What does attorney mean?
An attorney is a person authorized to act on behalf of another, most commonly in legal matters. In the United States, the word has become the standard formal name for a licensed lawyer — someone who represents clients in court, drafts contracts, and gives professional legal advice. In Britain, where solicitors and barristers are the usual terms, attorney survives mainly in set phrases such as 'power of attorney', which grants someone the authority to make decisions or handle affairs on another's behalf. The word carries a connotation of delegated trust and professional responsibility: to name someone as your attorney is to hand them the right to act in your place. Its etymology reflects this meaning directly — it derives from Old French atourner, 'to assign or turn over to', so an attorney is quite literally the person to whom your affairs are turned over. The title 'Attorney General' preserves this sense at the highest level, denoting the chief legal officer of a nation or state.
nounA person legally appointed or qualified to act on behalf of another in business or legal matters; in American usage especially, a lawyer licensed to practice law.
- A person appointed to act for another in business or legal affairs.
- (US) A lawyer qualified and licensed to represent clients in legal proceedings.
"She hired an attorney to negotiate the contract on her behalf."
"The defense attorney argued that the evidence had been mishandled."
"He granted his sister power of attorney so she could manage his finances during his illness."
Regular plural formed by adding -s. The plural 'attorneys general' is used for multiple holders of that office, preserving the postpositive adjective.
"The firm employs twelve attorneys across three offices."
An attorney is literally someone things get 'turned over' to — the word traces back to Old French 'atourner', meaning to direct or assign.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of attorney
Attorney comes from Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-Norman French attourney, derived from the verb atourner ('to direct, assign, or turn over'), which traces back through Latin ad- plus tornare ('to turn on a lathe'). The underlying idea was that one's affairs were 'turned over' to another person to manage. The word has been in English use since the medieval period, when attorneys acted as proxies in lawsuits and business transactions, and its Latin root tornare also gave English words such as return and tournament.
Related word forms
How attorney is actually used
In British English, 'attorney' survives chiefly in fixed phrases like 'letter of attorney' or 'power of attorney'; Britons otherwise say solicitor or barrister. In American English, attorney is the everyday formal term for a lawyer, slightly more official-sounding than 'lawyer'.
Easily confused with attorney
Lawyer is the general term for anyone trained and licensed to practise law, whereas attorney specifically denotes one appointed or authorized to act on another person's behalf.
Counsel refers to advice given or a lawyer advising on a case, while attorney names the professional who acts on a client's behalf in legal matters.