Lawsuit
Etymology
“Law” plus “suit,” where “suit” comes from Old French “suite” (a following or pursuit), from Latin “sequi” (to follow) — the same root as “sue,” “pursue,” and even a “suite” of rooms that follow one another. A lawsuit is a legal pursuit: one party following another into court.
noun · /LAW-soot/
A dispute brought before a court by one party seeking a legal remedy against another.
What it names
The everyday name for taking someone to court — reach for it to mark the moment a grievance is formally filed rather than merely threatened.
Example
When the contractor refused to fix the collapsing deck, they filed a lawsuit for breach of contract.
Related idea
A lawsuit is the specific case one files; litigation is the whole ongoing process of fighting a lawsuit through the courts — you file a lawsuit, then endure the litigation.