Past tense of prosecute; to have conducted legal proceedings against someone accused of a crime.
From Latin 'prosequi' meaning 'to follow after' or 'pursue', combining 'pro-' (forward) and 'sequi' (to follow). The legal sense developed in Medieval Latin as prosecutors literally 'pursued' criminals through the courts.
The word 'prosecuted' reveals the adversarial nature of criminal justice - it literally means 'followed' or 'pursued', reflecting how the state chases down wrongdoers like a hunter tracking prey through the legal system.
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