embassy

[ em-buh-see ]
See synonyms for embassy on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural em·bas·sies.
  1. a body of people entrusted with a mission to a sovereign or government, especially an ambassador and their staff.

  2. the official headquarters of an ambassador.

  1. the function or office of an ambassador.

  2. a mission headed by an ambassador.

Origin of embassy

1
First recorded in 1570–80; variant of ambassy, from Middle French ambassee, Old French ambasce, ambaxee, ultimately from Old Provençal ambaissada, derivative of embayssar “to send a delegate,” from Medieval Latin ambasciāre, derivative of ambascia “service, office,” derivative, by a Germanic intermediary (compare Gothic andbahti, Old High German ambahti ) of Gallo-Latin ambactus “retainer, servant” (from Gaulish, equivalent to amb- “around, both” + -act- verbal adjective of unattested ag- “drive, lead”; compare Welsh amaeth “husbandman”); see origin at ambi-, amphi-, act, ambassador

Words Nearby embassy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use embassy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for embassy

embassy

/ (ˈɛmbəsɪ) /


nounplural -sies
  1. the residence or place of official business of an ambassador

  2. an ambassador and his entourage collectively

  1. the position, business, or mission of an ambassador

  2. any important or official mission, duty, etc, esp one undertaken by an agent

Origin of embassy

1
C16: from Old French ambassee, from Old Italian ambasciata, from Old Provençal ambaisada, ultimately of Germanic origin; see ambassador

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