solicitor

English

Alternative forms

solicitour (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French soliciteur. Equivalent to solicit +‎ -or.

Pronunciation

(General American) IPA^(key): /səˈlɪsɪtɚ/
(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /səˈlɪsɪtə/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Hyphenation: so‧li‧ci‧tor

Noun

solicitor (plural solicitors)

One who solicits.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones:
  “I beg, Mr Allworthy,” answered Sophia, “you will not insist on my reasons;— […] Your nephew, sir, hath many virtues—he hath great virtues, Mr Allworthy. I question not but he will do you honour in the world, and make you happy.”—“I wish I could make him so, madam,” replied Allworthy; “but that I am convinced is only in your power. It is that conviction which hath made me so earnest a solicitor in his favour.”
- 2014, K. Stanton, Shakespeare's 'Whores': Erotics, Politics, and Poetics
  […] sex workers are regarded as born to be punished; the solicitors of their services are not.
In many common law jurisdictions, a type of lawyer whose traditional role is to offer legal services to clients apart from acting as their advocate in court. A solicitor instructs barristers to act as an advocate for their client in court, although rights of audience for solicitors vary according to jurisdiction.
In English Canada and in parts of Australia, a type of lawyer who historically held the same role as above, but whose role has in modern times been merged with that of a barrister.
In parts of the U.S., the chief legal officer of a city, town or other jurisdiction.
(Canada, US) A person soliciting sales, especially door to door.

Usage notes

Jurisdictions using the common-law definition include England and Wales, Scotland, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Derived terms

solicitor general

Translations

lawyer offering legal services to clients apart from acting as court advocate

Chinese:
Mandarin: 初級律師／初级律师 (chūjí lǜshī)
Dutch: rechtskundig raadsman
Finnish: lakimies (fi)
Greek: δικηγόρος (el) m or f (dikigóros)
Icelandic: lögfræðingur m, málafærslumaður (is) m
Irish: aturnae m
Italian: avvocato (it) m
Japanese: 事務弁護士 (jimu bengoshi)
Polish: radca prawny (pl)
Portuguese: advogado (pt) m, assessor jurídico m, consultor jurídico m
Tagalog: tagausig

lawyer whose role has merged with that of a barrister

Finnish: asianajaja (fi)
French: avocat (fr) m
Greek: δικηγόρος (el) m or f (dikigóros)
Icelandic: lögfræðingur m, málafærslumaður (is) m
Italian: avvocato (it)
Polish: adwokat (pl) m, adwokatka (pl) f
Portuguese: advogado m

chief legal officer of a city, town or other jurisdiction

Japanese: 勧誘員 (kan'yūin)

person soliciting sales

Czech: podomní prodejce m, podomní prodavač m
Finnish: ovelta ovelle -myyjä
Icelandic: dyrasölumaður m, sölumaður m
Polish: akwizytor (pl) m, akwizytorka f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Arabic: ^{(please verify)} أَفُوكَاتُو‎ (avokātō), ^{(please verify)} مُحَامٍ‎ (muḥāmin)
Dutch: ^{(please verify)} rechtskundig adviseur m
French: avoué (fr) m
German: ^{(please verify)} Solicitor m, ^{(please verify)} Rechtsanwalt (de) m, der nicht vor höheren Gerichten auftritt
Norman: ^{(please verify)} êcrivain m (Jersey)
Spanish: ^{(please verify)} abogado (es) m, ^{(please verify)} notario (es) m
Turkish: ^{(please verify)} dava vekili (tr), ^{(please verify)} hukuk görevlisi