DEPUTY
deputy, lieutenant
(noun) an assistant with power to act when his superior is absent
deputy, deputy sheriff
(noun) someone authorized to exercise the powers of sheriff in emergencies
deputy, surrogate
(noun) a person appointed to represent or act on behalf of others
deputy
(noun) a member of the lower chamber of a legislative assembly (such as in France)
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
deputy (plural deputies)
One appointed as the substitute of another, and empowered to act for them, in their name or their behalf; a substitute in office
Synonyms: lieutenant, representative, delegate, vice, vicegerent
(mining, historical) A person employed to install and remove props, brattices, etc. and to clear gas, for the safety of the miners.
(France): A member of the Chamber of Deputies, formerly called Corps Législatif
(Ireland): a member of Dáil Éireann, or the title of a member of Dáil Éireann. (Normally capitalised in both cases)
(United States): a law enforcement officer who works for the county sheriff's office; a deputy sheriff or sheriff's deputy; the entry level rank in such an agency
Usage notes
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. In the British coal mining industry, the word referred to as a deputy overman, which was roughly akin to a foreman in other industries.
Synonyms
• substitute
• representative
• legate
• delegate
• envoy
• agent
• See also deputy
Hyponyms
• vice admiral
• vice director
• vicegerent
• vice president
Verb
deputy (third-person singular simple present deputies, present participle deputying, simple past and past participle deputied)
(informal, nonstandard) to deputise
Source: Wiktionary
Dep"u*ty, n.; pl. Deputies. Etym: [F. député, fr. LL. deputatus. See
Depute.]
1. One appointed as the substitue 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 legilative assembly; --
formerly called Corps Législatif. Its members, called deputies, are
elected by the people voting in districts.
Syn.
– Substitute; representative; legate; delegate; envoy; agent;
factor.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition