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n. 1. A representative of a government who is sent on a special diplomatic mission. 2. A minister plenipotentiary assigned to a foreign embassy, ranking next below the ambassador. 3. A messenger; an agent. [French envoyé, messenger, from past participle of envoyer, to send, from Old French envoier, from Late Latin inviāre, to be on the way : Latin in-, in, on; see EN-1 + Latin via, way; see wegh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. 1. A short closing stanza in certain verse forms, such as the ballade or sestina, dedicating the poem to a patron or summarizing its main ideas. 2. The concluding portion of a prose work or a play. [Middle English envoie, from Old French, a sending away, conclusion, from envoier, to send; see ENVOY1.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
