Etymograph

English

advocate

Advocate comes from Latin advocātus ‘an advocate’, from advocō ‘to call, summon’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wokʷ-1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvocō1‘to call, summon’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadvocō2‘to call, summon’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadvocātus3‘an advocate’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400advocat3
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500advocat3
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1593advocate3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin advoco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin advocatus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English advocate
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “I neuer did incense his Maiestie / Against the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wokʷ-Wiktionary, Latin advocoreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvocōWiktionary, Latin advoco‘to call, summon’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadvocōWiktionary, Latin advocatus‘to call, summon’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadvocātusWiktionary, English advocate‘an advocate’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400advocatWiktionary, English advocate
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500advocatWiktionary, English advocate
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1593advocateWiktionary, English advocate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “I neuer did incense his Maiestie / Against the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ-

vocabulary, revocation, convocation, 21 more

through Latin vocō ‘to call, summon’

invite, invitation, vie, provoke, invoke, vocational, vouch, provocative, provocation, vocation, irrevocable, revocable, provocateur, 30 more

Today it means

noun Someone whose job is to speak for someone's case in a court of law; a counsel.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “advocate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin advoco, Latin advocatus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ- / advocate

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