Jump to content

agent

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Agent

English

[edit]
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

[edit]

    From Latin agēns, present active participle of agere (“to drive, lead, conduct, manage, perform, do”).

    Pronunciation

    [edit]
    • IPA(key): /ˈeɪ̯d͡ʒənt/, [ˈeɪ̯d͡ʒənt] ~ [ˈeɪ̯d͡ʒn̩t]
    • Hyphenation: a‧gent

    Noun

    [edit]

    agent (plural agents)

    1. One who exerts power, or has the power to act.
      • 1862, Brigham Young, “Call for Teams to Go to the Frontiers, etc.”, in Journal of Discourses, volume 9:
        Seeing we are so wonderfully endowed with priceless gifts by our Heavenly Father, will he not require usury at our hands? He will. But he has made us agents to ourselves, which makes us responsible for the way in which we use the talents he has given us, for the manner we expend the gold and silver, the wheat and fine flour, the cattle upon a thousand hills, and the wine and oil, for they all belong to Him
    2. (law) One who acts for, or in the place of, another (the principal), by that person's authority; someone entrusted to act on behalf of or in behalf of another, such as to transact business for them.
      He worked as an agent for the government.
      • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 36, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
        I see in him [Moby Dick] outrageous strength, with an inscrutable malice sinewing it. That inscrutable thing is chiefly what I hate; and be the white whale agent, or be the white whale principal, I will wreak that hate upon him.
      • 2024 April 22, Jeanne Sahadi, “What a buyer’s agent will do for you when you’re looking for a new home”, in CNN Business‎[1], archived from the original on 18 January 2025:
        Having a good buyer’s agent also means having someone who is knowledgeable about the local real estate market and who has the skills and competence to negotiate with the seller’s agent on your behalf.
    3. A person who looks for work for another person and brokers a deal between the hiree and hirer.
      • 2016 June 4, Press Association, “Ronald Koeman’s agent says Dutchman has agreed terms with Everton”, in The Guardian‎[2], archived from the original on 22 June 2021:
        Ronald Koeman has agreed a deal with Everton to become their new manager, his agent has reportedly told Dutch media. The agent Rob Jansen said, according to the popular Voetbal International website, that it was now down to Southampton and Everton to agree a compensation package for the Dutchman, who has a year remaining on his contract at St Mary’s.
    4. Someone who works for an intelligence agency: whether an officer or employee thereof or anyone else who agrees to help their efforts (for ideology, for money, as blackmailee, or otherwise).
      • Paragraph 4, Public Prosecutor v Yue Mun Yew Gary [2012] SGHC 188
        @Gary, are you a PAP agent? ... =) trying to incite rebellion and revolution on this site so that the govt will have an excuse to take down this site?
    5. An active power or cause or substance; something (e.g. biological, chemical, thermal, etc.) that has the power to produce an effect.
      • 1807, James Edward Smith, chapter 11, in An introduction to physiological and systematical botany:
        So far seems to be the work of chemistry alone; at least we have no right to conclude that any other agent interferes; since hay, when it happens to imbibe moisture, exhibits nearly the same processes."
      • 2025 June 13, Rhys Southan, Helena Ward, Jen Semler, “A timing problem for instrumental convergence”, in Philosophical Studies, Springer Science+Business Media, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC:
        Agents are means-rational insofar as they effectively pursue the goals they currently have—but means-rationality (even under a narrow-scope interpretation) does not prohibit agents from changing their goals or dropping them entirely.
    6. (computing) In the client-server model, the part of the system that performs information preparation and exchange on behalf of a client or server. Especially in the phrase “intelligent agent” it implies some kind of autonomous process which can communicate with other agents to perform some collective task on behalf of one or more humans.
      • 2026 September 5, Valeriya Safronova, “AI enters the house: ‘It’s a total game-changer’”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 6:
        [Jesse] Genet uses five AI agents to manage her seven-child household on a ranch outside Los Angeles.
    7. (grammar) The participant of a situation that carries out the action in this situation, e.g. "the boy" in the sentences "The boy kicked the ball" and "The ball was kicked by the boy".
      Antonym: patient
      Coordinate terms: subject, object; rheme, theme
      Near-synonym: doer
      • 2009, Tarsee Li, The Verbal System of the Aramaic of Daniel: An Explanation in the Context of Grammaticalization, page 58:
        A verb is typically described as active when its subject is the agent or actor. By contrast, a verb is said to be passive when the subject does not perform the action, but is the patient, target, or undergoer of the action.
    8. (gambling) A cheat who is assisted by dishonest casino staff.
      • 1978, John Scarne, Scarne's guide to casino gambling, page 108:
        Nevada casinos are fleeced out of millions of dollars yearly by agents (cheats acting as players) in collusion with crooked Black Jack dealers and pit bosses.
    9. (US) A law enforcement officer tasked with enforcing a specific field of law.
      The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives officers are just simply referred to as "ATF agents".
      All federal agents are federal police officers but not all federal police officers are agents. For example, Drug Enforcement Administration agents are both agents and federal police officers while US Marshals are just federal police officers.
      • 2025 January 26, Priscilla Alvarez, Rosa Flores, “Trump administration launches nationwide immigration enforcement blitz”, in CNN‎[3], archived from the original on 9 March 2025:
        In the Atlanta suburb of Lilburn, ICE agents arrested Walter Valladares, a 53-year-old undocumented immigrant from Honduras, according to family members who spoke with CNN.
    10. (usually US, capitalized) A respectful term of address for an agent, especially a law enforcement agent.

    Synonyms

    [edit]

    Antonyms

    [edit]

    Derived terms

    [edit]
    [edit]

    Translations

    [edit]

    See also

    [edit]

    Further reading

    [edit]

    Anagrams

    [edit]

    Azerbaijani

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

      Borrowed from Russian аге́нт (agént).

      Pronunciation

      [edit]
      • IPA(key): [ɑˈɟent], [ɑˈɟ͡ʝent]

      Noun

      [edit]

      agent (definite accusative agenti, plural agentlər)

      1. agent

      Declension

      [edit]
      Declension of agent
      singular plural
      nominative agentagentlər
      definite accusative agentiagentləri
      dative agentəagentlərə
      locative agentdəagentlərdə
      ablative agentdənagentlərdən
      definite genitive agentinagentlərin
      Possessive forms of agent
      nominative
      singular plural
      mənim (“my”) agentim agentlərim
      sənin (“your”) agentin agentlərin
      onun (“his/her/its”) agenti agentləri
      bizim (“our”) agentimiz agentlərimiz
      sizin (“your”) agentiniz agentləriniz
      onların (“their”) agenti or agentləri agentləri
      accusative
      singular plural
      mənim (“my”) agentimi agentlərimi
      sənin (“your”) agentini agentlərini
      onun (“his/her/its”) agentini agentlərini
      bizim (“our”) agentimizi agentlərimizi
      sizin (“your”) agentinizi agentlərinizi
      onların (“their”) agentini or agentlərini agentlərini
      dative
      singular plural
      mənim (“my”) agentimə agentlərimə
      sənin (“your”) agentinə agentlərinə
      onun (“his/her/its”) agentinə agentlərinə
      bizim (“our”) agentimizə agentlərimizə
      sizin (“your”) agentinizə agentlərinizə
      onların (“their”) agentinə or agentlərinə agentlərinə
      locative
      singular plural
      mənim (“my”) agentimdə agentlərimdə
      sənin (“your”) agentində agentlərində
      onun (“his/her/its”) agentində agentlərində
      bizim (“our”) agentimizdə agentlərimizdə
      sizin (“your”) agentinizdə agentlərinizdə
      onların (“their”) agentində or agentlərində agentlərində
      ablative
      singular plural
      mənim (“my”) agentimdən agentlərimdən
      sənin (“your”) agentindən agentlərindən
      onun (“his/her/its”) agentindən agentlərindən
      bizim (“our”) agentimizdən agentlərimizdən
      sizin (“your”) agentinizdən agentlərinizdən
      onların (“their”) agentindən or agentlərindən agentlərindən
      genitive
      singular plural
      mənim (“my”) agentimin agentlərimin
      sənin (“your”) agentinin agentlərinin
      onun (“his/her/its”) agentinin agentlərinin
      bizim (“our”) agentimizin agentlərimizin
      sizin (“your”) agentinizin agentlərinizin
      onların (“their”) agentinin or agentlərinin agentlərinin

      Derived terms

      [edit]

      Further reading

      [edit]

      Catalan

      [edit]
      Catalan Wikipedia has an article on:
      Wikipedia ca

      Etymology

      [edit]

        Learned borrowing from Latin agentem. First attested in the 14th century.[1]

        Pronunciation

        [edit]

        Noun

        [edit]

        agent m or f by sense (plural agents)

        1. agent

        Derived terms

        [edit]
        [edit]

        References

        [edit]
        1. ^ “agent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026

        Further reading

        [edit]

        Chinese

        [edit]

        Alternative forms

        [edit]

        Etymology

        [edit]

        From English agent.

        Pronunciation

        [edit]

        Noun

        [edit]

        agent

        1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) sales agent; broker

        Crimean Tatar

        [edit]

        Etymology

        [edit]

        Latin agentis (“acting”).

        Noun

        [edit]

        agent

        1. agent

        Declension

        [edit]
        Declension of agent
        nominative agent
        genitive agentniñ
        dative agentke
        accusative agentni
        locative agentte
        ablative agentten

        Derived terms

        [edit]

        References

        [edit]
        • Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002), Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎[5], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

        Czech

        [edit]

        Etymology

        [edit]

        First attested in the 18th century.[1]

        Pronunciation

        [edit]

        Noun

        [edit]

        agent m anim

        1. agent, spy (someone who works for an intelligence agency)
        2. agent, representative (someone who represents a company)

        Declension

        [edit]

        Noun

        [edit]

        agent m anim or m inan

        1. (computing) agent (program that acts on someone's behalf)

        Declension

        [edit]

        when animate:

        when inanimate:

        [edit]

        References

        [edit]
        1. ^ Rejzek, Jiří (2015), “agent”, in Český etymologický slovník [Czech Etymological Dictionary] (in Czech), 3rd (revised and expanded) edition, Praha: LEDA, →ISBN, page 48

        Further reading

        [edit]

        Danish

        [edit]
        Danish Wikipedia has an article on:
        Wikipedia da

        Etymology

        [edit]

        From Latin agēns.

        Noun

        [edit]

        agent c (singular definite agenten, plural indefinite agenter)

        1. agent (all senses)

        Declension

        [edit]
        Declension of agent
        common
        gender
        singular plural
        indefinite definite indefinite definite
        nominative agent agenten agenter agenterne
        genitive agents agentens agenters agenternes

        Synonyms

        [edit]

        Derived terms

        [edit]

        See also

        [edit]

        References

        [edit]

        Dutch

        [edit]

        Etymology

        [edit]

        Borrowed from French agent, from Latin agēns (“one who acts”).

        Pronunciation

        [edit]

        Noun

        [edit]

        agent m (plural agenten, diminutive agentje n, female equivalent agente)

        1. a police officer
          Toen confisceerde de agent de wiet en rookte het in één keer op.
          Then the police officer confiscated the weed and smoked it all in one go.
          Synonym: politieman
          1. a police officer of the low(est) rank, constable, junior officer
            Synonym: politieagent
        2. an undercover agent; intelligence officer, secret agent
        3. an agent (one who acts on behalf of another)
          1. a broker
            Synonym: makelaar
          2. a middleman, surrogate

        Derived terms

        [edit]
        [edit]

        Descendants

        [edit]
        • Afrikaans: agent
        • → Caribbean Javanese: akhèn
        • → Indonesian: agen

        Anagrams

        [edit]

        French

        [edit]

        Etymology

        [edit]

        Inherited from Middle French agent, from Latin agentem.

        Pronunciation

        [edit]

        Noun

        [edit]

        agent m (plural agents, feminine agente)

        1. agent

        Derived terms

        [edit]
        [edit]

        Descendants

        [edit]

        Further reading

        [edit]

        Anagrams

        [edit]

        Italian

        [edit]

        Etymology

        [edit]

        Unadapted borrowing from English agent.

        Noun

        [edit]

        agent m (invariable, feminine agente)

        1. agent

        Anagrams

        [edit]

        Kashubian

        [edit]

        Etymology

        [edit]

          Borrowed from Polish agent.

          Pronunciation

          [edit]

          Noun

          [edit]

          agent m inan (female equivalent agentka)

          1. (espionage) agent (someone who works for an intelligence agency)
            Synonym: szpijona
          2. (business) representative (company agent)
            Synonyms: przedstawicél, przedstôwca
          [edit]

          Further reading

          [edit]
          • Jan Trepczyk (1994), “agent”, in Słownik polsko-kaszubski (in Kashubian), volumes 1–2
          • Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “agent”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎[6]
          • “agent”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

          Latin

          [edit]

          Pronunciation

          [edit]

          Verb

          [edit]

          agent

          1. third-person plural future active indicative of agō

          Norwegian Bokmål

          [edit]

          Etymology

          [edit]

          From Latin agens, genitive agentis.

          Noun

          [edit]

          agent m (definite singular agenten, indefinite plural agenter, definite plural agentene)

          1. an agent

          References

          [edit]

          Norwegian Nynorsk

          [edit]

          Etymology

          [edit]

          From Latin agens, genitive agentis.

          Noun

          [edit]

          agent m (definite singular agenten, indefinite plural agentar, definite plural agentane)

          1. an agent

          References

          [edit]

          Polish

          [edit]
          Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
          Wikipedia pl

          Etymology

          [edit]

            Borrowed from German Agent.[1][2] First attested in 1609.[3] Doublet of agens.

            Pronunciation

            [edit]

            Noun

            [edit]

            agent m pers (female equivalent agentka, diminutive agencik or agenciak)

            1. (espionage) agent (someone who works for an intelligence agency)
              Synonyms: szpieg, wywiadowca
            2. commission agent (agent entrusted with the possession of goods to be sold in the agent's name)
              Synonym: ajent
            3. (business) representative (company agent)
              Synonym: przedstawiciel
            4. (acting, literature) impresario, literary agent
              agent literacki ― a literary agent
            5. (espionage) officer, peeper, secret agent
              Synonyms: cichociemny, tajniak
            6. (Middle Polish) legal defense assistant [from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 18th century][3]
              agent trybunału ― a tribunal assistant

            Declension

            [edit]

            Derived terms

            [edit]
            [edit]
            adjective

            Collocations

            [edit]

            References

            [edit]
            1. ^ Mirosław Bańko; Lidia Wiśniakowska (2021), “agent”, in Wielki słownik wyrazów obcych, →ISBN
            2. ^ Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000), “agent”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
            3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Teresa Sokołowska (21.05.2009), “AGENT”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]

            Further reading

            [edit]

            Romanian

            [edit]

            Alternative forms

            [edit]

            Etymology

            [edit]

              Borrowed from French agent.

              Pronunciation

              [edit]

              Noun

              [edit]

              agent m (plural agenți, feminine equivalent agentă)

              1. agent

              Declension

              [edit]
              singular plural
              indefinite definite indefinite definite
              nominative-accusative agent agentul agenți agenții
              genitive-dative agent agentului agenți agenților
              vocative agentule agenților

              Further reading

              [edit]

              Scots

              [edit]

              Alternative forms

              [edit]

              Etymology

              [edit]

              From Latin agēns, present active participle of agere (“to drive, lead, conduct, manage, perform, do”).

              Pronunciation

              [edit]
              • IPA(key): /ˈeːdʒənt/, /ˈɑː-/

              Noun

              [edit]

              agent (plural agents)

              1. (law) solicitor

              Verb

              [edit]

              agent (third-person singular simple present agents, present participle agentin, simple past and past participle agentit)

              1. to act as law agent

              References

              [edit]

              Serbo-Croatian

              [edit]

              Etymology

              [edit]

              From Latin agēns, present active participle of agere (“to drive, lead, conduct, manage, perform, do”).

              Pronunciation

              [edit]
              • IPA(key): /ǎɡent/
              • Hyphenation: a‧gent

              Noun

              [edit]

              àgent m anim (Cyrillic spelling а̀гент)

              1. agent

              Declension

              [edit]
              Declension of agent
              singular plural
              nominative àgent agenti
              genitive agenta àgenātā
              dative agentu agentima
              accusative agenta agente
              vocative agente agenti
              locative agentu agentima
              instrumental agentom agentima

              References

              [edit]
              • “agent”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026

              Swedish

              [edit]

              Pronunciation

              [edit]

              Noun

              [edit]

              agent c

              1. an agent

              Declension

              [edit]
              [edit]

              See also

              [edit]

              References

              [edit]

              Anagrams

              [edit]

              Tatar

              [edit]

              Noun

              [edit]

              agent

              1. Latin spelling of агент (agent)