Politics. someone who acts on behalf of a politician or political candidate by making public appearances, issuing statements, etc., when that person is engaged elsewhere or when that person’s image would be bolstered by certain affiliations: His camp won the “prestige of science” battle by signing on high-profile physicists, chemists, and biologists as campaign surrogates.
adjective
regarded or acting as a surrogate: a surrogate father.
involving or indicating the use of a surrogate mother to conceive or carry an embryo: surrogate parenting.
verb (used with object),sur·ro·gat·ed,sur·ro·gat·ing.
to put into the place of another as a successor, substitute, or deputy; substitute for another.
to subrogate.
Origin of surrogate
1525–35; < Latinsurrogātus, assimilated variant of subrogātus; see subrogate
Related formssur·ro·gate·ship, nounsur·ro·ga·tion, noun
mainlyBritisha deputy, such as a clergyman appointed to deputize for a bishop in granting marriage licences
psychiatrya person who is a substitute for someone else, esp in childhood when different persons, such as a brother or teacher, can act as substitutes for the parents
(in some US states) a judge with jurisdiction over the probate of wills, etc
(modifier)of, relating to, or acting as a surrogatea surrogate pleasure
verb (ˈsʌrəˌɡeɪt) (tr)
to put in another's position as a deputy, substitute, etc
to appoint as a successor to oneself
Derived Formssurrogateship, nounsurrogation, noun
Word Origin for surrogate
C17: from Latin surrogāre to substitute; see subrogate
early 15c., from Latin surrogatus, past participle of surrogare "put in another's place, substitute," from sub "in the place of, under" + rogare "to ask, propose" (see rogation). Meaning "woman pregnant with the fertilized egg of another woman" is attested from 1978 (from 1972 of animals; surrogate mother in a psychological sense is from 1971).
