Part 335

3. To allege or adduce in proof, support, or vendication; to offer in excuse; as, the law of nations may be pleaded in favor of the rights of ambassadors. Spenser.

I will neither plead my age nor sickness, in excuse of faults.

Dryden.

Plead"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being pleaded; capable of being alleged in proof, defense, or vindication; as, a right or privilege pleadable at law. Dryden.

Plead"er (?), n. [F. plaideur.] 1. One who pleads; one who argues for or against; an advotate.

So fair a pleader any cause may gain.

Dryden.

2. (Law) One who draws up or forms pleas; the draughtsman of pleas or pleadings in the widest sense; as, a special pleader.

Plead"ing, n. The act of advocating, defending, or supporting, a cause by arguments.

Plead"ing*ly, adv. In a pleading manner.

Plead"ings (?), n. pl. (Law) The mutual pleas and replies of the plaintiff and defendant, or written statements of the parties in support of their claims, proceeding from the declaration of the plaintiff, until issue is joined, and the question made to rest on some single point. Blackstone.

Pleas"ance (?), n. [F. plaisance. See Please.] 1. Pleasure; merriment; gayety; delight; kindness. [Archaic] Shak. "Full great pleasance." Chaucer. "A realm of pleasance." Tennyson.

2. A secluded part of a garden. [Archaic]

The pleasances of old Elizabethan houses.

Ruskin.

Pleas"ant (?), a. [F. plaisant. See Please.] 1. Pleasing; grateful to the mind or to the senses; agreeable; as, a pleasant journey; pleasant weather.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Ps. cxxxiii. 1.

2. Cheerful; enlivening; gay; sprightly; humorous; sportive; as, pleasant company; a pleasant fellow.

From grave to light, from pleasant to serve.

Dryden.

Syn. -- Pleasing; gratifying; agreeable; cheerful; good- humored; enlivening; gay; lively; merry; sportive; humorous; jocose; amusing; witty. -- Pleasant, Pleasing, Agreeable. Agreeable is applied to that which agrees with, or is in harmony with, one's tastes, character, etc. Pleasant and pleasing denote a stronger degree of the agreeable. Pleasant refers rather to the state or condition; pleasing, to the act or effect. Where they are applied to the same object, pleasing is more energetic than pleasant; as, she is always pleasant and always pleasing. The distinction, however, is not radical and not rightly observed.

Pleas"ant, n. A wit; a humorist; a buffoon. [Obs.]

Pleas"ant*ly, adv. In a pleasant manner.

Pleas"ant*ness, n. The state or quality of being pleasant.

Pleas"ant*ry (?), n.; pl. Pleasantries (#). [F. plaisanterie. See Pleasant.] That which denotes or promotes pleasure or good humor; cheerfulness; gayety; merriment; especially, an agreeable playfulness in conversation; a jocose or humorous remark; badinage.

The grave abound in pleasantries, the dull in repartees and points of wit.

Addison.