plea (n.) Look up plea at Dictionaryearly 13c., lawsuit, from - TopicsExpress



          

plea (n.) Look up plea at Dictionaryearly 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.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 15:32:48 +0000

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