Pleading

How to spell pleading

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce pleading

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does pleading mean?

1. adjectiveExpressing an earnest, emotional appeal or request.
2. verbMaking an emotional or urgent appeal to someone.
3. nounA formal written statement filed in a lawsuit that sets out a party's claims or defences.

Pleading in a sentence

• adjective

  She gave him a pleading look across the dinner table.

• verb

  She spent the afternoon pleading with the bank for more time to pay.

• noun

  The solicitor filed the pleading with the court before the cut-off date.

• adjective

  The puppy fixed its pleading eyes on the leftover steak.

• verb

  He kept pleading for a second chance after missing the deadline.

• noun

  Each pleading must state the facts the party intends to rely on at trial.

Where does pleading come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back through Old French to the Latin verb placere, meaning 'to please' or 'to be agreeable'. From placere came the noun placitum, literally 'that which is pleasing', which in late Latin shifted to mean an opinion, a decree, or a legal decision. Old French turned this into plaid, a lawsuit or formal argument, and the verb plaidier, 'to argue a case in court'. English borrowed the verb as 'plead' around the 1200s, and 'pleading' grew naturally as its participle, covering both the legal sense of presenting a case and the everyday sense of begging earnestly. The same placere root sits behind familiar words such as 'please', 'pleasant', and 'placid', which helps explain why the appeal in pleading still carries a flavour of trying to make someone well disposed toward you.

How the word is built

• plead (to beg or argue a case)
• -ing (forming participle, adjective, or noun)