Where does “United States Attorney” come from?

United States Attorney (English) comes from English attorney, from Middle English attourne, from Old French atorné, from Old French atourner — to attorn.

United States Attorney (English): A title for some attorneys for the federal government of the United States of America. The head of the government attorneys' office and prosecutor's office for a court district in the U.S. federal district court system, which represents the government's position

Definitions

  1. A title for some attorneys for the federal government of the United States of America. The head of the government attorneys' office and prosecutor's office for a court district in the U.S. federal district court system, which represents the government's position

Ancestry of “United States Attorney”, step by step

United States Attorney traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English attorney

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishattorneyA lawyer; one who advises or represents others in...
2Middle Englishattourne
3Old Frenchatornépast participle of atorner
4Old Frenchatournerto attorn

via English United States

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishUnited StatesThe collection of individual states of the United States of America
Every word from Old French atournerEvery word from Old French atornéEvery word from Middle English attourne