petitioner
nounCA, US /pəˈtɪʃənɚ/
Etymology From petition + -er. Doublet of petitionary.
1
Law Someone who presents a petition to a court.
- The Supreme Court said Monday that unanimous jury verdicts are required in state criminal trials for serious offenses, handing a victory to criminal defendants including petitioner Evangelisto Ramos, who was convicted of murder in Louisiana on a 10-2 vote. […] In court, a lawyer for Louisiana argued that if the Supreme Court were to rule in favor of Ramos the ruling could apply to some 32,000 people that are currently serving time for serious crimes because thousands of petitioners would come to the court demanding relief.2020 April 20, Ariane de Vogue, “Supreme Court says unanimous jury verdicts required in state criminal trials for serious offenses”, in CNN, archived from the original on 02 Jun 2021:
2
Someone who presents a petition to some person in authority.
- Ethel was in mourning: they had judged it the most fitting habit for a petitioner; it was certainly one most becoming to the wearer.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 229–230:
- Synonyms
- solicitor
- Derived terms
- copetitioner, counterpetitioner