ˈlējə̇st noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French legiste, from Medieval Latin legista, from Latin leg-, lex law + -ista -ist
1. : a specialist in law or a branch of law ; especially : one learned in Roman or civil law
the legists elaborated their ideas of the royal rights with the aid of the Roman law — G.C.Sellery
2. : a medieval law student
3. usually capitalized : one of a group of Chinese philosophers emphasizing penal law as the principal means of social control
the Legists urged the full rigor of military despotism — C.P.Fitzgerald
— compare confucian