Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Sue

Sue (sū), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sued; p. pr. & vb. n. Suing.] [OE. suen, sewen, siwen, OF. sivre (pres.ind. 3d sing. il siut, suit, he follows, nous sevons we follow), LL. sequere, for L. sequi, secutus; akin to Gr. ἕπεσθαι, Skr. sac to accompany, and probably to E. see, v.t. See See, v. t., and cf. Consequence, Ensue, Execute, Obsequious, Pursue, Second, Sect in religion, Sequence, Suit.] 1. To follow up; to chase; to seek after; to endeavor to win; to woo.

For yet there was no man that haddle him sued. Chaucer.

I was beloved of many a gentle knight, And sued and sought with all the service due. Spenser.

Sue me, and woo me, and flatter me. Tennyson.

2. (Law) (a) To seek justice or right from, by legal process; to institute process in law against; to bring an action against; to prosecute judicially. (b) To proceed with, as an action, and follow it up to its proper termination; to gain by legal process.

3. (Falconry) To clean, as the beak; — said of a hawk.

4. (Naut.) To leave high and dry on shore; as, to sue a ship. R. H. Dana, Jr.

To sue out (Law), to petition for and take out, or to apply for and obtain; as, to sue out a writ in chancery; to sue out a pardon for a criminal.

Sue (sū), v. i. 1. To seek by request; to make application; to petition; to entreat; to plead.

By adverse destiny constrained to sue For counsel and redress, he sues to you. Pope.

Cæsar came to Rome to sue for the double honor of a triumph and the consulship. C. Middleton.

The Indians were defeated and sued for peace. Jefferson.

2. (Law) To prosecute; to make legal claim; to seek (for something) in law; as, to sue for damages.

3. To woo; to pay addresses as a lover. Massinger.

4. (Naut.) To be left high and dry on the shore, as a ship. R. H. Dana, Jr.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.