Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Sue \Sue\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sued}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Suing}.]
[OE. suen, sewen, siwen, OF. sivre (pres.ind. 3d sing. il
siut, suit, he follows, nous sevons we follow), LL. sequere,
for L. sequi, secutus; akin to Gr. ?, Skr. sac to accompany,
and probably to E. see, v.t. See {See}, v. t., and cf.
{Consequence}, {Ensue}, {Execute}, {Obsequious}, {Pursue},
{Second}, {Sect} in religion, {Sequence}, {Suit}.]
1. To follow up; to chase; to seek after; to endeavor to win;
to woo.
For yet there was no man that haddle him sued.
--Chaucer.
I was beloved of many a gentle knight, And sued and
sought with all the service due. --Spenser.
Sue me, and woo me, and flatter me. --Tennyson.
2. (Law)
(a) To seek justice or right from, by legal process; to
institute process in law against; to bring an action
against; to prosecute judicially.
(b) To proceed with, as an action, and follow it up to its
proper termination; to gain by legal process.
3. (Falconry) To clean, as the beak; -- said of a hawk.
4. (Naut.) To leave high and dry on shore; as, to sue a ship.
--R. H. Dana, Jr.
{To sue out} (Law), to petition for and take out, or to apply
for and obtain; as, to sue out a writ in chancery; to sue
out a pardon for a criminal.