English
delegate
Delegate comes from Latin dēlēgātus, from dēlēgō ‘to send, assign, delegate’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *lēks ‘law’.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*lēks‘law’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēx‘the legal machinery of a state, the law’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgō‘send’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlēgō‘to send, assign, delegate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnominative
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlēgātus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400delegat
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500delegat
- Englishearliest quotation 2010delegate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*lēks‘law’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēx‘the legal machinery of a state, the law’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgō‘send’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlēgō‘to send, assign, delegate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnominative
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlēgātus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400delegat
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500delegat
- Englishearliest quotation 2010delegate
Earliest quotation: 2010, Trey Nash, Accelerated C# 2010: “Historically, all viable frameworks have always provided a mechanism…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’
law, low, lie, lawyer, fellow, layer, log, litter, ledger, lair, ledge, lawless, lees, lig, leaguer, lias, underlay, lagan, 19 more
through Proto-Indo-European *lḗgʰs
disloyalty, illegality, 7 more
through Proto-Italic *lēks ‘law’
through Latin lēx ‘the legal machinery of a state, the law’
lay, legal, loyal, lex, leal, 11 more
through Latin lēgō ‘send’
college, collection, election, lesson, collective, select, legend, elite, lecture, eligible, colleague, legacy, collector, coil, elect, negligence, legion, diligent, elegant, negligent, negligible, cull, collegiate, legible, lectern, collegium, ineligibility, lector, legation, relegate, 26 more
through Latin nominative
Another origin of delegate
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlēgātus
- Englishtodaydelegate
Today it means
noun A person authorized to act as representative for another; a deputy.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *lēks / delegate