Etymologically
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delegation

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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
  • 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