A lawyer; one who advises or represents others in legal matters as a profession.
"After reviewing my contract, my attorney pointed out several clauses that could jeopardize our business deal."
In plain English: An attorney is a lawyer who represents people in legal matters.
"She hired an attorney to represent her in court."
Usage: Use "attorney" to refer specifically to a licensed legal professional who represents clients in court or provides legal advice. While often interchangeable with "lawyer," the term emphasizes the role of acting on behalf of another person rather than just possessing legal knowledge.
To work as a legal attorney.
"After graduating from law school, she immediately started working as an attorney at her father's firm."
In plain English: To act as a lawyer for someone else.
"The company decided to attorney the new branch with a local law firm to handle their legal matters."
Usage: The word "attorney" is not used as a verb in modern English; instead, you should use "to act as counsel" or simply say someone "is an attorney." Using "attorney" as a verb, such as "he will attorney the case," is grammatically incorrect and considered an error.
The word attorney comes from the Old French verb meaning "to appoint," originally referring to someone who was officially designated to act on another's behalf. It entered English through Middle English as a term for a legal representative rather than simply describing the same concept with no change in form or function.