Etymologically
Log in

litigation

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 15:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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
  • 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