What does suitor mean?
A suitor is someone who pursues another person's affection, usually with the intention of beginning a romantic relationship or proposing marriage. The word often appears in a traditional or literary register, evoking courtship, proposals, and the possibility of rejection: a character might accept a suitor, refuse him, or wait for him to return. Although historically the suitor was understood to be male, modern usage can refer to anyone courting another person. An older legal sense, now archaic, identifies a suitor as a person who brings a lawsuit or formal claim before a court. In that context, the word is comparable to a claimant or plaintiff. Its longest-established associations therefore combine pursuit and desire: the hopeful suitor seeks acceptance, while the person being courted retains the power to welcome or reject that pursuit. Although less common than boyfriend or partner in everyday conversation, suitor remains especially useful when describing a formal, distant, or ceremonious courtship.
nounA person who seeks to win the affection or romantic interest of another person, especially as a prospective partner. In older legal usage, it means a person who brings a lawsuit or claim.
- A person who courts another person with romantic or marital intentions.
- Archaic or legal: a person who brings a suit or claim before a court; a claimant or plaintiff.
"She accepted her suitor's proposal after a long courtship."
"Her suitor waited patiently while she finished university."
"The court granted leave to the suitor to present his claim."
The standard plural is suitors.
"Several suitors competed for her attention."
Before it became a word for romance, a suitor could mean a person bringing a legal claim into court.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does suitor come from?
The English word comes through Anglo-French from a medieval Latin form meaning a follower or claimant, ultimately derived from Latin sequī, “to follow.” In its legal sense, a suitor was one who followed a claim through the courts; the word later came to mean someone who pursues another person romantically. English suit, suite, and sequel share this Latin root, as do pursue and several other words based on Latin forms of sequī.
How suitor is actually used
In modern romantic use, the term is not strictly limited by gender, although it has traditionally referred to a man pursuing a woman. Its legal sense is now archaic and mainly encountered in historical or formal legal contexts.
Easily confused with suitor
A suitor is a person pursuing another person's affection, whereas a suit is a legal claim or the formal clothing worn for a special occasion.