appeal

English Online Dictionary. What means appeal‎? What does appeal mean?

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈpiːl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˈpil/
• Rhymes: -iːl
• Hyphenation: ap‧peal

Etymology 1

From Middle English apel, appel (“formal accusation brought in court; a challenge to trial by combat; an appeal to a higher court or authority; plea (for mercy, protection, etc.); pealing (of bells)”) [and other forms], from Old French apel (“a call”) (modern French appel (“a call; an appeal”)), from apeler (“to call; to call out”), from Latin appellāre (“to address as, call by name; to drive, move to; to land or put ashore”), alternative form adpellāre, from ad- (prefix meaning ‘to; towards’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (“at; to”)) + pellere (“to drive, impel, push; to hurl, propel; to banish, expel; to eject, thrust out”) + -āre, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- (“to approach”), from *pel- (“to beat; to drive; to push”). Doublet of appel.

Noun

appeal (countable and uncountable, plural appeals)

1. (law)
   1. An application to a superior court or judge for a decision or order by an inferior court or judge to be reviewed and overturned.
   2. The legal document or form by which such an application is made; also, the court case in which the application is argued.
   3. A person's legal right to apply to court for such a review.

   4. (historical) An accusation or charge against someone for wrongdoing (especially treason).
   5. (historical) A process which formerly might be instituted by one private person against another for some heinous crime demanding punishment for the particular injury suffered, rather than for the offence against the public; an accusation.
   6. (historical) At common law, an accusation made against a felon by one of their accomplices (called an approver).
2. A call to a person or an authority for a decision, help, or proof; an entreaty, an invocation.
   1. (cricket) The act, by the fielding side, of asking an umpire for a decision on whether a batsman is out or not.
3. (figuratively) A resort to some physical means; a recourse.
5. (figuratively) A power to attract or interest.
6. (rhetoric) A call to, or the use of, a principle or quality for purposes of persuasion.
7. (historical) A summons to defend one's honour in a duel, or one's innocence in a trial by combat; a challenge.

Alternative forms

• appeale (obsolete, 16th–17th c.)
• appeall (obsolete)

Derived terms

Related terms

• appellant
• appellate
• appellee
• appellor

Translations

See also

• approvement
• Rehabilitation

Etymology 2

From Middle English apelen, appelen (“to accuse; to make a formal charge before a court, etc., impeach; to challenge to trial by combat; to apply to a higher court or authority for review of a decision; to call upon for a decision, favour, help, etc.; to call by a name”) [and other forms], from Old French apeler (“to call; to call out”); see further at etymology 1.

Verb

appeal (third-person singular simple present appeals, present participle appealing, simple past and past participle appealed)

1. (law)
   1. (intransitive) Often followed by against (the inferior court's decision) or to (the superior court): to apply to a superior court or judge for a decision or order by an inferior court or judge to be reviewed and overturned.
   2. (transitive, originally US) To apply to a superior court or judge to review and overturn (a decision or order by an inferior court or judge).
   3. (transitive, historical) To accuse or charge (someone) with wrongdoing (especially treason).
   4. (transitive, historical) Of a private person: to instituted legal proceedings (against another private person) for some heinous crime, demanding punishment for the particular injury suffered.
   5. (transitive, historical) Of the accomplice of a felon: to make an accusation at common law against (the felon).
2. (intransitive) To call upon a person or an authority to corroborate a statement, to decide a controverted question, or to vindicate one's rights; to entreat, to invoke.
   1. (intransitive, cricket) Of a fielding side; to ask an umpire for a decision on whether a batsman is out or not, usually by saying "How's that?" or "Howzat?".
3. (intransitive) To call upon someone for a favour, help, etc.

4. (intransitive, figuratively) To have recourse or resort to some physical means.
5. (intransitive, figuratively) To be attractive.
6. (transitive, historical) To summon (someone) to defend their honour in a duel, or their innocence in a trial by combat; to challenge.

Derived terms

Translations

References

Further reading

• appeal on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• appeal (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “appeal”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “appeal”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English appeal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /apˈpil/
• Rhymes: -il

Noun

appeal

1. appeal (power to attract or interest)
2. sex appeal

References

Anagrams

• papale