relegate

[rel-i-geyt]

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verb (used with object), rel·e·gat·ed, rel·e·gat·ing.

to send or consign to an inferior position, place, or condition: He has been relegated to a post at the fringes of the diplomatic service.

to consign or commit (a matter, task, etc.), as to a person: He relegates the less pleasant tasks to his assistant.

to assign or refer (something) to a particular class or kind.

to send into exile; banish.

Origin of relegate

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin relēgātus, past participle of relēgāre to send away, dispatch. See re-, legate

Related formsrel·e·ga·ble

[rel-i-guh-buhl] /ˈrɛl ɪ gə bəl/, adjectiverel·e·ga·tion, nounun·rel·e·ga·ble, adjectiveun·rel·e·gat·ed, adjective

Synonyms for relegate

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR relegate ON THESAURUS.COM

2. delegate, entrust.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for relegation

deportation, transmission, relocation, removal, distribution, expulsion, eviction, displacement, extradition, dumping, disposition, transfer, clearance, demolition, destruction, embargo, omission, rejection, veto, refusal

Examples from the Web for relegation

Contemporary Examples of relegation

Our bookstores would surely be more drab and austere in their absence or their relegation to the annals of world literature.
Why the Man Booker Prize Is More Necessary Than Ever
Liam Hoare
October 15, 2012

Historical Examples of relegation

After the doom of relegation is expired, he comes hither at midsummer.
Imaginary Conversations and Poems
Walter Savage Landor
His disgrace and relegation to his see, in 1529, could not but stimulate this tendency.
A History of The Inquisition of Spain; vol. 2,
Henry Charles Lea
The motion was lost, and his relegation to Canea and a years imprisonment were voted.
Venice and its Story
Thomas Okey
She, who so longed for a first place, seemed doomed to relegation to the ranks.
Consequences
E. M. Delafield
In September 1697 he went to Civita Vecchia under sentence of three years' relegation.
The Old Yellow Book
Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for relegation

relegate

verb (tr)

to move to a position of less authority, importance, etc; demote

(usually passive) mainly British to demote (a football team, etc) to a lower division

to assign or refer (a matter) to another or others, as for action or decision

(foll by to) to banish or exile

to assign (something) to a particular group or category

Derived Formsrelegatable, adjectiverelegation, noun

Word Origin for relegate

C16: from Latin relēgāre to send away, from re- + lēgāre to send

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 relegation

1580s, from Latin relegationem (nominative relegatio), noun of action from past participle stem of relegare (see relegate).

relegate

1590s "to banish, send into exile," from Latin relegatus, past participle of relegare "remove, dismiss, banish, send away, schedule, put aside," from re- "back" (see re-) + legare "send with a commission" (see legate). Meaning "place in a position of inferiority" is recorded from 1790. Related: Relegated; relegating; relegable.