/ri lay"teuhr/ , n.
1. a person who relates or tells; narrator.
2. Law.
a. a private person on whose suggestion or complaint certain writs, as a quo warranto, are issued and whose position is analogous to that of a plaintiff.
b. a party in interest who is allowed to institute a proceeding in the name of a public official when the right to sue rests exclusively in that official.
[ 1585-95; relator a proposer, mover. See RELATE, -TOR ]