attorney general
"attorney-general" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“attorney general” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 16
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The chief legal advisor to the government, overseeing legal affairs and ensuring that laws are uniformly and justly applied.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | attorney general |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 16 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “attorney general” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
attorney general is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The chief legal advisor to the government, overseeing legal affairs and ensuring that laws are uniformly and justly applied.".
No misspelling variants are generated for attorney general in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Anglo-Norman and Law French, (modern French avocat général or procureur général), hence the unusual order of adjective following noun, instead of idiomatic English *general attorney. Compare court martial, notary public, secretary general, surgeon gene… The correct English form is attorney general, spelled A-T-T-O-R-N-E-Y- -G-E-N-E-R-A-L.
Definition
- 1The chief legal advisor to the government, overseeing legal affairs and ensuring that laws are uniformly and justly applied.
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman and Law French, (modern French avocat général or procureur général), hence the unusual order of adjective following noun, instead of idiomatic English *general attorney. Compare court martial, notary public, secretary general, surgeon general.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “attorney general”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-T-T-O-R-N-E-Y- -G-E-N-E-R-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.