Forespeaker
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 One who speaks on behalf of another; an advocate. historical, obsolete
"When professional lawyers attending the royal courts first become visible to historians in the thirteenth century, it is clear that they were already divided into two groups with distinct functions: the pleaders or 'forespeakers' who spoke for litigants (subject to disavowal) in court; and the attorneys, who acted as ministers or agents with power to bind their clients in the formal process of litigation."
Example
More examples"When professional lawyers attending the royal courts first become visible to historians in the thirteenth century, it is clear that they were already divided into two groups with distinct functions: the pleaders or 'forespeakers' who spoke for litigants (subject to disavowal) in court; and the attorneys, who acted as ministers or agents with power to bind their clients in the formal process of litigation."
Etymology
From Middle English forspeker, vorspekere, from Old English forespreca (“one who speaks on behalf of another; advocate; defender”), equivalent to forespeak + -er or fore- + speaker.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.