appeal

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old French apeler, from Latin appellō.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /əˈpɪəl/
  • (file)
  • (file)

Verb

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

  1. (intransitive) To call upon another to decide a question controverted, to corroborate a statement, to vindicate one's rights, etc.
    • (Can we date this quote by Samuel Horsley?)
      I appeal to the Scriptures in the original.
    • (Can we date this quote by Thomas Macaulay?)
      They appealed to the sword.
  2. (intransitive) To call on (someone) for aid
    I appeal to all of you to help the orphans.
  3. (transitive, law, chiefly US, informal elsewhere) To apply for the removal of a cause from an inferior to a superior judge or court for the purpose of reexamination or for decision.
  4. (intransitive) To be attractive.
    That idea appeals to me.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 8, in The Celebrity:
      The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.
  5. (intransitive, cricket) To ask an umpire for a decision on whether a batsman is out or not, usually by saying "How's that" or "Howzat".
  6. (transitive, obsolete) To accuse (someone of something).
  7. To summon; to challenge.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Sir Walter Scott
      Man to man will I appeal the Norman to the lists.
  8. To invoke (used with to).
    • 1692, John Milton, A Defence of the People of England, in Answer to Salmasius's Defence of the King, tr. of Defensio pro Populo Anglicano, Ch. II.
      And we are as willing to appeal to the scripture as you.

Derived terms

  • appeal against
  • appeal to

Translations

Noun

appeal (countable and uncountable, plural appeals)

  1. (law)
    1. An application for the removal of a cause or suit from an inferior to a superior judge or court for re-examination or review.
    2. The mode of proceeding by which such removal is effected.
    3. The right of appeal.
    4. An accusation; 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 offense against the public.
    5. An accusation of a felon at common law by one of his accomplices, which accomplice was then called an approver.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Tomlins to this entry?)
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Bouvier to this entry?)
  2. A summons to answer to a charge.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of John Dryden to this entry?)
  3. A call to a person or an authority for help, proof or a decision; entreaty.
    He made an appeal for volunteers to help at the festival.
    • (Can we date this quote by Francis Bacon?)
      a kind of appeal to the Deity, the author of wonders
    1. (cricket) The act, by the fielding side, of asking an umpire for a decision on whether a batsman is out or not.
  4. Resort to physical means; recourse.
  5. The power to attract or interest.

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

See also

Further reading

  • appeal at OneLook Dictionary Search
  • appeal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English appeal.

Noun

appeal

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

Anagrams

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.