advocate
/ˈæd.və.kət/ noun, verb
Forms advocates advocating advocated
- noun Someone whose job is to speak for someone's case in a court of law; a counsel.
- noun Anyone who argues the case of another; an intercessor.
- noun A person who speaks in support of something, or someone; proponent
- noun A person who supports others to make their voices heard, or ideally for them to speak up for themselves. “Since she started working with her advocate, she has become much more confident.”
- verb (transitive) To plead in favour of; to defend by argument, before a tribunal or the public; to support, vindicate, or recommend publicly.
- verb (transitive) To encourage support for something. “I like trees, but I do not advocate living in them.”
- verb (intransitive, with for) To engage in advocacy. “We have been advocating for changes in immigration law.”
- verb (Scots law) To appeal from an inferior court to the Court of Session.
- verb (Scots law, in higher courts) To call a case before itself for decision.
Synonyms
attorney counselor abogado avocat counsel latitat lawman lawyer legal representative limb of the law man of law exponent friend advocator proponent counsellor counselor-at-law pleader recommend urge preach
Etymology
From Middle English advocat, advoket, from Old French advocat, from Latin advocātus (“an advocate”), from the substantivization of the perfect passive participle of advocāre (“to call for”) (see -ate (noun-forming suffix)), from a calque of Ancient Greek παράκλητος (paráklētos) (whence English paraclete).
Doublet of advoke, avocat, avouch, and avow. The verb derives from the noun on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Webster’s 1913
- noun One who pleads the cause of another. Specifically: One who pleads the cause of another before a tribunal or judicial court; a counselor.
- noun One who defends, vindicates, or espouses any cause by argument; a pleader; as, an advocate of free trade, an advocate of truth.
- verb To plead in favor of; to defend by argument, before a tribunal or the public; to support, vindicate, or recommend publicly.
- verb To act as advocate. [Obs.] Fuller.
Etymology [OE. avocat, avocet, OF. avocat, fr. L. advocatus, one summoned or called to another; properly the p. p. of advocare to call to, call to one's aid; ad + vocare to call. See Advowee, Avowee, Vocal.]
Etymology [See Advocate, n., Advoke, Avow.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “advocate”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details