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chargé d'affaires

[shahr-zhey duh-fair, shahr-zhey; French shar-zhey da-fer]
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noun, plural char·gés d'af·faires [shahr-zheyz duh-fair, shahr-zheyz; French shar-zhey da-fer] /ʃɑrˈʒeɪz dəˈfɛər, ˈʃɑr ʒeɪz; French ʃar ʒeɪ daˈfɛr/. Government.
  1. Also called chargé d'affaires ad interim. an official placed in charge of diplomatic business during the temporary absence of the ambassador or minister.
  2. an envoy to a state to which a diplomat of higher grade is not sent.
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Origin of chargé d'affaires

1760–70; < French: literally, one in charge of things
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for charge d'affaires

chargé d'affaires

noun plural chargés d'affaires (ˈʃɑːʒeɪ, -ʒeɪz, French ʃarʒe)
  1. the temporary head of a diplomatic mission in the absence of the ambassador or minister
  2. the head of a diplomatic mission of the lowest level
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Word Origin

C18: from French: (one) charged with affairs
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012