(a) Strife, contention, complaint; a debate, quarrel; also, fighting, battle; ~ and briges, contention and disputes; plees wrench, trickery of debate; areren ~, to launch an attack; holden ~ with, argue with (sb.), negotiate with; maken ~ to, complain to (sb.); (b) entreaty, pleading; also, a bargain, an offer; (c) ?a lamentable story; (d) in proverb.

Law (a) A legal conflict, case at law, lawsuit; legal proceedings, litigation, adjudication; legal debate, argumentation; (b) commune ples, court of common pleas; court of ~, ?civil court; dai of ~, day of argumentation; fals ~, unjust lawsuit; gret ~, a case concerned with freehold or prosecuted in the interest of the crown; litel ples, local civil cases; justices of ples, judges of cases; knouleche of ~, legal investigation, hearing of evidence; outgoinges of ples, profits from lawsuits; ~ personal, a personal (as opposed to real) action; ~ real, an action involving real estate or other real property; rolles of ~, records of lawsuits, court records; in ~, in debate, in litigation; thurgh ~, by argumentation; withouten ~, without adjudication; (c) bringen (drauen) into ~, callen in (into) ~, haven..to ~, maken ~ to, to bring suit against (sb.); putten in (into) ~, subject (sb. or sth.) to legal proceedings, implead; biginnen (drauen, driven) ~, initiate proceedings, bring suit; comen in ~, occur in legal proceedings; costen in ~, spend (sth.) on litigation; haunten ~, take part in lawsuits; meven a ~, start a suit; sitten in ~, occupy the bench, act as judge; stonden in ~, plead one's case in court; (d) a plaintiff's case, a charge or complaint; a suit to recover land, damages, etc.; also, an argument in a case; ~ ayenes, a charge against (sb.); forein ~, a suit which must be tried in a place other than that in which the defendant lives [see also forein 5. (a)]; ~ of dette, a suit to acquire money owed; ~ of lond, a suit to restore rightful possession of land; ~ of waste, a suit charging a tenant with damaging or failing to maintain property; maken ~ for, to argue for (a suit) in court; makinge of a ~, ?arguing for a charge in court; rehersen ples, state the charges or arguments in a case; (e) an answer to a charge, a defense, plea; dai of ~, day for answering charges; ~ of abatement, a plea to dismiss a case; holden ples, to present defenses.