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

“Should Beirut continue to hesitate, Israel may act unilaterally,” Tom Barrack, the U.S. envoy to Lebanon, warned in October, and that’s what happened.

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In a recent interview to “60 Minutes,” U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said that the aim in negotiations was to show Hamas that the hostages were no longer assets to them but a liability.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Mark Savaya, the new US special envoy to Iraq, insisted on the importance of "a fully sovereign Iraq, free from malign external interference, including from Iran and its proxies".

Read more on Barron's

While Lebanese authorities held indirect talks with Israel in the past, US envoy Tom Barrack told reporters in Bahrain on Saturday that his country was pushing for direct negotiations.

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The United States envoy for Syria said on Saturday that Damascus's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is to travel to Washington to sign an agreement to join an international US-led alliance against the Islamic State.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• delegate 
• diplomat 
• emissary 
• minister 
• representative