Attorney general
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The chief legal advisor to the government, overseeing legal affairs and ensuring that laws are uniformly and justly applied.
"If you do wrongfully ſeize Herford's right, call in his Letters Patents that he hath By his Atturneyes generall, to ſue[…]"
- 2 the position of the head of the Justice Department and the chief law enforcement officer of the United States wordnet
- 3 the chief law officer of a country or state wordnet
- 4 the person who holds the position of secretary of the Justice Department wordnet
Example
More examples"If you do wrongfully ſeize Herford's right, call in his Letters Patents that he hath By his Atturneyes generall, to ſue[…]"
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman and Law French, (modern French avocat général or procureur général), hence the unusual order of adjective following noun, instead of idiomatic English *general attorney. Compare court martial, notary public, secretary general, surgeon general.