dep·u·ty  (d ĕp y ə-t ē)
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n. pl. dep·u·ties 1. A person who is appointed or empowered to act for another. 2. An assistant exercising full authority in the absence of their superior and exercising equal authority in emergencies: a deputy to the sheriff. 3. A representative in a legislative body in certain countries.
[Middle English depute, from Old French, from past participle of deputer, to depute; see DEPUTE.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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