Advocate

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈæd.və.kət/

Definitions

1. A person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy, or a lawyer who represents clients in legal proceedings
2. An individual who champions a certain cause or policy while also serving as a legal representative for clients in judicial contexts
3. One who actively supports or speaks in favor of an idea or movement ; a legal professional who represents and defends clients in court cases

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "advocate" is that its earliest sense in Christian contexts was about a go-between for God. Its Greek ancestor, "paraklētos," meant one called to someone's side, and early Latin translators rendered it as "advocatus," a person summoned to help. The Latin word was formed from "advocare," "to call for" or "to call to one's aid," and the "-atus" ending turned the past participle into a noun naming the person who had been called. Its root sense of a summoned helper stayed close to the surface for centuries. The word reached English through Old French "avocat" and Middle English "advocat," and the legal meaning of a person who pleads a case in court grew naturally out of that sense of someone called to assist another. The verb "advocate," meaning to speak in favour of something, was made later from the noun by adding a verb ending, so the cause-championing sense is the more recent layer on top of the older helper meaning.

Synonyms: supporter, promoter, champion, defender, proponent

Antonyms: opponent, critic, adversary