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devil's advocate - 4 dictionary results

devil's advocate

 
Use devil's advocate in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person who advocates an opposing or unpopular cause for the sake of argument or to expose it to a thorough examination.
2. Also called promoter of the faith. Roman Catholic Church. an official appointed to present arguments against a proposed beatification or canonization of a beatus.
Origin:
1750–60; trans. of NL advocātus diabolī
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dev·il's advocate   (děv'əlz)
n.  
  1. One who argues against a cause or position, not as a committed opponent but simply for the sake of argument or to determine the validity of the cause or position.
  2. Roman Catholic Church An official appointed to present arguments against a proposed canonization or beatification.

[Translation of Medieval Latin advocātus diabolī, one arguing for the devil's plea against canonizing a saint : Latin advocātus, advocate + Late Latin diabolī, genitive of diabolus, devil.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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devil's advocate

One who argues against a cause or position either for the sake of argument or to help determine its validity. For example, My role in the campaign is to play devil's advocate to each new policy before it's introduced to the public. This term comes from the Roman Catholic Church, where advocatus diaboli (Latin for "devil's advocate") signifies an official who is appointed to present arguments against a proposed canonization or beatification. It was transferred to wider use in the mid-1700s.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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devil's advocate

in the Roman Catholic church, the promoter of the faith, who critically examines the life of and miracles attributed to an individual proposed for beatification or canonization. He is popularly called the devil's advocate because his presentation of facts includes everything unfavourable to the candidate. Pope Leo X, in the early 15th century, seems to have introduced the term, but Sixtus V formally established the office in 1587. The office was abolished when Pope John Paul II revised the canonization procedures in 1979.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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