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attorney - 6 dictionary results

at⋅tor⋅ney

[uh-tur-nee]
–noun, plural -neys.
1. a lawyer; attorney-at-law.
2. an attorney-in-fact; agent.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME < AF attourne lit., (one who is) turned to, i.e., appointed, ptp. of attourner to attorn


at⋅tor⋅ney⋅ship, noun
at·tor·ney   (ə-tûr'nē)   
n.   pl. at·tor·neys Abbr. Att. or Atty.
A person legally appointed by another to act as his or her agent in the transaction of business, specifically one qualified and licensed to act for plaintiffs and defendants in legal proceedings.

[Middle English attourney, from Old French atorne, from past participle of atorner, to appoint; see attorn.]
at·tor'ney·ship' n.

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.

Attorney

At*tor"ney\, v. t. To perform by proxy; to employ as a proxy. [Obs.] --Shak.
Language Translation for : attorney
Spanish: apoderado,
German: der, *die Bevollmächtigte(r),
Japanese: 代理人

attorney 
c.1303, from O.Fr. aturne "(one) appointed," pp. of aturner "to decree, assign, appoint," from a- "to" + turner "turn," from L. tornare (see turn). The legal L. form attornare influenced the spelling in Anglo-Fr. The sense is of "one appointed to represent another's interests." In English law, a private attorney was one appointed to act for another in business or legal affairs (usually for pay); an attorney at law or public attorney was a qualified legal agent in the courts of Common Law who prepared the cases for a barrister, who pleaded them (the equivalent of a solicitor in Chancery). So much a term of contempt in England that it was abolished by the Judicature Act of 1873 and merged with solicitor.
"Johnson observed that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney.' " [Boswell]
The double -t- is a mistaken 15c. attempt to restore a non-existent Latin original. Attorney general first recorded 1533 in sense of "legal officer of the state" (1292 in Anglo-Fr.), from Fr., hence the odd plural (subject first, adjective second).

Main Entry: at·tor·ney
Pronunciation: &-'t&r-nE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -neys
Etymology: Anglo-French atorné legal representative, from past participle of atorner to designate, appoint, from Old French, to prepare, arrange —see ATTORN
: a person authorized to act on another's behalf; especially : LAWYER —see also ATTORNEY-IN-FACT —compare COUNSEL
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