the.com/complainant
The person who files the paperwork so someone else has to explain themselves.
means The person who formally brings a complaint or accusation, typically in a legal or official proceeding.
from Traces back through French 'complaindre' to Late Latin 'complangere' — com- (intensive) plus 'plangere,' meaning to beat the breast, to lament loudly. The same root gives us 'plaintiff' and 'plaintive.' So underneath the legal paperwork lies an old gesture of grief — someone literally pounding their chest in protest before protest had forms to fill out.
- legal role
- brings the complaint, not the verdict
- not always victim
- can be a witness or third party
- civil vs criminal
- in criminal cases often called the accuser
- burden shift
- their claim starts the process, not ends it