A Suit of Clothes, a Lawsuit and a Suitor
A suitor courts someone, or bids for a company. The word shares a root with suit and pursue, and all of them mean following.
A suitor is someone who courts another person, or a company trying to buy another. *Suit* looks like three unrelated words — clothing, a legal action, a set of cards — but all come from Latin *sequi*, to follow: a suit of clothes is a set of garments that follow one another, a lawsuit is a following-up of a claim, and a suitor follows the person they hope to win.
- One who courts. *A persistent suitor.*
- A bidding company. *The firm attracted three suitors.*
- Suit — a legal action. *File a suit.*
- Sue — to bring an action, from the same root. *They sued for damages.*
- Follow suit — do the same, from card games. *Others followed suit.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | suitor | A rejected suitor. |
| Plural | suitors | Rival suitors. |
| Verb | sue | Sue for peace. |
| Noun | suit | A civil suit. |
| Idiom | follow suit | They followed suit. |
- Penelope's suitors filled the hall.The Odyssey.
- A foreign suitor made a higher offer.Business.
- One bank cut rates and the others followed suit.The card-game idiom.
Why one word covers so much
- Suit of clothes — a matching set that goes together
- Suit of cards — hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades
- Lawsuit — following a claim through the courts
- Suitor — one who pursues
- Suitable — fitting, from the idea of matching
Anglo-French *seutor*, from Latin *secutor*, a follower, from *sequi*, to follow. English used it for a petitioner from the 1300s and for a romantic pursuer from the 1500s.
Is suitor old-fashioned?
In the romantic sense, yes. It survives easily in business writing about takeover bids.
Where does follow suit come from?
From card games, where players must play a card of the suit that was led.