emissary

English

Etymology

From French émissaire, from Latin emissarius (agent, scout, spy).

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɛmɪs(ə)ɹi/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈɛmɪˌsɛɹi/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Noun

emissary (plural emissaries)

  1. An agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else.
    • 1958, Conrad Brandt, “A Defeat out of Victory and a Devil out of the Machine”, in Stalin's Failure in China, 1924-1927[1], number 31, Cambridge, Mass.: Russian Research Center, Harvard University Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 143:
      The small group around Ch’en Tu-hsiu that had remained at headquarters hastily sent an emissary — Chang Kuo-t’ao — to Nanch’ang. Though Chang set out immediately, he did not reach Nanch’ang until July 31, the day before the rising.
    1. Such an agent spreading a gospel.
      Near-synonym: missionary
  2. (anatomy) A venous channel in the skull.
  3. An underground channel by which the water of a lake escapes.

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