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ambassador

am·bas·sa·dor [ am bássədər, am bássə dàwr ] (plural am·bas·sa·dors)


noun 
Definition:
 
1. diplomatic representative: a diplomatic official of the highest rank sent by one country as its long-term representative to another

2. official representative: an official representative of an organization or movement
visiting this country as an ambassador for a fund dedicated to saving endangered species

3. unofficial representative: somebody or something regarded as an unofficial representative or a symbol of something
The swallow is an ambassador of spring.

[14th century. Via French ambassadeur< Italian ambasciator< Latin ambactus "vassal" < Gaulish, "servant"]

am·bas·sa·do·ri·al [ am bàssə dáwree əl ] adjective
am·bas·sa·dor·ship noun

Cultural Note

The Ambassadors, a novel (1903) by Henry James. Sometimes regarded as James's masterpiece, it tells the story of Lambert Strether, a middle-aged editor sent by his wealthy New England patron and fiancée to Paris to persuade her expatriate son Chad to return home.

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