delegacy

American  

[del-i-guh-see] / ˈdɛl ɪ gə si /

noun

plural

delegacies

1. the position or commission of a delegate.

2. the appointing or sending of a delegate.

3. a body of delegates; delegation.

4. (at Oxford University) a permanent committee charged with certain duties.

---

delegacy British  

/ ˈdɛlɪɡəsɪ /

noun

1. a less common word for delegation delegation

2. 1. an elected standing committee at some British universities

   2. a department or institute of a university

      a delegacy of Education

---

Etymology

Origin of delegacy

First recorded in 1525–35; deleg(ate) + -acy

Example Sentences

Martinez’s path to the delegacy echoes Washington’s own rise.

From Washington Post • Feb. 8, 2023

Henry appealed to a General Council, when a Council could be held which should be more than a Papal delegacy.

From The Divorce of Catherine of Aragon The Story as Told by the Imperial Ambassadors Resident at the Court of Henry VIII by Froude, J.A.

The theory of delegacy so indignantly repudiated by Conservative speakers during the first Reform Bill debates is to-day accepted and actively illustrated by a majority of Members.

From Social Transformations of the Victorian Age A Survey of Court and Country by Escott, T. H. S. (Thomas Hay Sweet)