deputy
[dep-yuh-tee]
- a person appointed or authorized to act as a substitute for another or others.
- deputy sheriff.
- a person appointed or elected as assistant to a public official, serving as successor in the event of a vacancy.
- a person representing a constituency in certain legislative bodies.
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- appointed, elected, or serving as an assistant or second-in-command.
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Origin of deputy
1375–1425; late Middle English depute < Old French, noun use of past participle of deputer to depute
Synonyms
See more synonyms for deputy on Thesaurus.com1. agent, representative, surrogate, envoy, emissary, proxy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for deputy
Contemporary Examples
Patrick Klugman, the deputy mayor of Paris, said: “We are living our kind of 9/11,” he said.
Coincidently, both he and the deputy shadow governor are Korengalis and Zalwar Khan knows them well.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban ValleyMatt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman
November 15, 2014
One is Dmitry Rogozin, the former ambassador to NATO and current deputy prime minister.
Ibrahim made clear to Deputy Dennis Meyer that his daughter was a respectful and dutiful girl of Sudanese extraction.
When the deputy arrived at the apartment, he asked to speak with the girls and was led to their bedroom.
Historical Examples
Looking back, Andy saw a rifle pitch to the shoulder of the deputy.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
The master and mistress thenceforth transact their affairs by deputy.
To all of this the deputy listened sadly, combing his mustaches.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
The deputy officer took a chair and tipped it back against the wall.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
Jared Wiley, the deputy, was talking to a group near the stain, explaining.
The Gentleman From IndianaBooth Tarkington
deputy
- a person appointed to act on behalf of or represent another
- (as modifier)the deputy chairman
- a member of the legislative assembly or of the lower chamber of the legislature in various countries, such as France
- British mining another word for fireman (def. 4)
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Word Origin
C16: from Old French depute, from deputer to appoint; see depute
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 deputy
n.
c.1400, "one given the full power of an officer without holding the office," from Anglo-French deputé, noun use of past participle of Middle French députer "appoint, assign" (14c.), from Late Latin deputare "to destine, allot," in classical Latin "to esteem, consider, consider as," literally "to cut off, prune," from de- "away" (see de-) + putare "to think, count, consider," literally "to cut, prune" (see pave).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper