alegato

argument

noun ah-leh-GAH-toh Rare

Origin: from Latin allegatum (cited, presented)

Also means

plea

Usage Note

Alegato primarily belongs to legal language, where it is a formal plea or closing argument before a court. Outside law it means a passionate or sustained argument in favour of something (un alegato a favor de los derechos humanos). It is a near-false friend with English 'allegation', which Spanish renders as acusación or denuncia.

Examples

"El abogado presentó un alegato convincente."

Natural Translation

The lawyer presented a convincing argument.

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