See Also:

sue (iou)



sue verb. [su:, sju:] ME.
[Anglo-Norman suer, siwer, sure, suir(e, from pres. stem siu-, sieu-, seu- of Old French sivre (mod. suivre), from Proto-Romance alt. of Latin sequi follow.]
I. verb trans.
Follow (a person or thing in motion, or a track, path, etc.). ME-L16.
Go in pursuit of; chase, pursue. ME-L19.
Follow (a person) as an attendant, companion, or adherent; accompany, attend on. ME-E16.
Take as a guide, leader, or example; follow as a disciple or imitator. ME-E16.
Comply with or obey (a person's will, a set of rules, etc.), follow (advice, an inclination, etc.). ME-M18.
Adopt or put into practice (a belief, way of life, occupation, etc.); engage in or occupy oneself with (a pursuit). ME-L18.
Carry out (an action); pursue (a subject). Also, follow up (an achievement). ME-L16.
a. Institute a suit for, make a legal claim to; gen. petition or appeal for, seek to obtain or to do. Now rare. ME.
b. spec. Apply before a court for the grant of (a writ or other legal process). Also, put in suit, enforce (a legal process). Freq. foll. by out. ME.
H. Hallam A party detained without any warrant must sue out his habeas corpus at common law.
Court, be a suitor to (a woman). arch. ME.
Come after, succeed (in time); follow as a result. LME-M16.
Take (legal action); institute (a legal process); plead (a cause). LME-L16.
Institute legal proceedings against (a person); prosecute in a court of law; bring a civil action against. Also sue at law. Freq. foll. by for. LME.
W. Lippmann A workman who was injured could sue the master for damages. I. D. Yalom She sued the hospital for negligence in her husband's death.
Petition, appeal to. rare. E16.
II. verb intrans.
Continue, proceed, go on. Only in ME.
Follow a person or thing in motion; follow as an attendant or adherent; go in chase or pursuit. Freq. foll. by after, upon, etc. ME-M16.
Do service or homage. Chiefly in serve and sue below. ME-L16.
Follow in time or in a succession or sequence; result, ensue. ME-M17.
Take legal action; institute legal proceedings; bring a suit (for something claimed). ME.
R. Lindner She's suing for a divorce.
Make an appeal or plea to a person for a person or a thing; plead, entreat. LME.
P. Gallico Like a lover..suing for favour. P. Goodman A man..cannot waste his life learning to sue to an ignorant electorate.
Move, go, esp. quickly; sally forth or out. LME-E16.
Be a suitor to or to a woman. arch. L16.
Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost I love, I sue, I seek a wife.
Phrases: serve and sue verb phr. intrans. & trans. attend and give personal service to (a lord etc.).
suer noun (a) a follower, a pursuer; (b) a person who sues or petitions, esp. a plaintiff: LME.