advocate

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a person who pleads for a cause or propounds an idea
  2. noun a lawyer who pleads cases in court
  3. verb push for something

Etymology

From Middle English advocat, advoket, from Old French advocat, from Latin advocātus (“an advocate”), from the substantivization of the perfect passive participle of advocāre (“to call for”) (see -ate (noun-forming suffix)), from a calque of Ancient Greek παράκλητος (paráklētos) (whence English paraclete). Doublet of advoke, avocat, avouch, and avow. The verb derives from the noun on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix).

In classic literature

Synonyms

advocator, proponent, exponent

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading