Advocacies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The actions or processes of supporting or arguing in favor of a particular cause or policy
2. Efforts aimed at promoting the rights and interests of specific groups or issues through public awareness and lobbying
3. Organized movements that seek to influence decision-makers on behalf of marginalized communities or important social matters

Etymology: "Advocacies" is simply the plural of "advocacy," so the history belongs to that root. "Advocacy" came into Middle English from Middle French forms such as "advocacie" and "avocacie," which in turn drew on Medieval Latin "advocātia," the state of being an advocate. The noun is built from "advocate" plus the suffix "-cy," a pattern that turns a person-word into a word for a condition or office. The root sense is legal. An advocate was someone summoned to stand beside a party in court, from Latin "advocare," meaning to call to one's aid. So the earliest sense of the family was practical support in a dispute, not campaigning. The plural form "advocacies" appears when speakers want to treat distinct campaigns or forms of support as separate countable things, which is how modern usage tends to discuss different causes and movements.

Synonyms: support, advocacy, promotion