legate meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

legate

noun

/ˈlɛɡɪt/ · /ˈlɛɡət/

Etymology Inherited from Old English legat(e), from Old French legat, from Latin lēgātus, substantivized from the perfect passive participle of lēgō (“to bequeath, send as envoy”).

A deputy representing the pope, specifically a papal ambassador sent on special ecclesiastical missions.

An ambassador or messenger.

Moſt great and puiſant Monarke of the earth, Your Baſſoe wil accompliſh your beheſt: And ſhew your pleaſure to the Perſean, As fits the Legate of the ſtately Turke.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene i:
The dark figure on the raised white terrace; legate of the sun facing the sun; the most ancient royal power.1965, John Fowles, The Magus:

The deputy of a provincial governor or general in ancient Rome.

Legate, I had the news last night—my cohort ordered home By ships to Portus Itius and thence by road to Rome.1911, Rudyard Kipling, “The Roman Centurion’s Song”, in The History of England:

Derived terms: legatee, legateship
Related terms: legacy, legatine, legation, prolegate

legate

verb

/ləˈɡeɪt/

Etymology Borrowed from Latin lēgātus, perfect passive participle of lēgō (“to bequeath, leave as legacy, legate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

To leave as a legacy.

Obsolete, Participle, Past past participle of legate

legate

noun

Etymology Borrowed from Latin lēgātum (“a legacy”), substantivized from the neuter forms of the perfect passive participle of lēgō (“to bequeath, leave as legacy, legate”). Doublet of legacy.

Obsolete A legacy or bequest.