Other forms: lawyers
A lawyer is the professional who advises on the law and speaks for you in court. See a lawyer, hire a lawyer, the lawyers are involved.
In England and Wales the profession is split: solicitors advise and prepare cases, barristers argue them in the higher courts, and lawyer covers both. In America, attorney and lawyer are used interchangeably. Note legal aid, which pays for representation for those who cannot afford it and has shrunk considerably; and that lawyer up is an American phrase for engaging one at the first sign of trouble.
1nounlawyerA professional who advises on the law and represents clients.
“She hired a lawyer to help her with the divorce.”
synonyms: solicitor, barrister, attorney
lawyer is a legal professional.
Also accepted in games: attorney, solicitor
The word is law plus -yer, an English formation on the model of bowyer and sawyer. Law itself is Old Norse lagu, meaning something laid down — the same laying as in lay and layer.
Middle English
lawiere
English, today
lawyer
From Middle English lawiere, lawier, lawer, equivalent to law + yer.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA