# lawyer

Pronunciation: US say "LOY-ur" /ˈlɔɪ.ɚ/; UK say "LAW-yuh" /ˈlɔːjə(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. A person trained and qualified in law, especially one licensed to give legal advice and represent clients in court.
   - Simple: A person trained in law whose job is to give legal advice and speak for people in court.
   - _A good lawyer will advise you before you sign any agreement._
   - _The defendant's lawyers filed an appeal within the deadline._
5. A person who argues points of law without being a qualified lawyer.
   - Simple: A person who argues about the law without being a qualified lawyer.
   - _The prisoner became something of a lawyer, filing motion after motion on his own behalf._
   - _Online forums are full of self-appointed lawyers quoting statutes they have never studied._

## Verb

2. To work as a lawyer, or to do or try to do the work a lawyer does. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To work as a lawyer, or to do the kind of work a lawyer does.
   - _Many graduates lawyer for a few years before moving into politics._
   - _He lawyered quietly in a rural county for most of his career._
3. To bombard a person with relentless questions in order to make them admit something. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To ask someone question after question to try to make them admit something.
4. To make picky, legalistic arguments, often over small technical points.
   - Simple: To argue in an overly technical, rule-focused way.
   - _They lawyer over every clause instead of finding common ground._
   - _She lawyered endlessly during the meeting, quibbling over wording._

## Other meanings

- (noun) Any of several plants with hook-shaped thorns that catch on anything brushing past them.
- (noun) Any of several climbing palms of the genus Calamus, armed with hooked thorns and long trailing stems.
- (noun) A thorny climbing plant of New Zealand, Rubus australis, related to the raspberry.
- (noun) A woody climbing rainforest vine, Flagellaria indica, that uses tendrils to grip and climb.
- (noun) The burbot, a freshwater cod-like fish (Lota lota) with an elongated body and a single chin barbel.
- (noun) The trailing, thorny stem of a bramble, such as a blackberry bush.

## Origin

From Middle English lawiere (also lawier, lawer), formed from "law" plus the suffix "-yer".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/lawyer (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).