solicitor
UK /səˈlɪsɪtə/ · US /səˈlɪsɪtɚ/ noun
Forms solicitors solicitour
- noun A lawyer offering most legal services to clients apart from representation in court, for which the lawyer typically solicits and instructs a barrister instead, although rights of audience vary by jurisdiction. “Traditional solicitors are still found in the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, and parts of Australia.”
- noun (Canada, Australia) A lawyer now performing both the role of a traditional solicitor and that of a barrister.
- noun (US) The chief legal officer of a city, town, or similar jurisdiction in some American states.
- noun A customer, a requester of goods and services, especially johns, the clients of prostitutes.
- noun (Canada, US) A door-to-door salesperson, a person soliciting sales by visiting others' houses. “Did you see the sign that says 'No Solicitors'?”
- noun (archaic) An agent or proxy in other contexts, especially a petitioner, an intercessor, a go-between.
- noun (obsolete) A catalyst, a thing prompting some action or behavior.
- noun (obsolete) A tempter, an inciter.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle French soliciteur. By surface analysis, solicit + -or.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One who solicits.
- noun (a) An attorney or advocate; one who represents another in court; --formerly, in English practice, the professional designation of a person admitted to practice in a court of chancery or equity. See the Note under Attorney.
Etymology [F. soliciteur, L. solicitator.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “solicitor”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details