Adjacent Words

Attorney definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ATTORN'EY, n. plu. attorneys.
One who is appointed or admitted in the place of another, to manage his matters in law. The word formerly signified any person who did business for another; but its sense is now chiefly or wholly restricted to persons who act as substitutes for the persons concerned, in prosecuting and defending actions before courts of justice, or in transacting other business in which legal rights are involved. The word answers to the procurator, (proctor,) of the civilians.
Attorneys are not admitted to practice in courts until examined, approved, licensed and sworn, by direction of some court; after which they are proper officers of the court.
In G. Britain, and in some of the United States, attorneys are not permitted to be advocates or counsel in the higher courts; this privilege being confined to counsellors and sergeants. In other states, there is no distinction of rank, and attorneys practice in all the courts. And in general sense, the word attorney comprehends counsellors, barristers and serjeants.
In Virginia, the duties of attorney, counsellor, conveyancer and advocate, are all performed by the same individual.
An attorney may have general powers to transact business for another; or his powers may be special, or limited to a particular act or acts.
Attorney General is an officer appointed to manage business for the king, the state or public; and his duty, in particular, is to prosecute persons guilty of crimes.
A letter or warrant of attorney is a written authority from one person empowering another to transact business for him.
ATTORN'EY, v.t. To perform by proxy; to employ as a proxy. [Not in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice [syn: lawyer, attorney]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -neys) Etymology: Middle English attourney, from Anglo-French aturné, past participle of aturner Date: 14th century one who is legally appointed to transact business on another's behalf; especially lawyer • attorneyship noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -eys) 1 a person, esp. a lawyer, appointed to act for another in business or legal matters. 2 US a qualified lawyer, esp. one representing a client in a lawcourt. Phrases and idioms: Attorney General the chief legal officer in England, the US, and other countries. District Attorney see DISTRICT. power of attorney the authority to act for another person in legal or financial matters. Derivatives: attorneyship n. Etymology: ME f. OF atorné past part. of atorner assign f. à to + torner turn

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Attorney At*tor"ney, n.; pl. Attorneys. [OE. aturneye, OF. atorn['e], p. p. of atorner: cf. LL. atturnatus, attornatus, fr. attornare. See Attorn.] 1. A substitute; a proxy; an agent. [Obs.] And will have no attorney but myself. --Shak. 2. (Law) (a) One who is legally appointed by another to transact any business for him; an attorney in fact. (b) A legal agent qualified to act for suitors and defendants in legal proceedings; an attorney at law. Note: An attorney is either public or private. A private attorney, or an attorney in fact, is a person appointed by another, by a letter or power of attorney, to transact any business for him out of court; but in a more extended sense, this class includes any agent employed in any business, or to do any act in pais, for another. A public attorney, or attorney at law, is a practitioner in a court of law, legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court, on the retainer of clients. --Bouvier. -- The attorney at law answers to the procurator of the civilians, to the solicitor in chancery, and to the proctor in the ecclesiastical and admiralty courts, and all of these are comprehended under the more general term lawyer. In Great Britain and in some states of the United States, attorneys are distinguished from counselors in that the business of the former is to carry on the practical and formal parts of the suit. In many states of the United States however, no such distinction exists. In England, since 1873, attorneys at law are by statute called solicitors. A power, letter, or warrant, of attorney, a written authority from one person empowering another to transact business for him.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Attorney At*tor"ney, v. t. To perform by proxy; to employ as a proxy. [Obs.] --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(attorneys) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. In the United States, an attorney or attorney at law is a lawyer. ...a prosecuting attorney. N-COUNT see also District Attorney

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Agent, factor, proxy, deputy, substitute. 2. [U. S.] Attorney-at-law, lawyer, counsellor, counsel, solicitor, advocate, member of the bar, limb of the law.

Moby Thesaurus

MC, advocate, agent, alter ego, alternate, amicus curiae, assignee, attorney-at-law, backup, backup man, bailiff, barrister, barrister-at-law, butler, champion, counsel, counselor, counselor-at-law, croupier, curator, custodian, deputy, dummy, emcee, executive officer, exponent, factor, figurehead, friend at court, guardian, housekeeper, intercessor, landreeve, lawyer, legal adviser, legal counselor, legal expert, legal practitioner, legalist, librarian, lieutenant, locum, locum tenens, majordomo, master of ceremonies, mouthpiece, paranymph, pinch hitter, pleader, proctor, procurator, proxy, representative, sea lawyer, second in command, secondary, self-styled lawyer, seneschal, solicitor, stand-in, steward, substitute, supply, surrogate, understudy, utility man, vicar, vicar general, vice, vicegerent