Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate
Tracing “”…
Where does the word "attorney" come from? It comes from Old French atorner, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "attorney" come from? It comes from Old French atorner, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).
Attorney’s story begins in Old French: atorner meant “to appoint, to assign.” To appoint, to assign, from a- (to) and torner (to turn). It reached English by 1300s as attorney. Settled as the English word for one legally appointed to act for another. Today, attorney means a person legally qualified to act on behalf of another, especially a lawyer.
- Stage 1 · Old French · medieval atorner "to appoint, to assign", to appoint, to assign, from a- (to) and torner (to turn).
- Stage 2 · English · 1300s attorney "a person legally appointed to act on another's behalf", settled as the English word for one legally appointed to act for another.