Delegacy

/ˈdɛlɪɡəsi/ noun

Definition

The office, position, or area of authority of a delegate; a territory administered by a papal delegate.

Etymology

From 'delegate' with the suffix '-acy' (from Latin '-acia') meaning 'office, position, or function of.' Common in medieval and early modern governmental terminology.

Kelly Says

In papal administration, 'delegacy' was a serious institutional term—the Papal States were divided into delegacies, each governed by a representative of the Pope, making this word concrete evidence of how the Church ran its temporal power.

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