delegate Hear it!

delegate Definition

del·egate (del′ə git; for v., -gāt′)

noun

  1. a person authorized or sent to speak and act for others; representative, as at a convention
  2. ☆ Historical a representative of a U.S. Territory in the House of Representatives, with the right to speak but not to vote
  3. ☆ a member of a House of Delegates

Etymology: ME delegat < ML delegatus < pp. of L delegare, to send from one place to another, appoint, assign < de-, from + legare, to send: see legate

transitive verb -·gat′·ed, -·gat′·ing

  1. to send or appoint as a representative or deputy
  2. to entrust (authority, power, etc.) to a person acting as one's agent or representative

delegate Synonyms

delegate

n.

representative, emissary, proxy, deputy, agent, substitute, envoy, regent, viceroy, consul, appointee, plenipotentiary, minister, surrogate, spokesperson, alternate, nominee, commissioner, ambassador, legate, member, duly elected representative, the people's choice*, stand-in*, sub*, pinch hitter*; see also agent 1, representative 1.

delegate Synonyms

delegate

v.

  1. To give authority to another

    authorize, commission, appoint, name, designate, accredit, nominate, select, choose, assign, cast, constitute, license, empower, deputize, depute, swear in, send as a deputy, ordain, invest, place trust in, fix upon, assign power of attorney to, elect, warrant, give one the nod*, give one the green light*, give one the go-ahead*; see also approve 1, commission.

    Antonyms dismiss*, repudiate*, reject. *

  2. To give duties to another

    entrust, authorize, charge, assign, give to, hold responsible for, parcel out among, send on a mission, send on an errand, transfer, relegate, shunt, devolve, shove off on*, dump on*, pass the buck*; see also commit 2.

    Antonyms maintain*, retain*, keep.

delegate Law Definition

n

v

  1. One who acts on behalf of one or more others in an official capacity.
  2. The act of granting another the power to act on one’s behalf.

delegate Usage Examples

Object

  • responsibility: Another good idea is to delegate responsibility for your trip or day out to your children.
  • authority: Historic Scotland Images is operated under delegated authority from the Office of the Queen's Printer for Scotland.
  • power: The Public Trustee has delegated powers from the Court to deal with these cases.
  • task: For this reason, whenever you can delegate a task to one person instead of a team, do it!
  • budget: The school pays for the hire of the pool and three instructors from its budget delegated by the LEA.

Converse of object

  • elect: The farm produces fruit for both the home and European export markets and allows workers to elect delegates to the union.
  • remind: He reminded delegates that the recent Audit Unit document ' How good is our school?
  • tell: At the forefront Mr Morgan told delegates of his visit to the World Summit.
  • attract: The audience The conference attracted 153 delegates, the largest number to date.
  • enable: The various ' automatic ' features of the language will be covered in detail enabling the delegate to quickly develop maintainable programs.
  • invite: The tour will conclude with delegates invited to attend the annual Irish Software Association Awards in Dublin on Friday, 12th November.

Preposition: at

  • congress: It was a tragic moment for the working class when the majority of the delegates at the congress did exactly that.
  • conference: There will be opportunities for input from all delegates at the conference.

Converse of subject

attend: This day was attended by delegates from many organizations with polar interests.

Adjective modifier

  • non-residential: There will also be informal evening sessions which can be attended by both residential and non-residential delegates.
  • registered: There were 662 registered delegates of whom 209 were members of SSM.

Modifies a noun

pack: An announcement of the 2005 award is included in the delegate pack.

Noun used with modifier

  • conference: Phil Hope's address was followed by questions from conference delegates.
  • constituency: I am, however, my constituency delegate to the Labor conference this year so may get a chance to speak.
  • substitute: However, a suitable substitute delegate may replace an existing booking at any time without cost penalty.