appellant
UK[əˈpɛlənt]US[əˈpɛlənt]
n
a person who applies to a higher court for a reversal of the decision of a lower court.
adj
relating to or characteristic of an appeal or an appellant.
Morpheme Breakdown
ap
pel
lant
ap
to, towards
pel
to drive, to push
lant
one who does
Etymology
the word 'appellant' has a clear legal lineage tracing back to latin. it is built upon the verb 'appellare,' meaning 'to address, call upon, or appeal to,' which itself derives from 'ad-' (to) and 'pellere' (to drive). the literal sense of 'driving oneself towards' an authority evolved into the formal act of making an appeal. the suffix '-ant' indicates the actor, thus an 'appellant' is literally 'one who drives or pushes a case forward' to a higher court for review, a meaning that has remained remarkably consistent from its medieval legal adoption into modern english.
Analysis
Structure: ap + pel + lant
ap- (latin, variant of ad-, meaning 'to, towards'); pel (latin root, from pellere, meaning 'to drive, to push'); -lant (latin suffix, from -antem, present participle suffix forming agent nouns, meaning 'one who does')
Examples
the appellant argued that the trial court had made a significant error.
the appellate court reviewed the arguments presented by the appellant.
as the appellant, she bore the burden of proving the judgment was incorrect.