delegation

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌdel.ɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dēlēgātiō (“assignment, delegation”), perhaps partly through French délégation or formed in English,^[2][3][4] from the past participle stem of dēlēgō (“to send as a representative”) (see delegate), from dē- (“from, away”) and lēgō (“to send with a commission”), perhaps related to lēx (“contract, law”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A charge or commission given to a delegate: 1611; the act of delegating, 1612.^[5][3] An earlier word in this sense was delegacie, from the mid-15th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The sending of someone on a commission is from 1641,^[5] and in civil law the assignment of a debtor by a creditor to another creditor from 1721.^[5] A body of people sent to represent others is from 1818,^[2][5] and in the United States the representatives of a state, taken together, from 1828.^[2][5] Bankers used delegation for a kind of non-negotiable instrument from 1882.^[5]

Timeline

• 1611 – a commission.^[5]
• 1612 – the act of delegating.^[5][3]
• 1721 – delegation (civil law).^[5]
• 1818 – a body of delegates.^[2][5]
• 1828 – a state's delegation (US).^[2][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A group of people chosen to represent others; a deputation.
2. The act of delegating, or the state of being delegated.
3. (US politics) All the members of Congress from one state.

Word family

• nondelegation
• predelegation
• redelegation
• subdelegation

Related words

• delegate
• legate
• legation
• relegate

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press