deputy

(dĕp'yə-tē)
n., pl., -ties.

1. A person appointed or empowered to act for another.
2. An assistant exercising full authority in the absence of his or her superior and equal authority in emergencies: a deputy to the sheriff.
3. A representative in a legislative body in certain countries.

[Middle English depute, from Old French, from past participle of deputer, to depute. See depute.]

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noun

1. One who stands for another: delegate, representative. See substitute.
2. A person who holds a position auxiliary to another and assumes some of the superior's responsibilities: adjutant, aide, assistant, auxiliary, coadjutant, coadjutor, helper, lieutenant, second. See help/harm/harmless.

n

Definition: assistant, agent
Antonyms: chief, manager

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

A person duly authorized by an officer to serve as his or her substitute by performing some or all of the officer's functions.

A deputy sheriff is designated to act on behalf of the sheriff in regard to official business.

A general deputy or undersheriff, pursuant to an appointment, has authority to execute all of the regular duties of the office of sheriff and serves process without any special authority from the sheriff.

A special deputy, who is an officer pro hac vice (Latin for "for this turn"), is appointed to render a special service. A special deputy acts under a specific, rather than a general, appointment and authority.

See: service of process.

A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

n.

A male relative of an office-holder, or of his bondsman. The deputy is commonly a beautiful young man, with a red necktie and an intricate system of cobwebs extending from his nose to his desk. When accidentally struck by the janitor's broom, he gives off a cloud of dust.

    "Chief Deputy," the Master cried,
    "To-day the books are to be tried
    By experts and accountants who
    Have been commissioned to go through
    Our office here, to see if we
    Have stolen injudiciously.
    Please have the proper entries made,
    The proper balances displayed,
    Conforming to the whole amount
    Of cash on hand -- which they will count.
    I've long admired your punctual way --
    Here at the break and close of day,
    Confronting in your chair the crowd
    Of business men, whose voices loud
    And gestures violent you quell
    By some mysterious, calm spell --
    Some magic lurking in your look
    That brings the noisiest to book
    And spreads a holy and profound
    Tranquillity o'er all around.
    So orderly all's done that they
    Who came to draw remain to pay.
    But now the time demands, at last,
    That you employ your genius vast
    In energies more active.  Rise
    And shake the lightnings from your eyes;
    Inspire your underlings, and fling
    Your spirit into everything!"
    The Master's hand here dealt a whack
    Upon the Deputy's bent back,
    When straightway to the floor there fell
    A shrunken globe, a rattling shell
    A blackened, withered, eyeless head!
    The man had been a twelvemonth dead.
                                                       Jamrach Holobom

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IN BRIEF: A person appointed to act for, with the same powers as, someone else.

His deputy filled in for him while he was out sick.

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For a list of words related to deputy, see:

• Government Officials and Citizens - deputy: member of lower legislative house; chief assistant to department head
• Diplomacy and Diplomats - deputy: substitute or assistant who assumes authority in absence of diplomatic superior

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See words rhyming with "deputy."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Deputise.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - stedfortræder, vikar, deputeret, sikkerhedsansvarlig

Nederlands (Dutch)
plaatsvervanger, gemachtigde, afgevaardigde, hulpsheriff, adjunct-, onder-/vice-

Français (French)
n. - adjoint, remplaçant, suppléant, délégué, fondé de pouvoir
adj. - vice (président), sous (directeur)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Stellvertreter, Bevollmächtigter
adj. - stellvertretend

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αναπληρωτής, αντικαταστάτης, βοηθός, επίκουρος, (ΗΠΑ) βουλευτής
adj. - αναπληρωτής, αντικαταστάτης, βοηθός, επίκουρος

Italiano (Italian)
sostituto, supplente, delegato, aggiunto, assistente

Português (Portuguese)
n. - deputado (m), delegado (m), vice (m)
adj. - deputado

Русский (Russian)
заместитель, уполномоченный, депутат

Español (Spanish)
n. - suplente, sustituto, representante, delegado
adj. - suplente, sustituto

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - ombud, vikarie, suppleant
adj. - deputerad

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
代理人, 代表

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 代理人, 代表

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 대리역, 하원 의원

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 代理人, 下院議員

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الوكيل ( مساعد يقوم بأعمال رئيسه عند غيابه), النائب ( في البرلمان) (صفه) وكيل, نائب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮בא-כוח, נבחר, ממלא מקום, סגן‬

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