Litigates

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Takes part in a lawsuit by initiating or contesting legal action in a court of law
2. Acts to resolve a disagreement by bringing the matter before a court for judgement
3. Handles a conflict through formal legal proceedings rather than by informal means

Etymology: "Litigates" is the third-person singular present form of "litigate," so the core story belongs to the verb itself. The verb was first recorded in English in 1606 and was borrowed directly from Latin "litigatus," the past participle of "litigare," meaning to carry on a lawsuit or quarrel. The Latin verb is built from two parts. The first is "lis," meaning a lawsuit or dispute, which changes to "lit-" in its other forms. The second is a verb-forming element that turns the noun into an action, so the Latin sense is literally to make a dispute or go to law. English then added its own "-ate" ending, a common suffix for verbs taken from Latin, and the result sits in the same family as words like "litigant" and "litigation."

Synonyms: sue, prosecute, contest, argue, litigate