envoy

¹

[en-voi, ahn-]

noun

1. a diplomatic agent.

   Synonyms: deputy, emissary, delegate

2. any accredited messenger or representative.

   Synonyms: deputy, emissary, delegate

3. Also called minister plenipotentiary. Also called envoy extraordinary. a diplomatic agent of the second rank, next in status after an ambassador.

envoy

²

Or en·voi

[en-voi, ahn-]

noun

1. 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.

envoy

¹

/ ˈɛnvɔɪ /

noun

1. Formal name: envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary. a diplomat of the second class, ranking between an ambassador and a minister resident

2. an accredited messenger, agent, or representative

envoy

²

/ ˈɛnvɔɪ /

noun

1. a brief dedicatory or explanatory stanza concluding certain forms of poetry, notably ballades

2. a postscript in other forms of verse or prose

Other Word Forms

• envoyship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of envoy¹

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

Origin of envoy²

1350–1400; Middle English envoye < Old French, derivative of envoyer to send; envoy ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of envoy¹

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

Origin of envoy²

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

Example Sentences

Washington expelled Bolivia's ambassador in retaliation, and the envoys were never replaced.

Read more on Barron's

The pair appear to have first crossed paths in February 2025 when Putin's envoy played a role in securing the release of an American teacher from a Russian jail.

Read more on BBC

A senior US official told the BBC that special envoy Steve Witkoff had received input from both the Ukrainians and the Russians "on what terms are acceptable to them to end the war".

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Ukraine's envoy, Dmytro Tymoshenko, said Russia and Belarus must remain barred from world sport "until Russia ends its barbaric war of aggression against Ukraine."

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In February, Romania’s foreign minister said that presidential envoy Richard Grenell told him at an international security conference in Germany that he remained interested in the fate of the Tates.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• delegate 
• diplomat 
• emissary 
• minister 
• representative