Definition of "barratry"

barratry

/ˈbæɹətɹi/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural barratries
1. The act of persistently instigating lawsuits, often groundless ones.
  Quotations
  [Deacon Mushrat to Pogo:] The Machiavellian barratry of a pettifogging public has maundered into do-nothingism.
  1959 April 24, Walt Kelly, Pogo, comic strip, page 35
2. The sale or purchase of religious or political positions of power.
3. (admiralty law) Unlawful or fraudulent acts by the crew of a vessel, harming the vessel's owner.