Forms: 3 syutor, 4 sewtour, suytour, 4–5 sutere, 4–7 -er, -our, 5–6 sewter, 5–7 sutor, (5 sutoure, sutter, 6 sueter, sutar, swttar, shu-, shewter, suitour, -ore; Sc. 6 soytor(e, 6–7 soytour, 7 swotar), 6–8 suiter, 6– suitor. [a. AF. seutor, suitour, sut(i)er, -or, ad. late L. secūtor, -ōrem (f. secūt-, sequī to follow, SUE), with assimilation to suite SUIT sb.]
† 1. A frequenter (of a place). Obs. rare.
c. 1290. S. Eng. Leg., 413. He wax a syutor of tauernes.
† 2. One of a retinue or suite; hence, an adherent, follower, disciple. Obs.
c. 1380. Wyclif, Serm., Sel. Wks. II. 141. Þat Crist is everywhere … wiþ his apostlis and her suters. Ibid. (c. 1380), Wks. (1880), 292. He þat hatiþ blamynge is sutere of þe fend.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., IX. ii. (Bodl. MS.). Plato and his suytors.
c. 1450. Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.), 201. Oure Lorde God, that comyth me to, Hese pore servaunt and his sutere.
a. 1483. Liber Niger, in Househ. Ord. (1790), 23. Lordes & gentyls & other comyn sutors.
1509. Barclay, Shyp of Folys (1874), I. 262. Yet dyvers suters suche folysshe wytches have.
1517. in Ellis, Orig. Lett., Ser. I. II. 4, note. So that who shall be a suitour to him may have no other busynesse but give attendaunce upon his plesure.
1586. Holinshed’s Chron., III. 920/2. Other officers, seruants, reteiners, and suters, that most commonlie dined in the hall.
1601. F. Tate, Househ. Ord. Edw. II. (1876), § 94. 56. None of the kinges meignee,… Knight or clarke serjant, esquier,… page or sutor.
1830. Tennyson, How & Why, 1. I am any man’s suitor, If any will be my tutor.
3. One who owed suit (see SUIT sb. 1) to a court, and in that capacity acted as an assessor or elector. Now only Hist.
14[?]. Customs of Malton, in Surtees Misc. (1890), 60. All maner of playnttes … schall be … jugyd be ye sutterys of ye sayd cowrte.
1506. in Exch. Rolls Scotl., XII. 704. All officeris and ministeris of court sic as baillie and juge,… sutour, dempstar.
1541. Act 33 Hen. VIII., c. 24 § 3. Any Mayres Sheriffes Recorders, Stewardes Bayliffes Sewters or other officers … within any Cittie Boroughe or Towne.
c. 1550. Rolland, Crt. Venus, III. 4. Great membres of Court baith mair & les All is Sutour, to gif finall sentence.
1597. Skene, De Verb. Signif., s.v. Sok, Na judge aucht of law, or of reason, to accept ony man in court as Soytour, bot gif he can make sufficient and lauchfull reporte of processe. Ibid. (1609), Reg. Maj., 79. Ilke soytour before the Schiref represents the person of ane Baron, for quhom he was soytour in that court. Ibid., 93. That the court (the soytours of court) be lawfull.
1846. McCulloch, Acc. Brit. Emp. (1854), II. 87. By directing the election to be made by all the suitors,… this statute secured the constituency from undue practices.
1863. [see SUIT sb. 1].
† b. A tenant who owes suit to a mill. Obs.
1602. Carew, Cornwall, 13. This casualtie may be worth the owner some ten pound, by the yeere, or better if his mil have store of sutors.
4. One who sues or petitions; a petitioner, suppliant. arch.
1402[?]. Quixley, Ball., in Yorksh. Arch. Jrnl. (1908), XX. 48. Se, lo! How sche [sc. Fortune] tourneth þe face hir sutoure fro.
c. 1460. Fortescue, Abs. & Lim. Mon., xx. (1885), 157. The kyng shal … be wele defended ageyn suche importune suters.
1533–4. Act 25 Hen. VIII., c. 21 § 6. All Suters for dispensacions, faculties, licences and other wrytynges.
1576. Gascoigne, Kenelworth Castle, Wks. 1910, II. 131. That you would … be a suter for him unto the heavenly powers.
1581. H. Walpole, in Allen, Martyrdom Campion (1908), 56. He stands before the throne with harmonie, And is a glorious suter for our sinne.
1607. Hieron, Wks., I. 178. The apostle is a suter to God on the behalfe of the Ephesians.
1651. Walton, Life Wotton, in Reliq. Wotton., c 4 b. The Provostship of … Eton became Void…, for which there were … many … powerfull suiters to the King.
1718. Free-thinker, No. 147. 310. The frank Philosopher shall be the favourite Suiter.
1822. Scott, Nigel, iii. Those suitors who shall be so bold as to approach the Court.
1878. C. Gibbon, For the King, xvii. The officers stared in amazement at the importunate suitor.
1892. A. E. Lee, Hist. Columbus, I. 195. The colonies of Worthington and Franklinton became rival suitors for the location of the Capital of the State.
† b. One who seeks earnestly. Obs.
1548. Udall, Erasmus Par., Pref. 13. Studentes and suters to atteigne to the philosophye of the gospell.
5. A petitioner or plaintiff in a suit.
1503–4. Act 19 Hen. VII., c. 28. Preamb., The seid sueters & peticioners were … in dispayre of expedicion of ther suetes.
1560. Daus, trans. Sleidane’s Comm., 108 b. Lawes, whiche concerned partly the judges, partly the advocates, and partly the suters.
a. 1577. Sir T. Smith, Commw. Eng., II. viii. (1584), 50. In all iudgements necessarily being two parties, the first we call the impleader, suiter, demaunder or demaundaunt and plaintiffe.
a. 1660. Contemp. Hist. Irel. (Ir. Archæol. Soc.), II. 108. Amonge sutors in love and in lawe money is a comoun medler.
1856. Emerson, Eng. Traits, Ability. In the courts, the independence of the judges and the loyalty of the suitors are equally excellent.
1883. Law Times, 20 Oct., 410/2. The effect of the rule will be to deprive the suitor of the right of conducting his case as he thinks most conducive to his own interest.
6. One who seeks a woman in marriage; a wooer.
a. 1586. Sidney, Arcadia, I. xi. My court quickely swarmed full of suiters; some perchaunce loving my state, others my person.
1588. Kyd, Househ. Philos., Wks. (1901), 273. That noble Grecian dame that bated in the night As much as she had wouen by day, to bleare her sutors sight.
1637. T. Heywood, Emblem. Dial., xxxvii. Merry Suiters, make mad Husbands.
1781. Cowper, Retirem., 237. The suitor’s air indeed he soon improves, And forms it to the taste of her he loves.
1870. L’Estrange, Life Miss Mitford, I. i. 5. She was rich—her fortune was at her own command—of course she had suitors.
1888. Fergus Hume, Madame Midas, I. i. Miss Curtis soon brought crowds of suitors around her.
7. attrib., as (sense 6) suitor-crowd, etc.; † suitor-fee, a fine paid in lieu of suit at court.
1725. Pope, Odyss., I. 353. To their own districts drive the *suitor-crowd.
1601. Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot., 425/1. Necnon 6s. 8d. pro sectis curie de Rescobie vulgo lie *swotar-fie.
