: a usually official emissary
legated; legating
leg·ate·ship
ˈlegə̇tˌship 
: the dignity and office of a legate
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Legate is a somewhat old-fashioned word, less used today than it was a century ago. More common is the synonym envoy. In the days before electronic communications, a legate often had particularly large responsibilities, since he couldn't check with his government to be sure he was doing the right thing. The Vatican still sends papal legates to represent the pope's point of view in negotiations.
Examples of legate in a Sentence
Noun (1)
the legate was charged with a list of objectives to accomplish on behalf of his country
Recent Examples on the Web
Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Apr. 2025
In the 1520s Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal legate of England, drove forward a similar program of moral and financial reform, winding up a further 29 monasteries.
—Crawford Gribben, WSJ, 29 Apr. 2022
The Franciscan Plano Carpini, who traveled the empire as papal legate in 1246, described a draconian tax collector demanding one in three boys from every Russian family, as well as unmarried women.
—Colin Thubron, The New York Review of Books, 6 July 2021
The wife of the ailing emperor sends an Imperial legate — her nephew — to investigate.
—N. K. Jemisin, New York Times, 14 July 2017
That Francis forced Festing’s resignation without deigning to pick up Burke’s gauntlet was further vindication of the Pope, who will soon appoint his own legate to run the Order.
—James Carroll, The New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2017
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Noun
However, papal legates—diplomatic representatives—continue their external functions.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Apr. 2025
In the 1520s Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal legate of England, drove forward a similar program of moral and financial reform, winding up a further 29 monasteries.
—Crawford Gribben, WSJ, 29 Apr. 2022
The Franciscan Plano Carpini, who traveled the empire as papal legate in 1246, described a draconian tax collector demanding one in three boys from every Russian family, as well as unmarried women.
—Colin Thubron, The New York Review of Books, 6 July 2021
The wife of the ailing emperor sends an Imperial legate — her nephew — to investigate.
—N. K. Jemisin, New York Times, 14 July 2017
That Francis forced Festing’s resignation without deigning to pick up Burke’s gauntlet was further vindication of the Pope, who will soon appoint his own legate to run the Order.
—James Carroll, The New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Legate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legate. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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