Delegate
late Middle English: from Latin delegatus ‘sent on a commission’, from the verb delegare, from de- ‘down’ + legare ‘depute’.
wiktionary
From Middle English delegat, from Old French delegat, from Latin dēlēgātus.
etymonline
delegate (n.)
late 15c., "person appointed and sent by another or others with power to transact business as a representative," from the past-participle adjective (early 15c.), from Old French delegat or directly from Latin delegatus, past participle of delegare "to send as a representative," from de- "from, away" (see de-) + legare "send with a commission," possibly literally "engage by contract" and related to lex (genitive legis) "contract, law," from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather."
Sense of "person sent with representative powers to a convention, conference, etc." is from c. 1600. In U.S., "person elected or appointed to represent a territory in Congress," by 1825.
delegate (v.)
"to send with power to transact business as a representative," 1520s, from past-participle stem of Latin delegare "to send as a representative," from de "from, away" (see de-) + legare "send with a commission," possibly literally "engage by contract" and related to lex (genitive legis) "contract, law," from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather." Related: Delegated; delegating.
