deputy

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈdep.jə.ti/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English depute,^[2] borrowed from Anglo-Norman deputé, a noun use of the past participle of Old French députer “to appoint, assign”,^[3][2][4] from Late Latin dēputāre (“to destine, allot”),^[3][4] in classical Latin “to esteem, consider”, literally “to cut off, prune”,^[3] from dē “away” and putāre “to think, count”, literally “to cut, prune”,^[3] from Proto-Indo-European *pau- (“to cut, strike”).^[3] It is related to depute and deputation.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In law, a person authorized to act for another: 1405 in the OED.^[5] A subordinate officer given the full power of an office: about 1400 in Etymonline,^[3] about 1425 in the OED.^[5]

Semantic evolution

A governor acting for a sovereign is from about 1490,^[5] and an elected representative in a legislature, as in France, from 1600.^[5] In the City of London a deputy is a member of the Common Council acting for an alderman, from 1557.^[5] By deputy, by proxy, is from 1625,^[5] and a person sent to act for others, as in a deputation, from 1769.^[3][5] In northern English coal mines a deputy is a minor official in charge of safety, from 1851.^[5][6] In the United States a deputy is commonly a deputy sheriff.^[7][8]

Timeline

• c. 1400 – a subordinate officer.^[3]
• 1405 – in law.^[5]
• c. 1490 – a governor for a sovereign.^[5]
• 1600 – a member of a legislature.^[5]
• 1769 – a delegate.^[3][5]
• 1851 – a colliery official.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person appointed to act for another or others.
2. An assistant with full authority when the superior is absent: deputy head.
3. A member of a legislative assembly in some countries, as France.
4. (US) A deputy sheriff.

Adjective

1. Acting as a deputy: the deputy prime minister.

Word family

• deputyship
• deputize

Related words

• depute
• deputation
• compute
• amputate

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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c 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 l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ 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)
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster