1. demand for action with signatures: a written request signed by many people demanding a specific action from an authority or government
2. appeal or request to higher authority: an appeal or request to a higher authority or being
3. something requested: something requested or appealed for
4. act of petitioning: the act of making a petition
5. U.S. law pleading stating cause of action: a pleading in a civil action by which the plaintiff sets down the cause of action and invokes the court's jurisdiction
6. Canada law application for writ: a written application for a writ or for other legal action to be taken
transitive and intransitive verb (past and past participlepe·ti·tioned, present participlepe·ti·tion·ing, 3rd person present singularpe·ti·tions)
Definition:
1. give petition to somebody: to give or address a petition to somebody, especially somebody in authority or a representative of an organization
2. make demand using petition: to urge for or against a course of action by presenting a petition petitioning for his release
[14th century. Via French< Latin petition-< petere "seek, go toward"]
pe·ti·tion·ar·y adjective
pe·ti·tion·er noun
Word History
The Latin word petere "to seek," from which petition is derived, is also the source of English appetite, compete, impetus, perpetual, petulant, and repeat.
