Appealed

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈpiːld/

Definitions

1. Asked a higher authority to reconsider or change a previous decision
2. Sought a review of a judgment or ruling by a superior body or court
3. Formally requested that a decision be re-examined by an authorized entity

Etymology: The past tense "appealed" comes from a verb that began in English as a legal weapon. In medieval courts, "appeal" meant a formal accusation, and a challenge to trial by combat was also called an appeal. The verb carried this accusing sense for centuries before it came to mean asking a higher court to overturn a ruling. The source word is Latin "appellare", which meant "to address as" or "to call by name", and could also mean "to drive towards" or "to land a ship". It combined "ad-", meaning "to" or "towards", with "pellere", "to drive or push". The idea of driving someone forward gradually turned into calling out to them, and then into calling on a higher power for judgment. Old French preserved the sense of a call as "apel", which entered English in the Middle English period. The verb "appealed" therefore reflects a pathway from physical driving, through summons, to a plea for review.

Synonyms: requested, invoked, pleaded, called, reached out

Antonyms: rejected, denied, dismissed, refused