Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Advocate \Ad"vo*cate\, n. [OE. avocat, avocet, OF. avocat, fr.
   L. advocatus, one summoned or called to another; properly the
   p. p. of advocare to call to, call to one's aid; ad + vocare
   to call. See {Advowee}, {Avowee}, {Vocal}.]
   1. One who pleads the cause of another. Specifically: One who
      pleads the cause of another before a tribunal or judicial
      court; a counselor.

   Note: In the English and American Law, advocate is the same
         as ``counsel,'' ``counselor,'' or ``barrister.'' In the
         civil and ecclesiastical courts, the term signifies the
         same as ``counsel'' at the common law.

   2. One who defends, vindicates, or espouses any cause by
      argument; a pleader; as, an advocate of free trade, an
      advocate of truth.

   3. Christ, considered as an intercessor.

            We have an Advocate with the Father.  --1 John ii.
                                                  1.

   {Faculty of advocates} (Scot.), the Scottish bar in
      Edinburgh.

   {Lord advocate} (Scot.), the public prosecutor of crimes, and
      principal crown lawyer.

   {Judge advocate}. See under {Judge}.