messenger

CEFRB1

/ˈmɛs.ən.d͡ʒɚ/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A person who delivers a message or information.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    The secretary bird.

Examples

  • Instead of going myself, I sent a messenger.

  • The messenger left for London in secret.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings
  1. The supporting member of an aerial cable (electric power or telephone or data).

  2. One who brings messages.

  3. A person appointed to perform certain ministerial duties under bankrupt and insolvent laws, such as to take charge of the estate of the bankrupt or insolvent.

More examples

In context
  • I'll messenger over the signed documents.

  • a messenger of doom

  • The 4 primary messengers include ^([sic]) AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger, and MSN Messenger.

Quick test

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Question 1 · Quick check

The neutral herald served as a reliable blank between the two armies in the conflict.

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Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English messengere, messingere, messangere, from Old French messanger, a variant of Old French messagier (French messager), equivalent to message + -er. Doublet of messager. Displaced native Old English boda (“messenger, envoy”) and ǣrendraca (“messenger, ambassador”). For the replacement of -ager with -enger, -inger, -anger, compare passenger, harbinger, scavenger, porringer. This development may have been merely the addition of n, or it may have resulted due to contamination from other suffixes such as Middle English -ing and the rare Old French -ange, -enc, -inge, -inghe (“-ing”) for Old French -age (“-age”).