barrator

[ bar-uh-ter ]

/ ˈbær ə tər /

noun Law.

a person who commits barratry.

Nearby words

Also bar·ra·ter, barretor.

Origin of barrator

1350–1400; Middle English barettour brawler, fighter < Anglo-French barretor, barator, Old French barateor, equivalent to barat(er) to make a disturbance, baret(er) to trick, cheat (< Vulgar Latin *prattāre < Greek prā́ttein to do, perform, manage; see practical) + -eor -ator

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for barrator

And, when the barrator had disappeared, he turned his talons on his fellow, and was clutched with him above the ditch.
Dante: "The Central Man of All the World"|John T. Slattery
The barrator prolongs his answer so as to procure a respite from the fangs of his tormentors.
The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri|Dante Alighieri

British Dictionary definitions for barrator

barrator

/ (ˈbærətə) /

noun

a person guilty of barratry

Word Origin for barrator

C14: from Old French barateor, from barater to barter

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012