delegate

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

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

5. entrust, assign, transfer.

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

Examples from the Web for delegator

Contemporary Examples of delegator

She was also a good delegator; there were lots of other people doing things at her behest.
Pippa Middleton, the Royal Wedding's Other Star
Tom Sykes
April 29, 2011

British Dictionary definitions for delegator

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 delegator

delegate

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

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).