devil's advocate
English
Etymology
Calque of Latin advocātus diabolī (“the devil’s advocate”), a popular title given to the officer dealing with the canonization process in the 16th c.
Pronunciation
Audio (AU): (file)
Noun
devil's advocate (plural devil's advocates)
- (idiomatic) One who debates from a viewpoint which he or she may not actually hold, usually to determine its validity or simply for the sake of argument.
- I don't really believe all that – I was just playing devil's advocate.
- (historical, Roman Catholicism) A canon lawyer appointed by the Church to argue against the canonization of the proposed candidate.
Translations
debater
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canon lawyer
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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References
- “devil's advocate”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
Further reading
- devil's advocate on Wikipedia.Wikipedia