lobbyist

lobbyist [lob-ee-ist] Word Origin noun

1. a person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest; a member of a lobby.

Origin of lobbyist First recorded in 1940–45; lobby + -ist Related formslob·by·ism, noun Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019 British Dictionary definitions for lobbyism lobbyist noun

1. a person employed by a particular interest to lobby

Derived Formslobbyism, noun Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for lobbyism lobbyist n.

1863, American English, from lobby (n.) in the political sense + -ist.

[A] strong lobbyist will permit himself to lose heavily at the poker-table, under the assumption that the great Congressman who wins the stake will look leniently upon the little appropriation he means to ask for. [George A. Townsend, “Events at the National Capital and the Campaign of 1876,” Hartford, Conn., 1876] Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper