Hypertext Webster Gateway: "plea"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Plea \Plea\, n. [OE. plee, plai, plait, fr. OF. plait, plaid,
plet, LL. placitum judgment, decision, assembly, court, fr.
L. placitum that which is pleasing, an opinion, sentiment,
from placere to please. See {Please}, and cf. {Placit},
{Plead}.]
1. (Law) That which is alleged by a party in support of his
cause; in a stricter sense, an allegation of fact in a
cause, as distinguished from a demurrer; in a still more
limited sense, and in modern practice, the defendant's
answer to the plaintiff's declaration and demand. That
which the plaintiff alleges in his declaration is answered
and repelled or justified by the defendant's plea. In
chancery practice, a plea is a special answer showing or
relying upon one or more things as a cause why the suit
should be either dismissed, delayed, or barred. In
criminal practice, the plea is the defendant's formal
answer to the indictment or information presented against
him.
2. (Law) A cause in court; a lawsuit; as, the Court of Common
Pleas. See under {Common}.
The Supreme Judicial Court shall have cognizance of
pleas real, personal, and mixed. --Laws of
Massachusetts.
3. That which is alleged or pleaded, in defense or in
justification; an excuse; an apology. ``Necessity, the
tyrant's plea.'' --Milton.
No plea must serve; 't is cruelty to spare.
--Denham.
4. An urgent prayer or entreaty.
{Pleas of the crown} (Eng. Law), criminal actions.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
plea
n 1: humble request for help [syn: {supplication}]
2: (law) a defendant's answer by a factual matter (as
distinguished from a demurrer)
3: an answer indicating why a suit should be dismissed
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