) (1975) 780 (MED) Þere seten wyse men of here lawe and pleteden of her rihte.a1425 in M. Day Wheatley MS (1921) 73 (MED) A Lord! with þee we woten not plete.a1450 York Plays (1885) 206 (MED) Agaynste resoune I will noȝt plete.a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 106 (MED) It is best that we trete; I lyst not to plete, To stand in thi dangere.1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job xvi. 21 Though a body might pleate with God, as one man doth with another. 2. Law. a. intransitive. To address the court as an advocate on behalf of either party; to maintain or urge the claim, or state the case, of a party to a suit. Frequently with for, against. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] > plead as advocate pleadc1300 to show lawc1390 postule1517 proposea1533 postulate1566 α. c1300 St. Katherine (Harl.) 77 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S.-Eng. Legendary (1956) 536 (MED) Gret schame ich vnderstonde An emperour to siche aboute..After maistres to plaidi aȝen a ȝung wenche. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 2069 (MED) Ther was with him non advocat To make ple for his astat; Bot thogh him lacke forto plede, Him lacketh nothing of manhede. ?c1430 (c1383) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 24 (MED) Lordis fallen foule in ypocrisie..sendynge of men boþe of lawe and of armes & prikynge bi here owen persones for to plede. 1455 in J. T. Gilbert Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 288 (MED) No man of lawe schold pled befor Mayre and Baylyfys..bot gyf that the accyon pas xx s. a1500 in R. L. Greene Early Eng. Carols (1935) 262 In Westmynster Hall the criers call; The sergeauntes plede apace. 1581 R. Mulcaster Positions xxxix. 204 The first and chiefe..in law among lawyers though he do not pleade. 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. ix. sig. V2^v And with him..came Many graue persons, that against her pled . View more context for this quotation 1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvi. 145 Sentences..to be taken by them that plead, for Lawes in that particular case. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 397 Let others better mold the running Mass Of Mettals..Plead better at the Bar. 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 407. ¶5 There was a Councellor who never pleaded without a Piece of Pack-thread in his Hand. 1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xvi. 540 He had pleaded with distinction in the tribunals of Rome. 1797 W. Godwin Enquirer ii. v. 225 He will plead for the plaintiff today. 1891 W. Whitman Compl. Poetry & Prose 15 Let the lawyer plead in the court, and the judge expound the law. 1931 J. Gavorse Suetonius' Lives Twelve Caesars Introd. p. xii The court of the centumviri, where I was to plead, admits of no adjournment. 1982 Medico-Legal Jrnl. 50 10 Leaving his Counsel to do what we call ‘The weeps’, i.e. to plead in mitigation of sentence. β. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 201 (MED) He pletede [L. peroraret] to fore a iuge and hadde þe maistrie.c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. vii. 39 Men of lawe..þat pleteden for Mede.1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. (1482) ccxxxii. 248 It was ordeyned that men of lawe fro that tyme forth shold plete in hir moder tonge.1502 tr. Ordynarye of Crysten Men (de Worde) iii. iii. sig. Q.iii He pleated by thre yeres in the..grete assyse in the Cyte of Bourgeys. b. transitive. To maintain (a plea or cause) by argument in a court of law. Also in figurative context. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > maintain by argument in court [verb (transitive)] plead1429 plea1581 redargue1652 implead1658 society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > maintain by argument in court [verb (transitive)] > bring forward as plea allegec1300 plead1429 ledge?a1500 α. 1429 Acts Parl. Scotl. II. 19/1 In all causis that thai plede..he sal suere that..the cause is gude and lele that he sal pleid. 1482 Monk of Evesham 77 He was to many that pledyd her causis of god consciens a vyolent oppressur. 1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Oi^v They thinke it most mete, that euery man shuld pleade his owne matter, & tell the same tale before the iudge, that he would tel to his man of lawe. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccxxxv The Prince sent two of his counsellours..to playde the case. c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxxiv. 121 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 99 Rise god, pleade thyne owne case. 1643 D. Cawdrey Good Man 27 A naturall man called out to publicke services, is ready to plead his owne private interests. 1675 H. Prideaux Lett. (1875) 36 Our law case is not yet ended; four advocates come down from D^rs Commons to plead it next term. 1723 J. Henley in J. Henley et al. tr. Pliny the Younger Epist. & Panegyrick iv. xxix. 205 He pleaded his own Cause in the Senate. 1777 W. Cameron in Sc. Paraphr. xvii. vi Plead the widow's cause. 1801 M. Edgeworth Prussian Vase in Moral Tales III. 28 Would to Heaven, my son could have..such a trial! And..that..I might plead his cause! 1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles iv. xiv. 147 Anxious his suit Lord Ronald pled. 1879 G. C. Harlan Eyesight i. 11 The lawyers have a saying that ‘the man who pleads his own case has a fool for a client’. 1903 E. K. Chambers Mediæval Stage I. iv. 79 The débat is a kind of poetical controversy put into the mouths of two types or two personified abstractions, each of which pleads the cause of its own superiority. 1929 R. S. Lynd & H. M. Lynd Middletown ii. x. 122 It is not intended here to take the conventional forms under which divorce cases are pled as anything more than very roughly suggesting. 1992 D. Pannick Advocates vii. 235 The advocate spends much of his working life as a cipher who is required to appear for anyone, pleading their case however reprehensible and hopeless, and professionally obliged not to give the court his opinions. β. ?1463 R. Cutler in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 259 Ȝeluerton cam doun fro þe benche and plete þe mater.1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope ix They remytted the cause to be discuted or pleted before the Juge.1539 Bible (Great) Job xxiii. 3 O that I myght come before his seate, to pleate my cause before him.?1548 J. Bale Image Bothe Churches (new ed.) i. sig. Lvii^v It is Christes onlye offyce to receyue all complayntes, to pleate them, and to iudge them. †3. Law. a. transitive. To go to law with, to sue (a person). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > carry on or institute (an action) [verb (transitive)] > sue or institute action against pleada1325 implead1387 follow1389 pursue1454 process1493 to put in suit1495 to call (a person) unto the law?a1513 sue1526 suit1560 prosecute1579 to fetch a person over the hips1587 trounce1638 law1647 prosecute1656 action1734 to fetch law of1832 court1847 chicane1865 actionize1871 run1891 α. 1431 in J. R. N. Macphail Highland Papers (1916) II. 167 Gyf ony wald vex thaim or pled thaim in the rychtis of the saide landis. c1450 (c1405) Mum & Sothsegger (BL Add. 41666) (1936) 1582 (MED) Hit wol not gayne a goky a grete man forto plede. c1600 in Balfour's Practicks (1754) 199 Gif ony man be pleidit and persewit for ony land or tenement. β. a1325 Statutes of Realm (2011) vii. 49 Ant ȝif ani be aplaited bifore iustises, ant pute forth excepcion, ant bisechez þat te iustises him þat alowen, wuche heo nellez noȝt alowen, [etc.].a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1969) Isa. lviii. 3 Alle ȝoure detouris ȝee pleten [a1425 L.V. axen; L. repetitis]; lo to plees & to stryues ȝee fasten.a1400 in K. W. Engeroff Untersuchung ‘Usages of Winchester’ (1914) 86 Ȝif he is ypleted [Fr. enpleide] by wryt of plee of londe, so may he habbe, Ȝif he wele, þre folwande somaunces.1433 in A. T. Bannister Reg. Thome Spofford (1919) 154 (MED) Ther schuld no man pleet another.c1503 tr. Charter of London in R. Arnold Chron. f. v^v/1 We haue graunted to our citezens of london that none of them pleete [printed pletee] othor wythout the wallis of London. b. intransitive. To raise or prosecute a suit or action; to go to law, litigate. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > go to law or litigate [verb (intransitive)] pursue1389 suea1422 pleada1425 proceed1425 pleac1450 to wage one's (or the) law1455 to go to (the) law?a1513 to put at ——1534 to prosecute the law against (also upon)1535 law?a1550 to follow a suit1571 prosecute1611 to go to suit1690 litigate1726 α. 1442 Rolls of Parl. V. 45/1 The Kyng..made the said William..able to purchace Londes..and also plede and be empleded. 1467–8 Rolls of Parl. V. 624/2 That she also be able to plide and to be impleded in eny of the Kynges Courtes. 1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng xi. f. 13 Shall nat plede nor be impleded of their tenementes. β. a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) ii. 1468 False Poliphete Is now aboute eftsones for to plete, And brynge on yow advocacies newe.a1425 (?c1384) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 348 (MED) Þei moven londis to bateilis and pesible persones to plete.a1500 Story of Alexander 281 He..sawe two men of þe same towne bifore a iuge pletyng.a1500 Merchant & Son 42 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1864) I. 135 Thou schalt be pletyd with, when y am gon.c1503 tr. Charter of London in R. Arnold Chron. f. xxxiiij/2 Ye shal not pleete w^t noo freman of the Cite w^tout the cite.1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes ii, in Wks. 184/1 Rather than thei shoulde pleate and striue in the law before the infidels.1563 R. Reynolds Foundacion of Rhetorike f. 61^v The malifactour hath no excuse,..the accuser by juste Lawe pleateth, when the law is thereby supported and saved. 4. a. intransitive. gen. To make an earnest appeal, entreaty, or supplication; to beg, implore. Frequently with against, for, or with. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > request > make a request [verb (intransitive)] > beseech or implore beseech?c1225 praya1250 plead1340 pursuec1390 implore?a1513 perplead1581 entreat1593 beg1598 oratec1600 contest1607 deprecate1626 imprecatea1645 obtest1650 prig1700 special-plead1814 plea1868 α. c1390 Castle of Love (Vernon) (1967) 1026 (MED) Hou wolde God plede for vs? 1586 in W. A. Craigie Maitland Quarto MS (1920) lxxxv. 2 If Sapho..Did pleid for prais & place amangs the nyne [etc.]. 1624 F. Quarles Iob Militant xi. 60 Let me, a while, with my Accusers plead [rhyme dead]. 1640 Whole Bk. Psalmes: ‘Bay Psalm Bk.’ *1 The objections made against this doe most of them plead against joyning to sing in heart as well as in voyce. 1662 R. Neile in J. Cosin Corr.* 4 Mar. (1872) II. App. 313 My Lord hath been..plead with for something for him to keepe him here. 1721 A. Ramsay Content 374 My mind, indulgent, in their favour pled. 1757 J. Home Douglas iii We search'd his clothes, And found these jewels, whose rich value plead Most powerfully against him. 1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc iii. 508 Such a look..As shall one day, with damning eloquence, Against the oppressor plead! 1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. i. x. 88 Do not scorn to plead for me. 1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xii. 158 All Roger's services could not plead against this ill-timed tenderness to a foe. 1882 J. H. Blunt Reformation Church of Eng. II. 197 It does not appear that any one pleaded for his pardon except himself. 1932 ‘J. Aston’ They winter Abroad xii. 192 The shades of Rugby and Caius, or wherever it was that he had been bred to be a Hawk, pled against him mutely. 1941 E. R. Eddison Fish Dinner vii. 103 Should a been unlorded long since,..but the Vicar pled for him. 1964 C. Chaplin My Autobiogr. Prelude, 4 Although I pleaded with her to let me stay, she insisted on my going. 1987 C. Phillips European Tribe xiii. 114 His life was saved by an old woman who pleaded tearfully with the three KGB men. 2003 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 20 Apr. b11/5 They pleaded with their commanders to give them some action. β. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 99 Þus beginþ þet pater noster..Loke hou oure guode spekeman..Iesu crist..þe tekþ wel to playty and wyslyche and sotilliche an ssortliche to speke.a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 114 Medefulli plete wiþ men.c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 9596 Deffibus..Pletid vnto Paris with a pore voise, Whether the Duke were od dede. †b. transitive. To beg or entreat for (a favour, mercy, pity, etc.). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > request > request or ask for [verb (transitive)] yearnOE bid971 seek971 askOE beseechc1175 banc1275 yerec1275 cravec1300 desirec1330 impetrec1374 praya1382 nurnc1400 pleadc1400 require1400 fraynec1430 proke1440 requisitea1475 wishc1515 supply1546 request1549 implore?c1550 to speak for ——1560 entreat1565 impetratec1565 obtest?1577 solicit1595 invoke1617 mendicate1618 petition1621 imprecate1636 conjurea1704 speer1724 canvass1768 kick1792 I will thank you to do so-and-so1813 quest1897 to hit a person up for1917 α. c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 1304 (MED) I schal kysse at your comaundement..fo [read so] plede hit no more. 1594 C. Marlowe & T. Nashe Dido i. ii That crave such favour..As poor distressed misery may plead. 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 46. ¶6 The Misery of my Case, and great Numbers of such Sufferers, plead your Pity and speedy Relief. 1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey III. xiv. 177 If so, a cloak and vesture be my meed; 'Till his return, no title shall I plead. 1757 W. Wilkie Epigoniad ix. 270 Favor, your sex and innocence will plead, Ev'n with the worst. β. c1500 New Notborune Mayd in E. Rimbault Anc. Poet. Tracts (1842) 35 Mercy I pleate. †c. transitive. Scots Law. To petition for in a court of law. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > claim at law > [verb (transitive)] betellc1275 suec1325 pursuea1382 demand1489 arraine (i.e. arrame) an assize1528 pleadc1650 c1650 J. Row & J. Row Hist. Kirk Scotl. (1842) 190 If a minister throw povertie be not able to plead his gleeb and manse, that the rest assist him by contributing till he evict it. 1811 T. Chalmers Let. in W. Hanna Mem. T. Chalmers (1850) I. 231 Had been apprized..that my augmentation was to be pled on the 18th. †5. transitive. To argue or dispute upon in a court of law; to practise (the law). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > maintain by argument in court [verb (transitive)] > dispute upon in court pleadc1390 α. c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. Prol. 86 Seriauns..to seruen atte Barre; Pleden for pons and poundes þe lawe. 1587 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Iland Brit. (new ed.) ii. i. 138/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) I The canon law..which is dailie pleaded. a1721 M. Prior Turtle & Sparrow in New Coll. Poems (1725) 15 She..could plead the Law, And quarrel for a Barley-Straw. β. 1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes i, in Wks. 158/1 Thei..that longed to lerne the lawe. Not to plete it and for glory to dispute it, but to teche it agayne mekely. 6. Law. a. intransitive. To put forward any allegation or formal statement forming part of the proceedings in an action at law. Also transitive: to allege (something) formally in the course of the pleadings; to put forward formally so as to make part of the proceedings. to plead over: to continue a case by responding normally to a pleading which has been judged to be defective. Cf. plea n. 4a. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] mootOE to plead a cause1297 plead1429 society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] > reply even though mistake has been made to plead over1429 society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > maintain by argument in court [verb (transitive)] > allege in course of pleadings show?c1225 plead1429 α. 1429 Acts Parl. Scotl. II. 19/1 That advocatis & forspekaris in temperalle courtis pledande and alsua the partiis at thai pleid for [etc.]. 1444 Rolls of Parl. V. 112/1 Aftur that the Tenauntz or Defendauntes in suche Suytes have pledet to an issue..the seid Tenauntz or Defendauntz often tymes imaginen and pleden forein and fals Plees..yef any person or persons, Tenaunt or Defendaunt in any action..aftur that they have pleded to an issue in eny Suyte or Action, and thissue joyned and entred of record..yat yef thei or eny of yeym aftur at another day in Court plede eny forein Plee, triable in any other Shire yen where the Writte is brought..and the Defendauntz or Pleintifs in suche forein Plees plede to issue, that suche issue in suche forein Plee be tried where the Writte is brought. a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1905) i. 120 A Charter of Stephyn Agothe, I-pleyd in the kyngis Courte, for a tenemente in Irelandes lane. 1491 Act 7 Hen. VII c. 2 §1 Courtes where the seid proteccions shalbe pleded or leyed for any of the seid persons in all plees, plees of Dowre..except. 1564 in D. H. Fleming Reg. Christian Congregation St. Andrews (1889) I. 210 The said Jonat and I beand befoir your wysdomis pledand in the said caus. 1658 H. Grimston tr. G. Croke Reports II. 651 His Plea in bar is not answered, when he doth not rely upon it, but pleads over in bar. 1691 H. Consett Pract. Spiritual Courts (1700) 107 A Term-Probatory is said to be that time or delay, which was given to the Plaintiff, wherein he might prove what he Pleads. 1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. Introd. 76 All other private customs must be particularly pleaded. 1824 H. J. Stephen Treat. Princ. Pleading ii. 165 Faults in pleading are, in some cases, aided by pleading over. 1872 Wharton's Law Lexicon (ed. 5) 739/1 Plead over, to follow up an opponent's pleading by replying, etc., so overlooking some defect to which exception might have been taken. 1875 Judicature Act O. xxvii. r. 5 When any party has amended his pleading under rule 2 or 3 of this Order, the other party may apply..for leave to plead or amend his former pleading. 1891 Law Rep.: Queen's Bench Div. 1 630 The paragraph was properly pleaded and ought not to be struck out. 1932 L. B. Boudin Govt. by Judiciary I. 527 The lower court overruled this plea, and directed him to plead over. 1996 Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo) 28 Apr. 8/7 The Crown have not, in my judgement, either pleaded or established by evidence any misuse by the defendant of his position as a former member of the SIS. β. 1520 Chron. Eng. vii. f. 83/1 That no letter nor commaundement that came from Rome shold be receyued nor pleted in Englande. b. intransitive. To put forward a formal answer or objection on the part of the defendant to the plaintiff's bill. Cf. plea n. 4b. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] > answer plaintiff pleada1471 a1471 Rolls of Parl. V. 396/1 Provided also that this Acte stop nat ne conclude the said Thomas and Richard..to aunswer or plede to eny matier abovesaid. 1477 Rolls of Parl. VI. 187/2 They may answere and plede to the action, or in abatement of the pleyntes. 1490–1 in J. T. Gilbert Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 371 To pledde to a quest in lyke wise in ther owne persones. 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. vii. sig. Ee8^v The damzell was attacht, and shortly brought Vnto the barre, whereas she was arrayned: But she thereto nould plead, nor answere ought. View more context for this quotation 1659 T. Fuller Appeal Iniured Innocence i. 3 In our Common Law, Mutes at the Bar, who would not plead to the Indictment are Adjudged guilty. 1681 J. Dryden Spanish Fryar v. ii. 75 Queen, He will not hear me out! Tor. Was ever Criminal forbid to plead? 1727 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 299 The Assembly desired him to propound what he had to say against their being his judges... Then his two lawyers, Mr Grant and Mr Murray, pled upon that head. 1796 E. Burke Let. to Noble Lord in Wks. (1815) VIII. 8 I ought to be allowed a reasonable freedom,..and no culprit ought to plead in irons. 1824 H. J. Stephen Treat. Princ. Pleading i. 62 If the defendant does not demur, his only alternative method of defence is, to oppose or answer the declaration by matter of fact. In so doing he is said to plead. 1862 A. Trollope Orley Farm II. xviii. 138 To this accusation I will not plead. 1962 N. Mandela in Struggle is my Life (1978) ii. x. 125 Your Worship, before I plead to the charge, there are one or two points I would like to raise. 1997 J. Walsh 40 Martyrs 37 Jane Wiseman refused to plead, which led automatically to the death sentence; in her case death was to be by ‘pressing’. c. transitive. To put forward as a formal answer, objection, or defence to a charge. to plead specially: to allege as a plea in abatement or in bar of an action (see plea n. 4c). ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] > enter specific plea to plead specially1768 to plead the baby act1837 to read the baby act1899 society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > maintain by argument in court [verb (transitive)] > bring forward as plea > as special plea to plead specially1768 1530 St. German's Secunde Dyaloge Doctour & Student xlix. f. cxxvi Yf the defendaunt..in any accyon plede a ple that amountyth to the generall yssue. 1602 W. Fulbecke Parallele or Conf. Law i. 72 This ple he was enforced to pled by the court. 1642 tr. J. Perkins Profitable Bk. ii. §148. 66 If a man bring an Action of debt against me..and I plead against him acquittance. 1659 H. L'Estrange Alliance Divine Offices 22 St. Augustine plead it in bar to Celer's action of unkindnesse against him. 1681 Arraignm.,Tryal & Condemnation S. Colledge 16 You ought not to have helps to plead dilatories. 1756 D. Hume Hist. Eng. (1812) II. xxxvi. 286 The counsellors pleaded constraint as an excuse for their treason. 1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. xx. 305 Every defence which cannot thus be specially pleaded may be given in evidence upon the general issue at the trial. 1790 C. Durnford & E. H. East Rep. Cases King's Bench 3 693 If an executor may plead plene administravit and neglect to do so, I see no difference between such a case and one where he does so plead and the plea is found against him. 1808 W. Selwyn Abridgem. Law Nisi Prius II. xix. 708 An executor may plead the same plea in bar, that his testator might have pleaded. 1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth ix, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. III. 249 Ramorny, pale as death,..pled his knighthood, and demanded the privilege of dying by the sword. 1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. i. v. 30 It would be vain to plead..the king's command to do an unlawful act. 1875 Judicature Act O. xix. r. 15 No defendant in an action for the recovery of land who is in possession..need plead his title. 1933 R. C. Hutchinson Unforgotten Prisoner xii. 383 One can commit perjury and plead absence of mind. 1958 Argosy Sept. 118 Do you understand now that if you force me to shoot, I can plead self-defence? 1989 Lancet 22 Apr. 912/2 Diabetic patients who commit crimes while hypoglycaemic may be able to plead (non-insane) automatism. 7. Law. a. intransitive. to plead not guilty: to enter a plea of not guilty. So to plead guilty: to enter a plea of guilty; (gen.) to admit responsibility for an action.to plead guilty appears later, and evidently arose in imitation of plead not guilty. Guilty is technically not a plea, but a confession. Blackstone Comm. IV. 324, 332, 399 never uses plead guilty, but writes of the prisoner confessing the fact. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] > plead guilty or not guilty to plead not guilty1454 α. 1583 Sir T. Smith's De Republica Anglorum ii. xxiii. 78 If he [sc. the prisoner] pleade there not guiltie, the Clarke asketh him howe he will be tryed, and telleth him he must saie, by God and the Countrie, for these be the words formall of this triall after Inditement. 1660 Exact Accompt Trial Regicides 19 If you have any thing of Justification, plead Not guilty. 1681 Arraignm.,Tryal & Condemnation S. Colledge 6 Cl. of Cr. You must plead to the Court, Guilty or not Guilty. 1704 Boston News-let. 19 June 1/2 The said Quelch was brought to the Bar, being charged with Nine several Articles of Piracy and Murder whereupon he had been Arraigned and Pleaded, Not Guilty. 1724 ‘C. Johnson’ Gen. Hist. Pyrates iv. 79 All the Prisoners arraigned, pleaded Not Guilty. 1806 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 15 60 I may..be represented as discouraging experiments. To this I must, in some measure, plead guilty. 1827 J. Bentham Rationale Judicial Evid. II. iii. xv. 316 Where it happens to a prisoner to answer in the affirmative,—in appropriate language to plead guilty,—if he insists on it, the general understanding seems to be that he has a right to have such his plea recorded: in which case there is a necessary end of the trial, and the verdict follows of course. 1875 Judicature Act O. xix. r. 16 Nothing in these Rules contained shall affect the right of any defendant to plead not guilty by statute. 1892 ‘D. Donovan’ In Grip of Law 58 When called upon to plead, she pled not guilty in a firm clear voice. 1933 D. Thomas Let. Nov. (1987) 38 I plead guilty to bathos, but offer in excuse the fact that I copied out the poem as soon as I had written it. 1966 Dumfries. Standard 2 Feb. 1/3 Duncan Wright, of Greenholm, Lochmaben, who pled not guilty of resetting about 20 blackfaced ewes, and two lambs stolen from John M^cConnell's farm at Dunscore. 1994 I. Botham My Autobiogr. xiv. 277 As he was in the toilet at the time the incident happened, there was no way he should accept the charges, let alone plead guilty. β. 1454 Rolls of Parl. V. 239/2 In that Court..the seid Thomas wilfully appered, and..to the said Bille and Action aunswered and pleted not gylty. b. transitive. To enter a plea on behalf of (a person). Chiefly in to plead (a person) guilty, to plead (a person) not guilty. Also reflexive. Now chiefly U.S. ΚΠ 1838 R. Southey Wat Tyler iii. 64 John Ball: I plead me guilty. Sir John Tr.: It is against the custom of this court That the prisoner should plead guilty. 1925 Northeastern Reporter 148 363 Mr. Costello at this time, your honor, we plead the defendant guilty..to general homicide. 1976 ‘B. Shelby’ Great Pebble Affair 65 My lawyer..pleaded me guilty. 1988 Newsday 11 Dec. 9/2 Sarosi has pleaded himself guilty of arranging an unlawful adoption. c. intransitive. colloquial. Short for to plead guilty at sense 7a. ΚΠ 1959 Earl Jowitt & C. Walsh Dict. Eng. Law II. 1352/1 The word ‘plead’ is used colloquially to mean plead guilty. 1963 ‘J. Prescot’ Case for Hearing viii. 119 I'll stake my pension on a conviction. In fact, if the lad's any sense he'll hold up his hand and plead. 1970 P. Laurie Scotl. Yard vi. 137 Said he'd plead, then when he got in the box he gave you a grin and said, ‘Not guilty’. 1996 A. Devlin Prison Patter 88/2 The use of ‘plead’ within the official criminal justice process..is usually taken to mean ‘plead guilty’ unless expressly stated otherwise. 8. transitive. gen. To allege or urge in defence, apology, or excuse, or as extenuating an offence. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > maintain by argument in court [verb (transitive)] > bring forward as plea > in defence or mitigation plead1588 1588 Haddington Burgh Rec. 7 Mar. in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Plede Quhairby na persoun sall plead ignorance of the samein act. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. xviii. xxvii. 593 Thou shouldest not either plead ignorance, or neglect the same. 1621 T. W. tr. S. Goulart Wise Vieillard 101 Old age is miserable, that can plead nothing else for Antiquitie, but the wrinckles of the face and the white haires. 1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 833 If weakness may excuse, What Murtherer,..Incestuous, Sacrilegious, but may plead it? View more context for this quotation 1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 12 And have, at least, Their Precedent to plead. 1733 G. Berkeley Theory of Vision §33. 29 If I am mistaken, I can plead neither Haste nor Inattention. 1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. ii. 73 Those people..plead religious principles for the form of their attire. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. I. 256 I can only plead my inexperience in this branch of literature. 1861 T. A. Trollope La Beata II. xv. 148 He was fain to plead the standing excuse of a bad headache. 1880 S. C. Buxton Hand-bk. Polit. Quest. 43 That literate voters are induced to plead illiteracy so that the briber may know which way they vote. 1938 Amer. Home Oct. 107/1 The best way to make a mark is to ‘girdle’ the tree completely around, somewhere near eye-level. Then no witless axman can plead that he ‘thought all the time that the mark was on the other side’. 1952 M. Laski Village xiii. 187 ‘I'm really sorry,’ pleaded Margaret contritely. 1988 D. M. Thomas Memories & Hallucinations v. 41 I had to write to various institutions in America, cancelling my readings, pleading illness. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.1379v.c1275
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† pleadn.

Compounds

pleadv.