Etymograph

English

legate

Legate comes from Latin lēgātus ‘envoy, ambassador, legate’, from lēx ‘a formal motion for a law’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *lēks.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*lēks‘law’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēx‘a formal motion for a law’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgō‘to bequeath, send as envoy’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgātus‘envoy, ambassador, legate’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400legat
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150legat(e)
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588legate

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*lēks‘law’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēx‘a formal motion for a law’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgō‘to bequeath, send as envoy’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgātus‘envoy, ambassador, legate’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400legat
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150legat(e)
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588legate

Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Moſt great and puiſant Monarke of the earth, Your…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’

law, low, lie, fellow, lawyer, layer, log, litter, ledger, lair, ledge, lawless, lees, lig, underlay, leaguer, lias, lagan, 19 more

through Proto-Indo-European *lḗgʰs

disloyalty, illegality, 7 more

through Proto-Italic *lēks ‘law’

loyalty, illegal, 9 more

through Latin lēx ‘a formal motion for a law’

lay, legal, loyal, lex, leal, 11 more

through Latin lēgō ‘to bequeath, send as envoy’

election, college, collection, lesson, select, elite, collective, eligible, legend, lecture, colleague, elect, coil, collector, legacy, negligence, legion, elegant, delegation, diligent, negligent, negligible, cull, collegiate, legible, ineligibility, lectern, collegium, lector, 27 more

Another origin of legate

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgō‘to bequeath, leave as legacy, legate’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgātus#Participlesperfect passive participle of lēgō
  3. Englishtodaylegate

Today it means

noun A deputy representing the pope, specifically a papal ambassador sent on special ecclesiastical missions.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *lēks / legate

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