To officially remove someone (usually a lawyer) from the legal profession as punishment for misconduct or violations.
From 'dis-' (to reverse) + 'barred' (prevented from entering), where 'bar' originally meant the barrier in a courtroom separating lawyers from the public. The term dates to the 1600s.
The word 'bar' in legal contexts comes from the physical wooden bar that separated attorneys from everyone else in court—disbarring literally means removing someone from behind that symbolic barrier.
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