prosecute

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin prōsecūtus, perfect participle of prōsequor. Doublet of pursue, from Old French. Compare also persecute.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɒsɪkjuːt/
- Audio (Southern England): (file)

Verb

prosecute (third-person singular simple present prosecutes, present participle prosecuting, simple past and past participle prosecuted)

(transitive, law) To start criminal proceedings against.
to prosecute a man for trespass, or for a riot
- 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 56, line 898:
  To acquit themſelves and proſecute their foes
(transitive, law) To charge, try.
- 1962 [1959], William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch, New York: Grove Press, page 8:
  The Vigilante is prosecuted in Federal Court under a lynch bill and winds up in a Federal Nut House specially designed for the containment of ghosts […]
To seek to obtain by legal process.
to prosecute a right or a claim in a court of law
(transitive) To pursue something to the end.
to prosecute a scheme, hope, or an investigation
- c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
  I am beloved of beauteous Hermia; / Why should not I, then, prosecute my right?
- 2022 October 22, “Ministry of Home Affairs' Response to Sir Richard Branson's Blog Post on 10 October 2022”, in Ministry of Home Affairs (Singapore)‎^[1]:
  Nor do we believe that a country that prosecuted two wars in China in the 19th century to force the Chinese to accept opium imports has any moral right to lecture Asians on drugs.

Derived terms

prosecutable

Translations

To start civil or criminal proceedings against

Chinese:
Mandarin: 起訴／起诉 (zh) (qǐsù)
Finnish: nostaa syyte
French: poursuivre en justice
German: strafrechtlich verfolgen (law), gerichtlich (de) belangen (law), belangen (de)
Japanese: 起訴する (きそ-する, kiso-suru)
Maori: hāmene
Norman: poursuivre
Russian: пресле́довать (ru) impf (preslédovatʹ)
Spanish: procesar (es), enjuiciar (es)
Swedish: beivra (sv)
Turkish: kovuşturma açmak (tr)
Welsh: erlyn (cy)

To charge, try

Bulgarian: обвинявам (bg) (obvinjavam)
Finnish: syyttää (fi)
German: anklagen (de), bestrafen (de), vor Gericht stellen
Persian: محاکمه کردن (fa) (mohâkeme kardan)
Scottish Gaelic: tagair
Spanish: procesar (es), enjuiciar (es)

To pursue something to the end

Bulgarian: гоня (bg) (gonja), преследвам (bg) (presledvam)
Catalan: perseguir (ca)
Finnish: jatkaa loppuun, tehdä loppuun, suorittaa loppuun
German: betreiben (de), verfolgen (de)
Maori: makawe (mi)
Persian: دنبال کردن (fa) (donbâl kardan)
Spanish: proseguir (es), llevar a cabo (es), llevar adelante, llevar a término

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Anagrams

creeps out, outcreeps

Latin

Participle

prōsecūte

vocative masculine singular of prōsecūtus