[pliː], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a request made in an urgent and emotional manner
(e.g: he made a dramatic plea for disarmament)

- a formal statement by or on behalf of a defendant or prisoner, stating guilt or innocence in response to a charge, offering an allegation of fact, or claiming that a point of law should apply
(e.g: he changed his plea to not guilty)


Phrases:
- plea of tender

Origin:
Middle English (in the sense ‘lawsuit’): from Old French plait, plaid ‘agreement, discussion’, from Latin placitum ‘a decree’, neuter past participle of placere ‘to please’