Etymologically
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agent

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈeɪ.dʒᵊnt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin agēns (“doing, acting, effective”), stem agent-,[2][3][4] perhaps influenced by Old French agent,[3] the present participle of agere (“to set in motion, drive; to do, perform”),[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *ag- (“to drive, draw out, move”),[2][3] which also gave Greek ágein “to lead” and Old Norse aka “to drive”.[3] Merriam-Webster traces it through Medieval Latin agens, “something that produces an effect, a person authorized to act for another”.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

1471, in Ripley's Compend of Alchemy,[3] as a force capable of acting on matter.[5] Etymonline gives the late 15th century, “one who acts”.[2]

Semantic evolution

A natural force or substance that produces an effect is from the 1550s,[2] and in modern science any force or substance acting on matter, as a chemical agent, from 1756.[6] A person who acts on behalf of another, a deputy or representative, is from the 1590s,[2] and before 1593 in the OED.[6] In America an Indian agent represented the government in dealings with a tribe from 1707.[6] A spy, secret agent, is attested by 1916.[2] Agent Orange, a defoliant used in the Vietnam War, is from 1970.[6] The adjective, “acting”, as opposed to patient, is from 1620.[6] In Scotland an agent was a lawyer, and to agent a case was to manage it.[7]

Timeline

  • 1471 – a force acting on matter.[3][5]
  • 1550s – a natural force producing an effect.[2]
  • 1590s – a deputy, representative.[2]
  • 1620 – adjective, acting.[6]
  • 1707 – an Indian agent.[6]
  • 1756 – a chemical or physical agent.[6]
  • 1916 – a secret agent, a spy.[2]
  • 1970 – Agent Orange.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who acts for or represents another, as in business: an estate agent.
  2. A person or thing that acts or has the power to act.
  3. A force or substance that causes a change: a cleaning agent.
  4. A representative of a government, especially a spy.
  5. A means by which something is done; an instrument.

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)