Legate

Legate
This unusual and interesting name is of early medieval origin, and is an occupational surname for an ambassador or deputy. The derivation is from the Old French and Middle English word "legat", itself derived from the Latin "legis", meaning to appoint or ordain, but ultimately from lex, meaning law. In addition to being an official name for a legate, an official elected to represent his village at the manor court, the surname may derive from a pageant-name similar to the medieval surnames of official position such as Lord, Knight, King and Bishop, these being frequent characters in medieval pageants. The actors that played thus came to be called by their character parts. The modern surname is recorded in many forms including: Leggat, Legate, Leggett and Leggitt. Early examples of the surname recordings include the christening of John Legate at St. John's church, Hackney, city of London London, on March 14th 1565, although the first recorded spelling of the family name is probably that of Peter Legat. This was dated 1199, in the "Pipe Rolls" of the county of Cornwall, during the reign of King Richard 1st of England and known as "The Lionheart', 1189 - 1199. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • Legate — • In its broad signification, means that person who is sent by another for some representative office. In the ecclesiastical sense it means one whom the pope sends to sovereigns or governments or only to the members of the episcopate and faithful …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Legate — may refer to: *Legatus, a general officer of the ancient Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class *Papal legate, a messenger from the Holy See *Legate, a rank in the Cardassian military in the fictional Star Trek universe *A member of a… …   Wikipedia

  • legate — n *ambassador, nuncio, internuncio, chargé d affaires, minister, envoy legate vb *will, bequeath, devise, leave …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Legate — Leg ate (l[e^]g [asl]t), n. [OE. legat, L. legatus, fr. legare to send with a commission or charge, to depute, fr. lex, legis, law: cf. F. l[ e]gat, It. legato. See {Legal}.] 1. An ambassador or envoy. [1913 Webster] 2. An ecclesiastic… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • legate — index advocate (counselor), plenipotentiary Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • legate — (n.) mid 12c., authorized representative of the Pope, from O.Fr. legat and directly from L. legatus ambassador, envoy, originally provided with a commission, pp. of legare send as a deputy, send with a commission, bequeath, from lex (gen. legis)… …   Etymology dictionary

  • legate — ► NOUN 1) a member of the clergy who represents the Pope. 2) a general or governor of an ancient Roman province, or their deputy. ORIGIN Latin legatus, from legare depute, delegate, bequeath …   English terms dictionary

  • legate — [leg′it] n. [ME < OFr legat < L legatus, pp. of legare, to send as ambassador < lex, law: see LEGAL] 1. an envoy or ambassador 2. Rom. History the governor of a province, or his deputy legateship n. legatine adj …   English World dictionary

  • Legate — Latin 1) A papal representative. There were two distinct categories: (I) legatus natus (literally born legate ), a status accorded to the archbishops of Canterbury and York ex officio to reinforce their supremacy within their provinces; (II)… …   Medieval glossary

  • legate — legateship, n. /leg it/, n. 1. an ecclesiastic delegated by the pope as his representative. 2. Rom. Hist. a. an assistant to a general or to a consul or magistrate, in the government of any army or a province; a commander of a legion. b. a… …   Universalium

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