litigation

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˌlɪt.ɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/, US /ˌlɪt̬.ɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin lītigātiō,^[2][3][4] from the past participle stem of Latin lītigō (“to dispute, quarrel, sue”),^[2][3] from līs (“lawsuit, dispute, strife”), of uncertain origin, and agō (“to drive, set in motion”),^[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *ag- (“to drive”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Disputation, a sense now rare: 1567 in the OED, the 1560s in Etymonline.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

The carrying on of a lawsuit is from 1647 in the OED, the 1640s in Etymonline,^[5][2] and the practice of going to law from 1785.^[5] Other legal terms from Latin līs were litiscontestation (15th century) and litispendence (17th century).^[2] Litigious is from the 14th century.^[3]

Timeline

• 1567 – disputation.^[5]
• 1647 – carrying on a lawsuit.^[5]
• 1785 – the practice of going to law.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act or process of bringing or contesting a legal action in court.
2. A lawsuit; a judicial proceeding.

Word family

• nonlitigation
• prelitigation
• relitigation

Related words

• litigate
• litigant
• litigious
• agent

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press