▪ I. appeal, v.
(əˈpiːl)
Forms: 4–6 apele, 5 apeele, 6 apeal(e, 5–6 appel(e, 6–7 appeal(e, 6– appeal. Also 5–7 appell(e, 6 apell(e.
[a. OFr. apele-r to call:—L. app-, adpellā-re to accost, address, call upon, also in Law ‘to appeal to, to impeach,’ a secondary form of adpell-ĕre to drive to, direct (a ship) towards, land upon. Cf. the history of aboard and accost, both of which similarly passed from the sense of ‘land upon,’ to ‘make up to, address, speak to.’ For refashioning of prefix, see ap- prefix1; the change of -e- to -ea- was part of the spelling reform of 16th c.; appell was a latinized form.]
† I. trans. To appeal a person. Obs. or Hist.
† 1. To call (one) to answer before a tribunal; in Law: To accuse of a crime which the accuser undertakes to prove. spec. a. To impeach of treason. b. To accuse an accomplice of treason or felony. c. To accuse of a heinous crime whereby the accuser has received personal injury or wrong, for which he demands reparation. (Const. of, for, the crime; to the tribunal.) All Obs. exc. as Hist.
| 1366 Mandeville xii. 139 Straungeres..schulle thus appelen us & holden us for wykked Lyveres. 1440 Shirley Dethe of James I (1818) 27, I appell you afor God..that ye bene the varay cause of the losse of my saule. 1464 J. Paston in Lett. 486 II. 152 They were apelyd of othyr se[r]teyn poyntys of treson. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccxlii. 357 If the prince were apeled to y⊇ court of parlyament. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. John vii. 19 He did appele them of sinne⁓full transgression of the lawe. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, i. i. 9 If he appeale the Duke on ancient malice. Ibid. i. i. 27 To appeale each other of high treason. 1628 Coke On Litt. 287 b, To appeale a man is as much as to accuse him. 1643 Prynne Power Parl. ii. 38, I..appeale you to the Tribunall of that high Judge above. 1649 Selden Laws of Eng. i. lxvii. (1739) 171 No Man shall be appealed by a Woman for the death of any but her own Husband. 1756 Nugent Montesquieu (1758) II. 279 A man, who was appealed of a crime. 1768 [See approvement1 1.] 1809 Tomlins Law Dict. s.v., If the wife kill her husband, the heir may appeal her of the death. 1839 Keightley Hist. Eng. I. 307 They came before the king..and appealed of treason the Archbishop of York. |
2. To call one to defend himself (as by wager of battle); to challenge. arch.
| c 1400 Rowland & Ot. 343, I appelle hym for trouthe broken. 1470–85 (ed. 1634) Malory Pr. Arthur (1816) I. 322 Sir Blamor de Ganis..hath appealed me to fight with him. a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Wks. (1711) 224 Being appealed to a duel, he had killed his adversary. |
† 3. To invoke or claim as judge. (So in cl. L.) Obs. rare. See 6.
| 1382 Wyclif Acts xxv. 12 Cesar I apele [Vulg. Cæsarem appello; other MSS. and vers. To Cesar] Thanne Festus..answeride, Cesar thou hast apelid, To Cesar thou schalt go. |
† 4. To invoke or call to witness. Obs. rare. See 8.
| 1645 Lib. Consc. 19, I must appeal the consciences of those who now plead so much for liberty of conscience. 1649 Milton Eikon. 89 He hath presum'd to appeale the..testimony of God. |
II. intr. Const. to.
5. a. To call to a higher judge or tribunal for deliverance from the adverse decision of a lower; to remove a case formally from an inferior to a higher court. Also fig. as in proverbial phrase, To appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober.
| c 1400 Apol. Loll. 22 He appellid stalliworþli fro þe court of Innocent þe ferþe, vn to þe barre of Crist. 1502 Ord. Cryst. Men (W. de W.) iv. iii. (1506) 169 From the courte of Iustice a man may apele and call un too the courte of mercy. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. i. xi. 50 They appeale from custome to reason. 1876 E. Mellor Priesth. ii. 62 We appeal from the narrow officialism of the disciple, to the..merciful benevolence of the Master. |
b. with mention of one or both tribunals omitted; also against a decision.
| 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 100 S. Anselm þerfor appeld vnto þe courte of Rome. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 192 Alisaundre..a worthy knight..Forjuged hath, and he appelleth. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. viii. x. 25 Fra his Curt..Ðis Makduff appellyd. 1538 Starkey England 127 Appelyng to the Court of the Byschope of Canterbury. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. v. iv. 91 Helpe (Iupiter) or we appeale, and from thy iustice flye. 1883 Trevelyan Sp. in Parl. 25 Aug., The Revising Barrister's..decisions have never been appealed against. 1883 Times 27 Aug. 10/2 As there was doubt on the point he [the Judge] gave him liberty to appeal. |
c. to appeal to the country (sc. from parliament): to dissolve parliament after vote of the House of Commons adverse to the ministry, in order that the constituencies may express their mind on the question in electing the members of the new house.
6. a. To call upon a recognized authority to vindicate one's right or decide in one's favour in a dispute.
| 1393 Gower Conf. III. 196 Unto thy dome, lorde, I appele, Beholde and deme my querele. 1586 James VI. in Ellis Orig. Lett. i. 224 III. 19 Appealing to youre rypest judgement to discerne thereupon. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 122 ¶5 Mr. Touchy and he must appeal to him upon a Dispute that arose between them. 1878 Seeley Stein III. 364 We find him appealed to..in the constitutional dispute which had begun to rage. |
b. fig. of decision by physical means.
| 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxiii, They appealed to the sword. |
c. Cricket. To call upon an umpire for his decision; to make an appeal (see appeal n. 4 b).
| 1744 Laws [of Cricket] in New Dict. Arts & Sci. (1755) IV. 3460/1 [The umpires] are not to order any man out, unless appealed to by one of the players. 1830 M. R. Mitford Our Village IV. 26 They..finally appealed to the umpires as to the fairness of the play. 1897 K. S. Ranjitsinhji Jubilee Bk. Cricket vi. 254 When a catch at the wicket is appealed for, an umpire should..take into consideration both sound and sight. |
7. To call to a witness for corroboration; to call attention to some testimony as confirmation.
| 1414 Brampton 7 Penit. Ps. lxvi. 25 Forsake me noȝt..And ȝyf thou do, I will apele To Ne reminiscaris, Domine! 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, ii. i. 190 To Heauen I doe appeale, How I haue lou'd my King, and Common-weale. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 555 ¶13, I appeal to the judicious observers for the truth of what I assert. 1850 M{supc}Cosh Div. Govt. i. i. (1874) 8 For the proof of the existence of the conscience, we appeal..to the consciousness. |
8. To call for a favour of any kind; to make supplication, entreaty, or earnest request, to a person for a thing.
| 1540 Cromwell in Ellis Orig. Lett. ii. 142 II. 168, I appell to your Highnes for mercy. 1883 Daily News 3 Sept. 5/2 A letter from the Lord Mayor appealing to the public for subscriptions. Mod. I appeal to you to let me alone. |
9. a. To address oneself, specially and in expectation of a sympathetic response, to some principle of conduct, mental faculty, or class of persons. Also, to be attractive or pleasing to (a person).
| 1794 Sullivan View Nat. I. 103 Imagination here needs not be appealed to. 1803 Sir J. Mackintosh Def. Peltier Wks. 1846 III. 268 To what interests does it appeal? What passions is it to rouse? 1835 N. Amer. Rev. Oct., An author who treats it [the subject of Dress], appeals..to the young men and maidens. 1869 Freeman Norm. Conq. III. xiii. 296 He appealed to their sense of feudal honour. 1881 Mrs. J. H. Riddell Senior Partner III. iii. 70 Mr. McCullagh, to whom Mr. Mostin's general assertion appealed with the force of experience. a 1885 Mod. Pictures appeal to the eye, arguments to the reason. 1898 Saintsbury Short Hist. Eng. Lit. viii. iii. 524 Its poetical and romantic attractions..appeal even to a person so little poetical as Hobbes. 1928 C. Singer From Magic to Science i. 16 Such a point of view appealed greatly to the Middle Ages. |
b. To ‘make an appeal’; to be attractive.
| 1907 Smart Set Mar. 23/1 The speciousness of Betty's words appealed. |
III. trans. with a thing as obj.
10. To remove to a higher tribunal.
| 1481 Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 76, I appele this mater into the court to fore our lord the kyng. c 1590 Marlowe Faustus 9 To patient judgments we appeal our plaud. 1828 Webster s.v., We say the cause was appealed before or after trial. 1870 Lowell Among my Bks. i. (1873) 178 To appeal a case of taste to a court of final judicature. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 22 Aug. 2/2 Possibly the case will be appealed. 1932 E. Wilson Devil take Hindmost xvii. 192 The defense will appeal the case to the Supreme Court. 1963 Publisher's Weekly 2 Sept. 45/1 Curtis has announced that it will appeal the verdict. |
▪ II. appeal, n.
(əˈpiːl)
Forms: 3–5 apel, 4 apeel, 4–6 apele, 5 appelle, 5–6 appel(e, 6 apell, 6–7 appeale, 7 appeill, 6– appeal. Aphet. 4–5 pele.
[a. OFr. apel (mod. appel), f. apeler: see appeal v.]
† 1. A calling to account before a legal tribunal; in Law: A criminal charge or accusation, made by one who undertook under penalty to prove it; spec. a. Impeachment of treason or felony. b. ‘The accusation of a felon, at common law, by one of his accomplices, which accomplice was then called an approver.’ c. ‘An accusation by a private subject against another for some heinous crime, demanding punishment on account of the particular injury suffered, rather than for the offence against the public’ (Blackstone). Formerly a regular mode of criminal procedure. (All Obs. exc. Hist.)
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvii. 300 Þere þat partye pursueth · þe pele [1393 apeel, appel] is so huge, Þat þe kynge may do no mercy. 1471 Sir J. Paston Lett. 676 III. 18 Iff they be [maryed], than the appelys wer abbatyd there by. 1528 Perkins Profit. Bk. iii. §202 (1642) 91 The heire who is partie unto the death of his father shall not have an appeale thereof. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iv. i. 79 Aumerle is guiltie of my true Appeale. 1691 Blount Law Dict. s.v., Cognizance of Criminal Causes, is taken either..upon Indictment or Appeal..Accusation or Appeal is a lawful Declaration of another Mans crime (which, by Bracton, must be Felony at least) before a competent Judge, by one that sets his name to the Declaration, and undertakes to prove it, upon the penalty that may ensue of the contrary. 1809 Tomlins Law Dict. s.v., It does not appear that the appeal of treason is taken away by this statute (1 Hen. 4. c. 14) or any other. 1863 Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. ii. v. 456 At the time when Blackstone wrote..private subjects might prosecute others for heinous crimes by ‘Appeal of felony.’ |
† 2. A call to any one to defend his innocence or honour by arms; a challenge. Obs. exc. Hist.
| c 1450 Lonelich Grail lii. 858 They..founden kyng Marahans anon In the court to-forn kyng lucye, his apel there forto complye. 1598 Florio, Appellagione, an appeale, a challenge. a 1700 Dryden (J.), Nor shall the sacred character of king Be urged to shield me from thy bold appeal. |
3. a. The transference of a case from an inferior to a higher court or tribunal, in the hope of reversing or modifying the decision of the former; techn. the application for such transference, or the transferred case. Court of Appeal: a court occupied in rehearing cases previously tried in inferior courts. Also Court of Appeals (U.S.).
| 1297 R. Glouc. 473 To the bissop fram ercedekne [h]is apel [he] solde make. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 192 Fro thy wrath..To thy pite stant min appele. 1561 T. N[orton] Calvin's Inst. iv. 22 The Synodes, from whom there might be no appelle but to a Generall Counsel. 1642 Howell For. Trav. (Arb.) 85 Appeales in som cases may be made to the Mufiti who is their chiefest Bishop. 1777 Journals Cont. Congress (1907) VIII. 607 The propriety of establishing a court of appeals. 1849 Dickens Let. 2 Feb. in W. C. Macready Diaries (1912) II. 417 The indispensable necessity there is for a public and solemn Court of Appeal in all criminal cases. 1855 Fernando Wood in X. D. MacLeod Biogr. F. Wood (1856), There is..a Court of Appeals, to which to apply against the subjection. 1880 M{supc}Carthy Own Time IV. liv. 161 The decision was that the appeal must be dismissed. 1883 Trevelyan in Times 27 Aug. 6/3 The principles laid down by the Court of Appeal. 1883 [See appealable 1]. |
b. transf. as ‘an appeal to the country.’
| 1799 Coleridge Own Times I. 180 By this appeal to the universal suffrage, the sovereignty of the people is admitted. 1844 Brougham Brit. Const. i. (1862) 16 An appeal to the people by a dissolution is the resource of the Constitution. |
4. a. The call to a recognized authority for sanction, or decision in one's favour, or to a witness for corroborative testimony. Cf. appeal v. 6, 7.
| a 1626 Bacon (J.), The casting up of the eyes and lifting up of the hands, is a kind of appeal to the Deity. 1782 Priestley Matt. & Spirit I. xi. 132 In all metaphysical subjects, there is a perpetual appeal made to consciousness. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. II. vii. 144 They saw no hope but in an appeal to arms. |
b. spec. in Cricket. A call made to an umpire, by any player, for his decision on any point arising during a match, esp. whether a batsman is ‘out’ or not.
| 1844 F. W. Lillywhite Hand-Bk. Cricket 20 After the umpire has given you out, further appeal is useless. 1882 Daily Tel. 24 June (cricket) An appeal for a catch at the wicket was given in favour of Giffen. 1908 W. E. W. Collins Country Cricketer's Diary iv. 71 ‘How's that?’ came the second appeal, as the wicket-keeper, ball in hand, pulled up a stump. |
5. A call for help of any kind, or for a favour; an earnest request; an entreaty.
| 1859 Tennyson Vivien 231 She lifted up A face of sad appeal. 1879 J. A. H. Murray (title) An Appeal to the English-speaking and English-reading public to read books and make extracts for the Philological Society's New English Dictionary. 1882 Payn For Cash III. 4 An appeal to his nephew for forgiveness. 1883 Times 27 Aug. 5/2 Contributions received in answer to my last appeal. |
6. a. Language specially addressed to, or adapted to exert influence upon, some particular principle of conduct, mental faculty, or class of persons.
| 1833 Gen. P. Thompson Exerc. II. 472 The appeal to humane and Christian feeling. 1853 Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life III. xiv. 254 Slavery..must not be treated by appeals to the passions. 1876 J. Parker Paracl. i. ii. 17 To the intellectual man, the Christian appeal is this: ‘You have a spiritual consciousness.’ |
b. fig. Attractive influence or power; esp. in phr. to make an appeal (to) = appeal v. 9.
| 1916 H. Walpole Dark Forest ii. i. 209 The appeal of her ignorance and strength and credulity—ah! she won our hearts simply whenever she pleased. 1920 Rose Macaulay Potterism i. i. §4 Mrs. Potter was rather sadly aware that she made no appeal to the twins. Ibid. i. iv. §1 His was the sort of beauty which..makes so strong an appeal to the senses of the sex other than that of the possessor. 1925 W. Deeping Sorrell & Son xxiii. §3 The enticements that might be expected to make an appeal to a very young man. Ibid. xxvii. §1 She was standing close to him,..and Kit was conscious of the sudden shock of her appeal. 1926 Grand Mag. Aug. 587/2 The sport of manhunting had lost its appeal. |
† 7. A summons by bell-ringing, a peal. Obs.
| 1440 Promp. Parv., A-peele of belle ryngynge [1499 apele of bellis]. |
8. Special Comb. appeal court (also appeals court) = Court of Appeal s.v. appeal n. 3; appeal fund, a fund established for money collected in response to a charitable appeal.
| 1872 Rep. Sel. Comm. Appellate Jurisdiction 62 in Parl. Papers VII. 193 Such cases as now go to the Exchequer Chamber from the Common Law Courts, and to the *Appeal Court in Chancery from the Equity Courts. 1907 Parl. Deb. 29 July 598 They would have list upon list occupying this new Appeal Court [sc. the Court of Criminal Appeal] day after day. 1972 Times 23 Feb. 27/5 (heading) Appeal Court reproved for ignoring precedent. 1985 Financial Times 29 Oct. 4/4 Yesterday, an appeals court ruled that the state-of-siege decree empowered President Alfonsin to order arrests. |
| 1976 Cumberland & Westmorland Herald 4 Dec. 1/4 He said the *appeal fund at present stood at {pstlg}248. 1985 Guardian Weekly 8/2 Some 200,000 NZ dollars flooded into the Greenpeace appeal fund. |