English
delegation
Delegation comes from Latin delegatio ‘an assignment (of debt), substitution’, from lēgō ‘send’, 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 assign, delegate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdelegatioas dēlēgātiō‘an assignment (of debt), substitution’
- Englishearliest quotation 1958delegation
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 assign, delegate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdelegatioas dēlēgātiō‘an assignment (of debt), substitution’
- Englishearliest quotation 1958delegation
Earliest quotation: 1958, 'Borderer', Ten Years of British Railways: “Decentralisation of the railways was provided for by the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’
law, low, lie, lawyer, fellow, layer, log, litter, ledger, lair, ledge, lawless, lees, lig, leaguer, underlay, lias, lagan, 18 more
through Proto-Indo-European *lḗgʰs
disloyalty, illegality, 6 more
through Proto-Italic *lēks ‘law’
through Latin lēx ‘the legal machinery of a state, the law’
lay, legal, loyal, lex, leal, relegate, 10 more
through Latin lēgō ‘send’
college, collection, election, elite, lesson, select, legend, collective, eligible, lecture, legacy, colleague, collector, coil, elect, negligence, elegant, diligent, negligent, legion, negligible, collegiate, cull, legible, lectern, collegium, lector, ineligibility, legate, 27 more
Today it means
noun An act of delegating.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *lēks / delegation