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proxy

[prok-see]
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noun, plural prox·ies.

the agency, function, or power of a person authorized to act as the deputy or substitute for another.
the person so authorized; substitute; agent.
a written authorization empowering another person to vote or act for the signer, as at a meeting of stockholders.
an ally or confederate who can be relied upon to speak or act in one's behalf.

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RELATED WORDS

intermediary, surrogate, stand-in, ambassador, attorney, emissary, deputy, alternate, envoy, broker, negotiator, delegate, lawyer, executor, backup, substitute, representative, assignee

Origin of proxy

1400–50; late Middle English prokesye, procusie, contraction of procuracy procuration. See procure, -acy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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British Dictionary definitions for proxy

proxy

noun plural proxies

a person authorized to act on behalf of someone else; agentto vote by proxy
the authority, esp in the form of a document, given to a person to act on behalf of someone else
computing short for proxy server

Word Origin for proxy

C15: prokesye, contraction of procuracy, from Latin prōcūrātiō procuration; see procure
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 proxy
n.

early 15c., proccy, prokecye, "agency of one who acts instead of another; letter of power of attorney," contraction of Anglo-French procuracie (c.1300), from Medieval Latin procuratia "administration," from Latin procuratio "a caring for, management," from procurare "manage" (see procure). Also cf. proctor (n.). Meaning "person who acts in place of another" is from 1610s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for proxy

proxy

A person authorized to act for another, or the written authorization to act for another.

Note

Shareholders in corporations may designate proxies to represent them at stockholders' meetings and vote their shares.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.