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envoy

1
[ en-voi, ahn- ]
/ ˈɛn vɔɪ, ˈɑn- /
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noun

a diplomatic agent.
any accredited messenger or representative.
Also called envoy extraordinary, minister plenipotentiary. a diplomatic agent of the second rank, next in status after an ambassador.

RELATED WORDS

diplomat, emissary, delegate, representative, minister, ambassador, vicar, medium, bearer, courier, plenipotentiary, consul, agent, carrier, messenger, legate, intermediary, internuncio, nuncio

Nearby words

environmentalism, environmentalist, environs, envisage, envision, envoy, envy, enweave, enwheel, enwind, enwomb

Origin of envoy

1
1635–45; < French envoyé envoy, noun use of past participle of envoyer to send < Vulgar Latin *inviāre, presumably orig. to be on a journey, verbal derivative of Latin in viā on one's way, en route

Definition for envoy (2 of 2)

envoy

2

or en·voi

[ en-voi, ahn- ]
/ ˈɛn vɔɪ, ˈɑn- /

noun

a short stanza concluding a poem in certain archaic metrical forms, as a ballade, and serving as a dedication, or a similar postscript to a prose composition.

Origin of envoy

2
1350–1400; Middle English envoye < Old French, derivative of envoyer to send; see envoy1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for envoy

British Dictionary definitions for envoy (1 of 2)

envoy

1
/ (ˈɛnvɔɪ) /

noun

Formal name: envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary a diplomat of the second class, ranking between an ambassador and a minister resident
an accredited messenger, agent, or representative
Derived Formsenvoyship, noun

Word Origin for envoy

C17: from French envoyé, literally: sent, from envoyer to send, from Vulgar Latin inviāre (unattested) to send on a journey, from in- ² + via road

British Dictionary definitions for envoy (2 of 2)

envoy

2

envoi

/ (ˈɛnvɔɪ) /

noun

a brief dedicatory or explanatory stanza concluding certain forms of poetry, notably ballades
a postscript in other forms of verse or prose

Word Origin for envoy

C14: from Old French envoye, from envoyer to send; see envoy 1
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 envoy

envoy

n.

"messenger," 1660s, from French envoyé "messenger," literally "one sent" (12c.), noun use of past participle of envoyer "send," from Vulgar Latin *inviare "send on one's way," from Latin in "on" (see in- (2)) + via "road" (see via (adv.)). The same French word was borrowed in Middle English to mean "a stanza of a poem sending it off to find readers" (late 14c.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper