messenger

[ mes-uhn-jer ]

noun

1. a person who carries a message or goes on an errand for another, especially as a matter of duty or business.

   Synonyms: courier, bearer

2. a person employed to convey official dispatches or to go on other official or special errands:

   a bank messenger.

3. Nautical.
   1. a rope or chain made into an endless belt to pull on an anchor cable or to drive machinery from some power source, as a capstan or winch.
   2. a light line by which a heavier line, as a hawser, can be pulled across a gap between a ship and a pier, a buoy, another ship, etc.
4. Oceanography. a brass weight sent down a line to actuate a Nansen bottle or other oceanographic instrument.
5. Archaic. a herald, forerunner, or harbinger.

verb (used with object)

1. to send by messenger.

messenger

/ ˈmɛsɪndʒə /

noun

1. a person who takes messages from one person or group to another or others
2. a person who runs errands or is employed to run errands
3. a carrier of official dispatches; courier
4. nautical
   1. a light line used to haul in a heavy rope
   2. an endless belt of chain, rope, or cable, used on a powered winch to take off power
5. archaic.
   a herald

Word History and Origins

Origin of messenger¹

1175–1225; Middle English messager, messangere < Anglo-French; Old French messagier. See message, -er ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of messenger¹

C13: from Old French messagier, from message

Example Sentences

NatWest Group has blocked messaging services WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Skype on company devices in the UK to stop staff using them to communicate with each other.

From BBC

Tanjapatkul first came under suspicion of the FBI in March 2023 when the Santa Ana resident promoted and sold on Facebook and Facebook Messenger the military-grade laser sight, a device used for hunting or military purposes that projects a beam onto a target, for $3,250.

From Los Angeles Times

Anzorov made an initial note on his telephone that read: “A teacher has shown his class a picture of the messenger of Allah naked.”

From BBC

Whatever the virtues of the anti–Amendment 3 argument, DeSantis’ political brand and history with the industry makes him a particularly poor messenger.

From Slate

Weaver, who lives in Palmdale but used to live half a mile from Dodger Stadium, is a retired messenger who delivered gifts and checks to celebrities before going blind 12 years ago.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• courier
• emissary
• go-between
• mediator
• prophet