Etymograph

English

legation

Legation comes from Latin lēgātiō, from lēgō ‘send with a commission’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning…’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-1‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to speak by carefully selecting one's words’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legō1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgō1‘send with a commission’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgātiō2
  6. Englishtodaylegation2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin legatio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English legation

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-Wiktionary, Latin legatio‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to speak by carefully selecting one's words’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵetiWiktionary, Latin legatioreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legōWiktionary, Latin legatioreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgōWiktionary, Latin legatio‘send with a commission’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēgātiōWiktionary, English legation
  6. EnglishtodaylegationWiktionary, English legation

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning…’

technology, logic, collect, apology, trilogy, catalogue, analogy, terminology, sociology, logos, physiology, pathology, astrology, prologue, epilogue, archaeologist, monologue, leach, eulogy, pathologist, cosmology, etymology, logistic, epistemology, entomology, lexical, gynecologist, homologous, lexicon, lignite, lignin, dialectical, dialectic, apologia, alexia, etiology, lexis, bacteriology, syllogism, bacteriologist, 149 more

through Proto-Italic *legō

intelligence, intelligent, intellectual, selection, ineligible, elector, legionella, legionnaire, legionary, 16 more

through Latin lēgō ‘send with a commission’

college, elite, election, collection, select, eligible, lesson, legend, collective, lecture, colleague, elect, legacy, collector, coil, negligence, elegant, diligent, negligent, negligible, legion, delegate, collegiate, cull, legible, lectern, ineligibility, collegium, lector, relegate, 25 more

Today it means

noun The purpose for which a legate is sent; a legate's mission or commission. Now rare (cf. OED)

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “legation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin legatio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- / legation

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