Borrowed from Latin prōsecūtus, perfect participle of prōsequor.

• IPA: /ˈpɹɒsɪkjuːt/

prosecute (prosecutes, present participle prosecuting; simple past and past participle prosecuted)

1. (transitive, law) To start criminal proceedings against.

   to prosecute a man for trespass, or for a riot

   • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain'd. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC ↗, page 56 ↗, line 898:

     To acquit themſelves and proſecute their foes

2. (transitive, law) To charge, try.
   • 1962 [1959], William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch, New York: Grove Press, page 8 ↗:

     The Vigilante is prosecuted in Federal Court under a lynch bill and winds up in a Federal Nut House specially designed for the containment of ghosts […]

3. To seek to obtain by legal process.

   to prosecute a right or a claim in a court of law

4. (transitive) To pursue something to the end.

   to prosecute a scheme, hope, or an investigation

   • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene i]:

     I am beloved of beauteous Hermia; / Why should not I, then, prosecute my right?

• French: poursuivre en justice
• German: strafrechtlich verfolgen (law), gerichtlich belangen (law), belangen
• Russian: пресле́довать
• Spanish: procesar

• German: anklagen, bestrafen, vor Gericht stellen

• German: betreiben, verfolgen