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dep·u·ty (dĕpyə-tē)
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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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