Merriam-Webster Word of the Day - Delegate

WORD OF THE DAY March 28, 2018

delegate    verb | DEL-uh-gayt     Definition   1 : to entrust to another   2 : to appoint as one's representative   3 : to assign responsibility or authority   Scroll down for more about delegate      TRENDING NOW: omnibus acrimony excoriate terrorism SEE ALL      PEOPLE ARE READING   Puppies, Puppets, and Pupils: A Little History       'Gorilla' or 'Guerrilla'?     How to ‘Zhuzh’ Up Your Vocabulary       The Ups and Downs of 'Carousel' and 'Carousal'         WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE   Up in the Sky: A Quiz   It's a bird? It's a plane? No, I'm really asking. What is it?     PLAY NOW     Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try!  TAKE ME THERE         Did You Know?   To delegate is, literally or figuratively, to send another in one's place, an idea that is reflected in the word's origin; it is a descendant of Latin legare, meaning "to send as an emissary." Other English words that can be traced back to legareinclude legate ("an emissary usually having official status"), legacy, colleague, and relegate. (The related Latin noun legatus refers to an ambassador, deputy, or provincial governor.) The noun delegate, meaning "a person acting for another," was in use in English by the 15th century, with the verb first appearing in the 16th century.     Examples of DELEGATE   "He said the current board seems to delegate rather than take input and make decisions based on what the community wants…." — Derek Lacey, BlueRidgeNow.com (Henderson, North Carolina), 14 Feb. 2018   "What's appropriate for your boss to delegate to you, and what's not? Especially when your boss asks you to do simple tasks—as in: very basic duties that are part of their job—they're walking a thin line between what's fair for you to do and what's not." — The Cut, 9 Feb. 2018   Name That Synonym   Fill in the blanks to complete a synonym of the verb delegate: de _ u _ _.   VIEW THE ANSWER           MERCH     Show Your Wordie Pride!   New swag now available — featuring our newly added words welp and wordie   CHECK OUT OUR SELECTION            MORE WORD FUN:     WORD GAMES          TRENDING NOW          WORDS AT PLAY