Lawyer

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ˈlɔːjÉ™(ɹ)/, /ˈlɔɪ.É™(ɹ)/

• US IPA: /lɔɪ.Éš/
• US IPA: /lÉ”.jÉš/
• Rhymes: -ɔɪ.É™(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: law + yer

Alternative forms

• lawer obsolete

Origin

From Middle English lawyer, lawer, equivalent to law + -yer.

Full definition of lawyer

Noun

1. A professional person qualified (as by a law degree and/or bar exam) and authorized to practice law, i.e. conduct lawsuits and/or give legal advice.
• 1907, Robert Chambers, The Younger Set Chapter 2/1, His forefathers had been, as a rule, professional men—physicians and lawyers ; his grandfather died under the walls of Chapultepec Castle while twisting a tourniquet for a cursing dragoon ; … .
2. By extension, a legal layman who argues points of law.

Synonyms

• advocate
• attorney
• counselor

Derived terms

Verb

1. (informal) To practice law.
2. To perform, or attempt to perform, the work of a lawyer.
3. To make legalistic arguments.
4. With "up", to acquire the services of a lawyer.
5. (colloquial, criminal law) With "up", to exercise the right to ask for the presence of one's attorney.
6. To barrage with questions in order to get the person to admit something, usually used in the past tense "been lawyered."

Related terms

• lawyer up

Anagrams

• warely