Editing Attorney general (section)

==Etymology==
In regard to the [[etymology]] of the phrase ''Attorney General'', [[Steven Pinker]] writes that the earliest citation in the [[Oxford English Dictionary]] is from 1292: "Tous attorneyz general purrount lever fins et cirrographer" (All general attorneys may levy fines and make legal documents).<ref name="SP-ZWords">{{cite book|last1=Pinker |first1=Steven |title=Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language |date=1999 |publisher=Basic Books|location=New York, NY |isbn=0-465-07269-0 |pages=25, 28 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HeA4DgAAQBAJ&q=attorneyz+general |access-date=14 May 2017}}</ref> The phrase was borrowed from [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman French]] when England was ruled by [[Normans]] after the [[Norman conquest of England|conquest of England]] in the 11th-century. As a variety of French, which was spoken in the law courts, schools, universities and in sections of the gentry and the bourgeoisie, the term relating to government was introduced into English.

The phrase ''attorney general'' is composed of a noun followed by the [[postpositive adjective]] ''general'' and as other [[English plurals#French compounds|French compounds]] its plural form also appears as ''attorneys generals''.<ref name="Haaretz-attorneys-general">{{cite news|title=U.S. Attorneys Generals Protest Trump's Ban: Liberty Is Bedrock of Our Country|newspaper=Haaretz|url=http://www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.768331|publisher=Haaretz.com|access-date=14 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="NYT-attorneys-generals">{{cite news|title=Former Attorneys Generals at Work|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/12/19/us/politics/1-Former-Attorneys-Generals-at-Work.html|work=The New York Times|date=18 December 2014|access-date=14 May 2017}}</ref> As compared to ''[[major general]]s,'' a term that also originates from French ("[[:fr:major-général|major-général]]") and also has a postpositive adjective, it also appears incorrectly as ''"attorney generals"''. While Steven Pinker writes: "So if you are ever challenged for saying ''attorney-generals,'' ''mother-in-laws'', ''passerbys'' ... you can reply, 'They are the very model of the modern ''major general'''" (a reference to the [[Major-General's Song]], from the operetta ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'').<ref name="SP-ZWords" />

The modern title of [[major general]] is a military rank in which the word "general" is not used as an adjective but as a noun, which can be pluralized.
In modern public discourse, attorneys general are often referred to or addressed as “general”.  In this construction, the word “general” is an adjective, and its use as a noun is incorrect. Attorneys general, despite carrying the title of "general", are not military officers and carry no rank.