envoy
1 Americannoun
noun
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Formal name: envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary. a diplomat of the second class, ranking between an ambassador and a minister resident
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an accredited messenger, agent, or representative
noun
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a brief dedicatory or explanatory stanza concluding certain forms of poetry, notably ballades
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a postscript in other forms of verse or prose
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of envoy1
1635–45; < French envoyé envoy, noun use of past participle of envoyer to send < Vulgar Latin *inviāre, presumably originally to be on a journey, verbal derivative of Latin in viā on one's way, en route
Origin of envoy2
1350–1400; Middle English envoye < Old French, derivative of envoyer to send; see envoy 1
Explanation
An envoy is someone sent out as a messenger to represent another person or group, such as a country or business. The saying "Don't kill the messenger" could easily be "Don't kill the envoy," because an envoy is a messenger. The U.S. government has many envoys, as do other countries and many organizations and businesses. In government, an envoy has much less power than an ambassador. The word envoy is also used to describe a brief postscript in poetry or prose that explains or ties up the previous piece before “sending it to readers,” so that’s messenger-like too.
Vocabulary lists containing envoy
Poetry: Literary Devices
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This Week in Words: October 6 - 12, 2018
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This Week in Words: April 13–19, 2019
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One day in May, Sergio Gor, President Trump’s special envoy for South Asia, appeared at the base camp of Mount Everest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
His appointment as envoy to everywhere has shifted the paradigm, in plain sight.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
“The Houthis smell this, they know this,” said April Longley Alley, a former senior political adviser to the United Nations’ special envoy to Yemen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
"I don't think we know for sure," French envoy Duchene speculated about the origins of the artwork.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
That envoy saw the Spaniards at their most disorganized, told Atahuallpa that they were not fighting men, and that he could tie them all up if given 200 Indians.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
