Legate
/ˈlɛɡeɪt/noun
An official envoy or representative, especially one sent by a pope or government.
Did you know?Legate comes from Latin legatus, originally a person chosen and “sent” on a mission, and it shares a deep root with words like legion and intelligence through the ancient idea of gathering and dispatching.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leg-
“to gather, collect, choose”
Latin
Latin
legere
“to gather, pick out, read”
Latin
Latin
legatus
“an envoy, ambassador, deputy; one sent on a mission”
Old French
Old French
legate
“a papal envoy or ambassador”
Middle English
English
legate
“an envoy, especially of the pope”
Modern English
English
legate
“an official envoy or representative, especially of a pope or government”
Explore more surprising origins