delegate

[noun del-i-git, -geyt; verb del-i-geyt]

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noun

a person designated to act for or represent another or others; deputy; representative, as in a political convention.
(formerly) the representative of a Territory in the U.S. House of Representatives.
a member of the lower house of the state legislature of Maryland, Virginia, or West Virginia.

verb (used with object), del·e·gat·ed, del·e·gat·ing.

to send or appoint (a person) as deputy or representative.
to commit (powers, functions, etc.) to another as agent or deputy.

Origin of delegate

1350–1400; Middle English (noun) < Medieval Latin dēlēgātus, noun use of Latin: past participle of dēlēgāre to assign, equivalent to dē- de- + lēgātus deputed; see legate

Related formsdel·e·ga·tee

[del-i-guh-tee] /ˌdɛl ɪ gəˈti/, noundel·e·ga·tor

[del-i-gey-ter] /ˈdɛl ɪˌgeɪ tər/, nounnon·del·e·gate, nounpre·del·e·gate, noun, verb, pre·del·e·gat·ed, pre·del·e·gat·ing.re·del·e·gate, verb (used with object), re·del·e·gat·ed, re·del·e·gat·ing.sub·del·e·gate, nounsub·del·e·gate, verb (used with object), sub·del·e·gat·ed, sub·del·e·gat·ing.un·del·e·gat·ed, adjective

Synonyms for delegate

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5. entrust, assign, transfer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for delegate

commissioner, nominee, deputy, envoy, member, minister, senator, authorize, accredit, elect, assign, designate, entrust, relegate, ambassador, vicar, mouthpiece, viceroy, emissary, surrogate

Examples from the Web for delegate

Contemporary Examples of delegate

The Stalwarts hoped to swarm the convention and force a challenge to the delegate roll.
The GOP’s Last Identity Crisis Remade U.S. Politics
Michael Wolraich
July 24, 2014
Under the Soviet regime, people preferred to delegate power and decision-making to others—Stalin, for example.
Inside ‘Maidan’: Sergei Loznitsa on His Ukrainian Uprising Doc and Putin’s ‘Fascist’ Regime
Richard Porton
May 24, 2014
Though the commander-in-chief should delegate as much as possible, wartime relationships matter.
How Obama Lost Afghanistan
Elise Jordan
April 5, 2014
It seemed that little Shirley Temple had grown up to be a delegate to the United Nations.
When Hollywood Flirted with Porn: 1969, ‘Myra Breckinridge,’ ‘Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,’ & 20th Century Fox
Robert Hofler
February 1, 2014
This is more important than it may seem because it only allows a two-week window where delegate contests have to be proportional.
With New Primary Rules, RNC Panel Will Aid the Establishment in 2016
Ben Jacobs
January 24, 2014

Historical Examples of delegate

I am the unworthy servant and delegate of him who holds the keys.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
It does not say that a delegate must not be a woman, or must be a man.
Samantha Among the Brethren, Part 7.
Josiah Allen's Wife (Marietta Holley)
He was made a delegate of the Red Committee less than a year after his release on licence.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
And he—he had striven to delegate to others the burden he was meant to bear.
A Spirit in Prison
Robert Hichens
"Allow no one to leave the building," said the delegate to the other policeman.
The Eternal City
Hall Caine

British Dictionary definitions for delegate

delegate

noun (ˈdɛlɪˌɡeɪt, -ɡɪt)

a person chosen or elected to act for or represent another or others, esp at a conference or meeting
US government a representative of a territory in the US House of Representatives

verb (ˈdɛlɪˌɡeɪt)

to give or commit (duties, powers, etc) to another as agent or representative; depute
(tr) to send, authorize, or elect (a person) as agent or representative
(tr) mainly US to assign (a person owing a debt to oneself) to one's creditor in substitution for oneself

Derived Formsdelegable (ˈdɛlɪɡəbəl), adjective

Word Origin for delegate

C14: from Latin dēlēgāre to send on a mission, from lēgāre to send, depute; see legate

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

Word Origin and History for delegate

late 15c., from Old French delegat or directly from Latin delegatus, past participle of delegare "to send as a representative," from de- "from, away" (see de-) + legare "send with a commission" (see legate).

1520s (early 15c. as a past participle adjective), from delegate (n.). Related: Delegated; delegating.