pretendant noun 2adjective 1forms 1 noun2 •(old-fashioned) A pretender; a claimant. •(no longer used) A suitor.Thelwall Salusbury too—then Vicar of Offley, my Cousin, my Pretendant—& my Enemy—of Course, I see today among the Black List in our Newspaper. — 1803 adjective1 •(old-fashioned) Claiming to be someone or something; having a claim.Else o how easie had it beene for thee / All the pretendant race t’haue laid full low / If thou proceeded hadst with crueltie, / Not suffering anie fatall branch to grow: […] — 1595 formspretendants
