early 13c., "lawsuit," from Anglo-French plai (late 12c.), Old French plait "lawsuit, decision, decree" (9c.), from Medieval Latin placitum "lawsuit," in classical Latin, "opinion, decree," literally "that which pleases, thing which is agreed upon," properly neuter past participle of placere (see please). Sense development seems to be from "something pleasant," to "something that pleases both sides," to "something that has been decided." Meaning "a pleading, an agreement in a suit" is attested from late 14c. Plea-bargaining is first attested 1963. Common pleas (early 13c.) originally were legal proceedings over which the Crown did not claim exclusive jurisdiction (as distinct from pleas of the Crown); later "actions brought by one subject against another."
雙語例句
1. Her plea of guilty to manslaughter through provocation was rejected.
她因受到挑釁而過失殺人的有罪答辯被駁回。
來自柯林斯例句
2. Phillips murdered his wife, but got off on a plea of insanity.
菲利普斯謀殺了他的妻子，但以精神錯(cuò)亂為由逃脫了懲罰。
來自柯林斯例句
3. A guilty plea cuts out the need for a long trial.
承認(rèn)有罪就不需要長時(shí)間的審判了。
來自柯林斯例句
4. The judge questioned him about his guilty plea.
法官就他的認(rèn)罪答辯進(jìn)行審問。
來自柯林斯例句
5. More and more criminals will agree to plea-bargain.