(in England) a lawyer who is a member of one of the Inns of Court and who has the privilege of pleading in the higher courts.Compare solicitor (def. 4).
Informal. any lawyer.
Origin of barrister
1535–45; derivative of bar1, perhaps after obsolete legister lawyer or minister
OTHER WORDS FROM barrister
bar·ris·te·ri·al[bar-uh-steer-ee-uhl], /ˌbær əˈstɪər i əl/, adjective
Alamuddin was invited to become a barrister, an elite group of British lawyers, in 2010.
Meet Amal Alamuddin George Clooney’s Beautiful and Formidable Fiancée|Lizzie Crocker|April 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The dean told him face to face that Africans lacked the innate skills necessary to become a barrister.
Mandela: The Miracle Maker|Sam Seibert|December 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It tells the story a British barrister, a criminal lawyer, in mid-life crisis.
Scott Turow: How I Write|Noah Charney|October 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The founder, Motilal Nehru, an Anglophile barrister, was a liberal member of the Indian nationalist movement.
The Unstoppable Gandhi|Aravind Adiga|April 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST
But you are a pretty Lord Chancellor to tell the barrister on one side how best to win the cause!
The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Volume II (of II)|Charles Darwin
He called himself a barrister, but he never practised; a journalist at times, but he seldom put his name to anything he wrote.
The Avenger|E. Phillips Oppenheim
Perhaps,” exclaimed the barrister, “your few words will come more easily if you wet your whistle.
The Stowmarket Mystery|Louis Tracy
Cotherstone walked steadily away through the Market Place when he left the barrister.
The Borough Treasurer|Joseph Smith Fletcher
The Butcher only killed Beavers, the Barrister was hunting among his fellow sailors for a good legal case.
Lewis Carroll in Wonderland and at Home|Belle Moses
British Dictionary definitions for barrister
barrister
/ (ˈbærɪstə) /
noun
Also called: barrister-at-law(in England) a lawyer who has been called to the bar and is qualified to plead in the higher courtsCompare solicitor See also advocate, counsel