corespondent en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Latin co-lbor. English co- English respondent English corespondent From co- + respondent.
Meanings
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One of two or more persons against whom a lawsuit is made; but especially a person charged with committing adultery with the defendant in a divorce proceeding.
It was simply a certified copy of the decree in the divorce case of a prominent society woman, Mrs. Percy Schermerman, who had named as corespondent a still more prominent woman, Mrs. Willoughby Worthington. The evidence had been sealed, and the yellower papers had toiled in vain to find out just who the prominent corespondent was.
1913 June 7, Rupert Hughes, “Memling Must Have an Alibi”, in The Popular Magazine, volume 28, number 6, page 160:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| co-respondent | alternative | lexicographic | |
| corespondents | Number=Plur | lexicographic |