

dep⋅u⋅ty
[dep-yuh-tee]
noun, plural -ties.| 1. | a person appointed or authorized to act as a substitute for another or others. |
| 2. | deputy sheriff. |
| 3. | a person appointed or elected as assistant to a public official, serving as successor in the event of a vacancy. |
| 4. | a person representing a constituency in certain legislative bodies. |
| 5. | appointed, elected, or serving as an assistant or second-in-command. |
Related forms:
1. agent, representative, surrogate, envoy, emissary, proxy.
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Deputy
Dep"u*ty\, n.; pl. Deputies. [F. d['e]put['e], fr. LL. deputatus. See Depute.]1. One appointed as the substitute of another, and empowered to act for him, in his name or his behalf; a substitute in office; a lieutenant; a representative; a delegate; a vicegerent; as, the deputy of a prince, of a sheriff, of a township, etc. There was then [in the days of Jehoshaphat] no king in Edom; a deputy was king. --1 Kings xxii. 47. God's substitute, His deputy anointed in His sight. --Shak. Note: Deputy is used in combination with the names of various executive officers, to denote an assistant empowered to act in their name; as, deputy collector, deputy marshal, deputy sheriff. 2. A member of the Chamber of Deputies. [France] Chamber of Deputies, one of the two branches of the French legislative assembly; -- formerly called Corps L['e]gislatif. Its members, called deputies, are elected by the people voting in districts. Syn: Substitute; representative; legate; delegate; envoy; agent; factor.Cite This Source
deputy
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Main Entry: dep·u·ty
Pronunciation: 'de-py&-tE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
Etymology: Middle French deputé person appointed to exercise authority, from past participle of deputer to appoint, depute
1 : a person appointed as a substitute with power to act
2 : a second in command or assistant who usually takes charge when his or her superior is absent; specifically : DEPUTY SHERIFF
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Deputy
in 1 Kings 22:47, means a prefect; one set over others. The same Hebrew word is rendered "officer;" i.e., chief of the commissariat appointed by Solomon (1 Kings 4:5, etc.). In Esther 8:9; 9:3 (R.V., "governor") it denotes a Persian prefect "on this side" i.e., in the region west of the Euphrates. It is the modern word _pasha_. In Acts 13:7, 8, 12; 18:12, it denotes a proconsul; i.e., the governor of a Roman province holding his appointment from the senate. The Roman provinces were of two kinds, (1) senatorial and (2) imperial. The appointment of a governor to the former was in the hands of the senate, and he bore the title of proconsul (Gr. anthupatos). The appointment of a governor to the latter was in the hands of the emperor, and he bore the title of propraetor (Gr. antistrategos).
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