Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The chief law officer and legal counsel of the government of a state or nation.
- noun The head of the US Department of Justice and a member of the President's cabinet.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A major government officer throughout the English-speaking world, generally responsible for interpreting the law for the head of government and executive department and functioning as chief prosecutor, with the ability to bring civil and criminal actions directly.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Anglo-Norman/Law French, (modern French avocat général), hence the unusual order of adjective following now, instead of idiomatic English *general attorney. Compare court martial, notary public, secretary general, surgeon general.
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Examples
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