bencher

noun — 5 senses

bencher

noun

/ˈbɛnt͡ʃɚ/

Etymology From bench + -er.

1

Law Canada A senior member of a law society in a Canadian province (except New Brunswick).

2

Law UK One of the senior governing members of an Inn of Court.

There is Pump Court and Fountain Court, with their hydraulic apparatus, but one never heard of a bencher disporting in the fountain; and can’t but think how many a counsel learned in the law of old days might have benefited by the pump.1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 30, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

3

UK, Obsolete An alderman of a corporation.

ten of them Aldermen, or chief Benchers1719, Elias Ashmole, The Antiquity of Berkshire:

4

Obsolete A member of a court or council.

Come, come, you are well understood to be a perfecter / giber for the table than a necessary bencher in the / Capitol.c. 1605–1608, William Shakespeare, Coriolanus, act 2, scene 1, lines 76–78:

5

Obsolete One who frequents the benches of a tavern; an idler.

Derived terms: benchership, Royal Bencher

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.