In old English law . Suit; attendance at court; the plaintiff’s suit or following, i. e., the witnesses whom he was required, in the ancient practice, to bring with him and produce in court, for the purpose of confirming his claim, before the defendant was put to the necessity of answering the declaration . See 3 Bl. Comm. 295, 344; Bract, fol. 214a. A survival from this proceeding is seen in the formula still used at the end of declarations , “and therefore he brings his suit,” (et inde prnducit sectam.) This word, in its secondary meaning , signifies suit in the courts; lawsuit.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
