prosecute
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin prōsecūtus, perfect participle of prōsequor. Doublet of pursue, from Old French. Compare also persecute.
Verb
prosecute (third-person singular simple present prosecutes, present participle prosecuting, simple past and past participle prosecuted)
- (transitive, law) To start criminal proceedings against.
- to prosecute a man for trespass, or for a riot
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
- To acquit themselves and prosecute their foes.
- (transitive, law) To charge, try.
- 1959, William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch, page 9
- The Vigilante is prosecuted in Federal Court under a lynch bill and winds up in a Federal Nut House specially designed for the containment of ghosts […]
- 1959, William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch, page 9
- To seek to obtain by legal process.
- to prosecute a right or a claim in a court of law
- (transitive) To pursue something to the end.
- to prosecute a scheme, hope, or claim
- (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
- I am beloved of beauteous Hermia; / Why should not I, then, prosecute my right?
Derived terms
Related terms
▼ <a href='/wiki/Category:English_terms_derived_from_the_PIE_root_*sek%CA%B7-' title='Category:English terms derived from the PIE root *sekʷ-'>English terms derived from the PIE root *sekʷ-</a> (1 c, 0 e)
► <a href='/wiki/Category:English_terms_derived_from_the_PIE_root_*sek%CA%B7-_(follow)' title='Category:English terms derived from the PIE root *sekʷ- (follow)'>English terms derived from the PIE root *sekʷ- (follow)</a> (0 c, 107 e)
Translations
To start civil or criminal proceedings against
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To charge, try
To pursue something to the end
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
Latin
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