agentn.¹adj.

Brit.

/ˈeɪdʒ(ə)nt/, U.S.

/ˈeɪdʒ(ə)nt/

Forms: late Middle English– agent, 1500s–1600s agente, 1600s agentt.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French agent; Latin agent-, agēns, agere.

Etymology: < (i) Middle French agent (French agent ) (noun) person acting on behalf of another, representative, emissary (1332 in an isolated attestation, subsequently (apparently after Italian) from 1578), person who or thing which acts upon someone or something (c1370, originally and frequently in philosophical contexts), substance that brings about a chemical effect or causes a chemical reaction (1612 (in the passage translated in quot. 1624 at sense A. 4) or earlier; rare before early 19th cent.), person who intrigues (1640), (adjective) that acts, that exerts power (1337; c1450 in grammar; second half of the 15th cent. in cause agent (compare quot. 1535 at sense B.)), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin agent-, agēns acting, active, (masculine noun) pleader, advocate, in post-classical Latin also representative, official (4th cent.), administrator of an estate, employee of a church (6th cent.), (neuter noun) (in philosophy) instrumentality, cause (from 8th cent. in British sources; also in continental sources), uses as adjective and noun of present participle of agere to act, do (see act v.). With sense A. 1a and corresponding adjectival use compare earlier patient n. and patient adj.Parallels in other European languages. Compare Catalan agent, adjective and noun (14th cent.), Spanish agente (late 14th cent. as noun, early 15th cent. as adjective), Portuguese agente, adjective and noun (15th cent.), Italian agente (a1294 as adjective, a1328 as noun). Compare also Dutch agent (noun) official, representative (1570), German Agent (masculine noun) representative, emissary (1546), spy (18th cent., now the usual sense), Agens (neuter noun) person who or thing which acts upon someone or something (1598).

A. n.¹

a. A person who or thing which acts upon someone or something; one who or that which exerts power; the doer of an action. Sometimes contrasted with the patient (instrument, etc.) undergoing the action. Cf. actor n. 3a.Earliest in Alchemy: a force capable of acting upon matter, an active principle. Now chiefly in philosophical and sociological contexts.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > doing > [noun] > one who acts or does > as opposed to passive

agenta1500

a1500 ( G. Ripley Compend of Alchemy (Ashm.) l. 718 The fyrst [kind of combining] is callyd by phylosophers dyptatyve be-twyxte ye agent & ye pacyent.

a1555 J. Bradford Godlie Medit. Lordes Prayer (1562) sig. Q.ii The forgeuenes of oure sinnes..is onely gods worke & we nothing els but patientes & not agentes.

1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. i. i. §6. 6 For he maketh foure originals, whereof three are agents, and the last passiue and materiall.

1646 S. Bolton Arraignment of Errour 295 Nor are we to be meer instruments moved by the will of those in authority..but are morall Agents.

1788 J. Wesley Serm. Several Occasions V. 177 He that is not free is not an agent, but a patient.

1809 T. E. Tomlins Jacob's Law-dict. Agent and Patient, when the same person is the doer of a thing, and the party to whom done: as where a woman endows herself of the best part of her husband's possessions.

1870 F. C. Bowen Logic xii. 401 In conformity with this view, the distinction between agent and patient, between something which acts and some other thing which is acted upon, is formally abolished.

1909 Pop. Sci. Monthly Apr. 379 We are..conversant with the fact in human affairs that whenever purpose is involved there is an intelligent agent.

1989 C. T. Sistare Responsibility & Criminal Liability ii. iv. 15 It is silly to berate the hurricane for irresponsibility... It..cannot be a true agent; it cannot author or own an action.

2010 J. R. Searle Making Social World vii. 152 It is only an exercise of power if the agent gets the subject to do something whether or not the subject wants to do it.

b. A person or thing that operates in a particular direction, or produces a specified effect; the cause of some process or change. Frequently with for, in, of.Sometimes difficult to distinguish from the means or agency by which an effect is produced: cf. sense A. 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > agent or person who causes

causec1374

authora1382

workerc1384

causerc1386

begetterc1390

causac1420

workera1425

upraiserc1440

inspirerc1450

procurer1451

occasioner?c1452

procurator1486

purchaser1548

authorera1556

wielder1570

agent1571

effector1586

effecter1591

authoress1592

effectress1601

effectrix1611

performer1616

inducera1631

causeress1631

causatrix1649

father-in-law1650

pregnatress1651

matter1686

energizer1804

establisher1812

bringer1866

1571 W. Fulke Confut. Popishe Libelle (new ed.) f. 108^v Faieth is produced and brought foorth by the grace of God, as chiefe agent and worker thereof.

1592 R. Greene Philomela sig. F4^v I stepped back againe into the garden,..leauing them still agents of these vnkind villanies.

1645 A. Ross Philos. Touch-stone 35 The fire warmeth more at a neer, then at a remoter distance: Naturall agents work not in distans.

1666 R. Boyle Origine Formes & Qualities 9 Whether or no the Shape can by Physical Agents be alter'd.., yet mentally both..can be done.

1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 155 When the Samians invaded Zancle, a..great Agent in that affair was Hippocrates.

1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 43 I was still to be the wilful Agent of all my own Miseries.

1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature v. 60 Nor can I think, that any body has such an idea of chance, as to make it an agent or really existing and acting cause of any thing.

1848 J. S. Mill Princ. Polit. Econ. i. vii. §3 Successful production..depends more on the qualities of the human agents, than on the circumstances in which they work.

1875 J. W. Dawson Life's Dawn on Earth vi. 134 The Rhizopods were important agents in the accumulation of beds of limestone.

1904 Jrnl. Geol. (Chicago) 12 574 The glacier will be efficient as the agent for débris removal.

1963 J. S. Huxley Human Crisis 19 The key idea of man as the agent for the whole future of evolution.

2010 S. Fry Fry Chrons. 94 At Cambridge..I had no theories about theatre as an agent of social or political change.

c. Grammar. The doer of an action, typically expressed as the subject of an active verb or in a by-phrase with a passive verb.Cf. agent noun n. at Compounds 2.

ΚΠ

c1620 A. Hume Of Orthogr. Britan Tongue (1870) ii. x. §8 The active verb adheres to the person of the agent; As, Christ hath conquered hel and death.

1652 F. Lodowyck Ground-work New Perfect Lang. 15 John and Peter (1 The Agent.) travelled together to (2 The Verb.) Rome.

1764 C. Wiseman Compl. Eng. Gram. 155 Reflective..action returns upon the agent that produces it, as, I flatter myself & c.

1771 D. Fenning New Gram. Eng. Tongue 32 An active verb..necessarily supposes an agent, and an object acted upon; as..I praise John.

1845 Encycl. Metrop. (1847) I. 33/1 It often becomes necessary to state the object of a verb active, or the agent of a verb passive. Hence arises the necessity for..the accusative and the ablative.

1953 W. J. Entwhistle Aspects of Lang. vi. 179 With an intransitive verb the subject is as much a patient as an agent. I walk is as much ‘I cause my walking’ as ‘I experience my walking’.

2007 N. Tsujimura Introd. Japanese Linguistics iv. vii. 166 Truck driver is an acceptable (and existing) compound..but child-driver is not acceptable..since child is the agent of the verb.

d. Parapsychology. In telepathy: the person who originates an impression (opposed to the percipient who receives it).

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > the paranormal > [noun] > telepathy > one who practises > that originates impression

agent1883

1883 Proc. Soc. Psychical Res. 1882–3 1 119 In Thought-transference..both parties (whom, for convenience' sake, we will call the Agent and the Percipient) are supposed to be in a normal state.

1886 E. Gurney et al. Phantasms of Living I. 6 We call the owner of the impressing mind the agent, and the owner of the impressed mind the percipient.

1961 W. H. Salter Zoar xi. 149 Spontaneous cases [of telepathy] do occasionally occur in which no such connection between apparent agent and apparent percipient can be traced.

1990 L. Picknett Encycl. Paranormal 218/1 Analytical attention..has shifted down the years from agent (sender) to percipient (receiver).

2. A person acting on behalf of another.

a. A person who acts as a substitute for another; one who undertakes negotiations or transactions on behalf of a superior, employer, or principal; a deputy, steward, representative; (in early use) an ambassador, emissary. Also figurative. Now chiefly in legal contexts.In Scots Law: a solicitor, advocate (now rare).army, crown, land, parliamentary agent, etc.: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > delegated authority > one having delegated or derived authority > [noun] > one who acts for another

procuratorc1300

proctor1301

attorney1347

provisora1393

assignee1419

procuracya1425

solicitorc1425

factor1445

soliciter1464

doer1465

umbothman1482

agent1523

assign1526

procurera1533

practitioner1560

proxy1585

pragmatic1593

procureur1604

pragmatitioner1607

foreign agent1646

institor1657

agent general1659

proxy-man1696

interestera1701

maat1824

1523 in State Papers Henry VIII (1849) VI. 181 We have ben with the Cardinall de Medices agentes.

1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke xxiv. f. clxxxiiii Ioanna the wyfe of Chusa Herodes agent and factour [L. procuratoris].

a1593 C. Marlowe Massacre at Paris (c1600) sig. D5 Goe call the English Agent hether strait.

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 698 Dioclesian..was agent for the Romans in France.

1642 J. Howell Instr. Forreine Travell xix. 230 Made themselves a prey to their sollicitors and Agents.

1704 London Gaz. mmmmxxviii/4 Mr. John Pain, Agent to the Regiment.

1745 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) II. 362 Agent, that is, rent-gatherer, to the dean.

1818 M. R. Mitford in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) II. xi. 22 He..employed a certain Mr. Crabtree as his agent, steward, etc.

1826 W. Scott Woodstock I. iii. 93 Since the devil fell from Heaven, he never wanted agents on earth.

1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel IV. xii. xxvii. 191 I told them flatly..that, as Mr. Egerton's agent, I would allow no proceedings that might vitiate the election.

1882 Negotiable Instruments Act (India) 40 An agent who signs his name to a promissory note, etc. without indicating thereon that he signs as agent, is liable personally on the instrument.

1944 W. T. Cresswell in R. Greenhalgh Pract. Builder xv. 420/1 In inviting tenders for a target contract the employer, or his agent, prepares a rough estimate of the proposed work.

1983 B. A. K. Rider Insider Trading i. 42 Furthermore, that individual must be..an officer, employee or agent of such an issuing manager.

2000 M. M. Shenkman Compl. Living Trusts Prog. i. 20 In the event of illness, a durable power of attorney enabled her nephew to act as her agent.

b. In commercial use: a person or company that provides a particular service, typically one that involves arranging transactions between two other parties; (also) a person or company that represents an organization, esp. in a particular region; a business or sales representative. Cf. agency n. 1b.Frequently with modifying word or phrase specifying the product or service.advertising, employment, estate, insurance, letting, railroad, shipping, tourist, travel agent, etc.: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > trader > agent or broker > [noun]

broker1377

factor1432

entermeter1440

broggerc1460

chapman1570

institor1657

mackeler1682

agent1707

commission man1733

agenting1751

supercargo1782

commission agent1798

commission merchant1798

curbstone broker1848

managing agent1969

1707 A. Justice Gen. Treat. Monies 19 Most Bills of Exchange are ordinarily Negotiated by the..Interposition of a certain Set of Men commonly called Agents, or Brokers of Exchange.

1789 World 11 Dec. To prevent trouble, it is requested, that no..advertising Agent, will apply.

1812 M. Edgeworth Absentee xii, in Tales Fashionable Life VI. 214 I hope then the agent will give you encouragement about them mines.

1844 Rep. Commissioners 1841 Census: Occup. Abstr. XIII. 281 Ship Agent and Broker.

1885 List of Subscribers Exchange Syst. (United Telephone Co.) (ed. 6) 181 Railway Excursion Agents..Cook Thomas & Son.

1913 Rotarian May 64 (advt.) We are agents for the celebrated Scotch Wool Art Rugs.

1927 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 41 268 The firm of Lewisohn Brothers..had been the selling agents for the Montana Copper Company's product.

1971 N.Y. Mag. 31 May 38 Be completely honest with your agent about how much you really want..to spend. If you have only $500 for a vacation, say so.

1992 Network World 14 Dec. 69 Few..callers have to wait more than 30 seconds to speak to an agent.

2007 J. Mansell Thinking of You xlvi. 332 It's the house of our dreams... I told the agent we'd meet him three at five o'clock.

c. North American. An official appointed to represent the government in dealing with an American Indian people; = Indian agent n. at Indian adj. and n. Compounds 1b(a). Now historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > office > holder of office > public officials > [noun] > in U.S.

fence-viewer1661

county commissioner1668

naval officer1702

agent1707

processioner1731

Indian agent1766

processionary1890

trustbuster1893

1707 Act regulating Indian Trade (S. Carolina Dept. Archives: S 165001) Thomas Nairne..is..appointed y^e Agent to reside among y^e Indians.

1776 Jrnl. Proc. Congr. Philadelphia 1775–6 (1778) 180/2 The agent for Indian affairs in the Middle Department, be impowered to purchase for Captain White Eyes, two horses.

1818 in Public & Gen. Statutes U.S.A. (1827) III. 1707 The agent to the Creek nation, [salary] one thousand eight hundred dollars.

1886 Capt. Bell Report in Nation (1888) 15 Mar. 211/1 There can be but one head to an Indian agency, and the agent should be that head, if discipline is to be maintained.

1968 Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald 9 Nov. 5/4 As one former Peigan chief expressed it, ‘the agents pulled us back instead of pushing us forward’.

1979 M. R. Blaine Ioway Indians viii. 246 Pressure on the Ioways to sell their land was also increased, as the agent continued to inquire if all the agency tribes would not care to sell.

2000 A. Harmon Indians in Making vi. 116 When a new Tulalip agent found unmarried men and women living together, he threatened to separate them.

d. A person who works secretly to obtain information for a government or other official body; a spy.double, secret, treble agent, etc.: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > [noun] > a secret observer, spy > secret agent

intelligencer1540

intelligentiary1577

under-puller1682

agent1804

foreign agent1822

operative1901

spook1942

under-cover1962

Abwehr agent1990

1804 tr. C. Regnier Let. 18 Apr. in Revolutionary Plutarch (new ed.) III. 215 This agent [Fr. agent], spy, and emigrant, who has received his pardon, was already known to the Police.

1854 W. Hazlitt & H. P. Roche Man. Law Maritime Warfare 235 When despatches from an agent of the enemy are carried by a neutral ship,..the plea of ignorance [etc.].

1932 W. H. Auden Orators iii. 108 The agent clutching his side collapsed at our feet, ‘Sorry! They got me!’

1946 Ann. Reg. 1945 230 Switzerland..had been full of German agents.

1956 A. H. Compton Atomic Quest ii. 117 Relaying secret information to Russian agents.

2008 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Oct. 382/3 Studying at various K.G.B. schools, ending at Moscow institute that prepared agents for work abroad.

e. A person who negotiates and manages business, financial, publicity, or contractual matters for an actor, performer, writer, etc.In earliest use: a theatrical agent. literary, press, publicity, sports agent, etc.: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > [noun] > theatrical agency > agent

agent1825

theatrical agent1825

entrepreneur1851

ten per center1902

booker1935

1825 P. Egan Life of Actor vi. 220 Mr. Schemer, the agent, had no situation for our hero upon his books, but Proteus heard..that Mr. Make-a-bill..was in great want of a person at his theatre.

1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker vi. 95 By an early hour of the numbered evening I might have been observed..dining with my agent.

1917 P. G. Wodehouse Man with Two Left Feet 34 The name on the door was Abe Riesbitter, Vaudeville Agent, and from the other side of the door came the sound of many voices.

1946 P. Larkin Let. 28 July in Sel. Lett. (1992) 120 Mr Watt, my agent, and Mr Faber, my publisher, have Daimlers and country cottages.

1970 T. Southern Blue Movie i. viii. 64 Her agent..was nonplussed. ‘Look, baby,’ he gently chided, ‘we're walking away with one million..dollars a picture.’

1983 W. Goldman Adventures in Screen Trade 18 Agents, often to justify their percentage when all they really do for a big star is make a phone call, are geniuses when it comes to new things to ask for.

2003 C. Fifield in K. Ferrier Lett. & Diaries iii. 58 [She] was no longer the timid, inexperienced ingénue..protected by her agent.

f. U.S. A stagecoach robber; = road agent n. at road n. Compounds 6. Now historical.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > robber > [noun] > highwayman

routerc1300

malandryna1438

stradarolle1562

highpad1567

highway robber1577

way-beatera1586

lance-man1589

high lawyer1591

St. Nicholas' clerk1598

outrider1599

bidstand1600

land-pirate1608

highwayman1617

pad1652

knight of the road1665

rum-padder1665

paddist1671

rum pad1688

pad-thief1690

gentleman (also squire) of the pad1700

snaffler1728

gentleman1778

scamp1782

scampsman1799

bandolero1832

ladrone1832

Spring-heeled Jack1838

road agent1840

agent1876

1876 Weekly Calaveras Chron. (Mokelumne Hill, Calif.) 29 July 3/1 The driver finally succeeded in satisfying the ‘agent’ that no express box was carried by San Andreas.

1880 A. A. Hayes New Colorado (1881) xi. 154 We reached it before long, and concluded that the ‘agents’, or robbers, had an excellent eye for position.

1904 S. E. White Blazed Trail Stories ii. iii. 155 Nex' time I drives stage some of these yere agents massacrees me from behind a bush.

1970 H. S. Drago Great Range Wars xviii. 207 The agents developed a system of marking departing stagecoaches that were carrying treasure so that confederates would know which ones to stop.

3. The means by which something is done; the material cause or instrument through which an effect is produced (often implying a rational employer or contriver).Sometimes overlapping with sense A. 1b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means

keyOE

toolc1000

wherewithc1230

ministerc1380

meanc1390

instrumenta1425

organ?a1425

mesne1447

moyen1449

handlec1450

hackneya1500

receipta1500

operative1526

ingine1531

appliance1555

agent1579

matter1580

mids1581

wedge1581

wherewithal1583

shoeing-horn1587

engine1589

instrumental1598

Roaring Meg1598

procurement1601

organy1605

vehicle1615

vehiculuma1617

executioner1646

facility1652

operatory1660

instrumentality1663

expedient1665

agency1684

bladea1713

mechanic1924

mechanism1924

1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 621 The gallowes is no agent or doer in those good thinges.

1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares 21/1 Not a nayle in it [sc. the Crosse] but is a necessary Agent in the Worlds redemption.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) i. iii. 46 Here is her hand, the agent of her heart.

1654 J. Bramhall Just Vindic. Church of Eng. iii. 43 God doth often good works by ill agents.

1793 B. Vaughan Lett. Concert Princes p. iii War, which is the agent which must in general be employed upon these occasions, presents..an uncertain court of judicature.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Love thou thy Land in Poems (new ed.) I. 225 Nature..Thro' many agents making strong, Matures the individual form.

1878 W. S. Jevons Polit. Econ. 26 Whatever thus furnishes us with the first requisite of production is called a natural agent, that is, something which acts for us and assists us.

1920 Intellect 12 233/2 Money is the agent through which good purposes are made effective.

2002 Y. Takahashi in S. W. Wells Shakespeare Surv. 181 [In Marlowe's physiology] the arteries..carry the vital spirit..which is the agent by which the soul effects movement.

4. Chemistry. A substance that brings about a chemical or physical effect or causes a chemical reaction. In later use chiefly with preceding modifying word specifying the nature of the effect or reaction. Cf. reagent n. 2.alkylating, oxidizing, reducing, wetting agent, etc.: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > operation upon something > [noun] > that which

main thing1623

agent1624

influence1736

factor1816

subfactor1868

the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > [noun] > types by properties

agent1624

analyser1661

pyrophorus1734

pyrophore1788

frigoric1812

diffusate1850

diffusant1867

cryogen1875

metachrome1876

carrier1902

getter1912

active1918

network former1947

network modifier1947

radiosensitizer1953

monophase1968

1624 ‘E. Orandus’ tr. N. Flamel Expos. Hieroglyphicall Figures St. Innocent's Church-yard 159 The vinegre..is the onely Agent [Fr. l'vnique agent; L. solum medium aptum] in the whole World for this Art, that can resolue and reincrudate, or make raw againe the Mettallicke Bodies.

1671 J. Webster Metallographia 365 The agent in the change wrought by Petrification, is..a petrific Seed, consisting only in a saxeous odour, or invisible ferment.

1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters i. 81 Water is a most useful agent in chemistry.

1797 Monthly Mag. 3 350/2 Some observations on the sthenic or asthenic virtue of chemical agents, that is to say, their ability or impotence to produce irritation.

1827 M. Faraday Exper. Res. xli. §12. 226 This quantity is..wholly available in the liquid when used as a bleaching agent.

1858 T. Graham Elem. Chem. (ed. 2) II. viii. 361 Oxalic acid is mostly to be preferred as the precipitating agent.

1950 Dispensatory U.S.A. (ed. 24) II. 2016/2 Piperoxane hydrochloride is an adrenergic-blocking agent of short duration of action.

1962 Science 12 Oct. 137/2 Xenon tetrafluoride, when dissolved in hydrogen fluoride, is a moderately strong fluorinating agent.

2011 Wisconsin State Jrnl. (Nexis) 3 Oct. a2 Bleaches marketed as color-safe..use weaker oxidizing agents.

5. Computing. A program that (autonomously) performs a task such as information retrieval or processing on behalf of a client or user. More fully software agent, user agent.

ΚΠ

1970 Adv. in Computers 10 15 An algorithm is a set of instructions of finite size, requires a computing agent to ‘react’ to the instructions, requires facilities (resources) for storage and control, [etc.].

1981 Request for Comments (Network Working Group) (Electronic text) No.806. 8 The model consists of a Message Transfer System and a number of User Agents.

1984 Washington Post (Nexis) 2 Sept. g2 Little software ‘agents’ that scurry back and forth between human and program to retrieve precisely what the human wants.

1990 ICL Techn. Jrnl. 7 424 This can provide a ‘user agent’ capability so that, for example, the user is informed as soon as he logs in if there is mail waiting for him.

2008 London Lite (Nexis) 3 July 13 5 per cent is how much more profit a sharetrading software agent can make by learning when to bid aggressively and when to cut its losses.

B. adj.

Acting, exerting power (sometimes contrasted with patient adj. 2a).† party agent n. Obsolete Law the person or party bringing a suit.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > doing > [adjective] > as opposed to passive

activea1398

agent1535

unpassive1602

unparalysed1814

non-passive1905

1535 W. Marshall tr. Marsilius of Padua Def. of Peace i. viii. f. 67^v The fynall necessytie also, and the cause agent [L. causam agentem] or effectyue wherof.

1575 tr. L. Daneau Dialogue Witches iii. sig. E.vii The ayre being more thin and liquide then the water, and more vnable to resist, is sooner and more easily affected by externall and agent [L. agentibus] qualities.

1615 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 24 Hughe Mill and Elinor his wife the parties agentes in this cause and William delve defendent.

1620 J. Melton Astrologaster 13 What a hot fellow Sol (whom all Agent Causes follow).

1704 J. Norris Ess. Ideal World II. vii. 350 The proper office of this agent intellect, to serve as an under-labourer to that which is patient.

1856 T. De Quincey Confessions Eng. Opium-eater (rev. ed.) in Select. Grave & Gay V. 83 Agent or patient, singly or one of a crowd.

1949 M. C. Fitzpatrick tr. St. Thomas Aquinas On Spiritual Creatures i. 25 The Philosopher is speaking in that passage not of the agent cause but of the formal cause.

2009 N. X. M. Tadiar Things fall Away vii. 290 The [Philippine] people have transmogrified from..an identification with the Christ child..into an agent force of revolution.

Compounds

C1. attributive with capital initial and the name of a colour, as Agent Blue, Agent Pink, Agent White, etc. Designating any of a group of herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War to remove forest cover and destroy crops. See also Agent Orange n.The herbicides were named after the colour coding on the drums containing them, and were used in South-East Asia between 1962 and 1971. They later became notorious for their toxic effects.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > death > killing > killer of nature > [noun] > herbicide > defoliant

defoliant1943

agent1966

Agent Orange1966

1964 C. L. Flynn Test & Eval. A/A 45Y-2 Pressurized Defoliant Dispenser (AD 453073) iv. 24 Grid tests with the defoliant agent, orange, were conducted to determine the capability of the..system to deliver approximately three gallons of defoliant agent per acre.]

1966 N.Y. Times 21 Sept. 10/1 They stressed that the defoliation and crop destruction chemicals were not lethal. One chemical, whose code name is Agent Orange, consists of a 50-50 mixture of butyl esters and a second, known as Agent Blue, comprises cacedylic [read cacodylic] acid.

1972 New Scientist 6 Jan. 36/3 More than a million gallons of Agent Orange..was being shipped back to the United States... This move still leaves the less toxic Agent White and Agent Blue at the disposal of United States and South Vietnam forces.

1982 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 7 June b8/3 Veterans of the war in Vietnam who had been exposed to Agent Orange, Agent Blue and Agent White have asserted that the defoliants have caused cancer.

2003 G. B. Swanson Click Here 56 The gardener proudly shows the rose..and smiles as though he himself..contrived its subtle fragrance—a cloud of agent pink—that wafts across the yard.

2010 Charleston (W. Va.) Gaz. (Nexis) 16 Feb. 7 a Decker volunteered for a small Army group that tested Agent Orange, Agent Purple, Agent Pink..and other chemicals on a remote military reservation in Thailand.

C2.

agent noun n. Grammar a noun (in English typically one ending in -er or -or) denoting someone or something that performs the action of a verb, as worker, accelerator, etc. [Compare post-classical Latin nomen agentis (1523 or earlier; > German Nomen agentis (1817 or earlier)), both apparently earliest in grammars of Semitic languages.]

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > noun > [noun] > other specific types of noun

increaser1612

regulara1637

energizer1751

agent noun1782

nomen actionis1820

segolate1831

class noun1849

patrial1854

nomen agentis1859

metaplast1864

agent word1879

post-genitive1922

conversion-noun1928

noun adjective1930

head noun1933

relatum1933

actant1967

class name1994

1782 Key to French Lang. iii. 99 When Two or more Agent Nouns are coupled together by a Conjunction, though they be both of the Singular Number, yet the Verb must be put in the Plural.

1879 W. D. Whitney Sanskrit Gram. 374 There is hardly a suffix by which action-nouns are formed which does not also make agent-nouns or adjectives.

1960 Amer. Speech 35 120 Short-time..had an agent noun, a short-timer.

2000 O. A. Oronce et al. Computer Technol. for Kids 2 i. 16 The word computer is the agent noun formed from the verb compute. It means a person or device that computes.

agent word n. Grammar a word that indicates agency or active force; esp. a word that denotes the doer of an action; = agent noun n.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > noun > [noun] > other specific types of noun

increaser1612

regulara1637

energizer1751

agent noun1782

nomen actionis1820

segolate1831

class noun1849

patrial1854

nomen agentis1859

metaplast1864

agent word1879

post-genitive1922

conversion-noun1928

noun adjective1930

head noun1933

relatum1933

actant1967

class name1994

1879 W. D. Whitney Sanskrit Gram. 385 Adjectives and other agent-words..such as..‘movable’,..‘enlightener’,..‘strengthened’.

1977 R. M. Gagné in L. J. Briggs et al. Instructional Design (1991) i. v. 135 Another obvious prerequisite..is a set of rules for placing differing types of words in a proper order, so that an ‘agent’ word comes first, followed by an ‘action’ word.

2004 Reading Teacher 58 261/1 Most agent words ending in -er..come from Old or Middle English.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	agent
释义	agentn.¹adj. Brit. /ˈeɪdʒ(ə)nt/, U.S. /ˈeɪdʒ(ə)nt/ Forms: late Middle English– agent, 1500s–1600s agente, 1600s agentt. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French agent; Latin agent-, agēns, agere. Etymology: < (i) Middle French agent (French agent ) (noun) person acting on behalf of another, representative, emissary (1332 in an isolated attestation, subsequently (apparently after Italian) from 1578), person who or thing which acts upon someone or something (c1370, originally and frequently in philosophical contexts), substance that brings about a chemical effect or causes a chemical reaction (1612 (in the passage translated in quot. 1624 at sense A. 4) or earlier; rare before early 19th cent.), person who intrigues (1640), (adjective) that acts, that exerts power (1337; c1450 in grammar; second half of the 15th cent. in cause agent (compare quot. 1535 at sense B.)), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin agent-, agēns acting, active, (masculine noun) pleader, advocate, in post-classical Latin also representative, official (4th cent.), administrator of an estate, employee of a church (6th cent.), (neuter noun) (in philosophy) instrumentality, cause (from 8th cent. in British sources; also in continental sources), uses as adjective and noun of present participle of agere to act, do (see act v.). With sense A. 1a and corresponding adjectival use compare earlier patient n. and patient adj.Parallels in other European languages. Compare Catalan agent, adjective and noun (14th cent.), Spanish agente (late 14th cent. as noun, early 15th cent. as adjective), Portuguese agente, adjective and noun (15th cent.), Italian agente (a1294 as adjective, a1328 as noun). Compare also Dutch agent (noun) official, representative (1570), German Agent (masculine noun) representative, emissary (1546), spy (18th cent., now the usual sense), Agens (neuter noun) person who or thing which acts upon someone or something (1598). A. n.¹ 1. a. A person who or thing which acts upon someone or something; one who or that which exerts power; the doer of an action. Sometimes contrasted with the patient (instrument, etc.) undergoing the action. Cf. actor n. 3a.Earliest in Alchemy: a force capable of acting upon matter, an active principle. Now chiefly in philosophical and sociological contexts. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > doing > [noun] > one who acts or does > as opposed to passive agenta1500 a1500 ( G. Ripley Compend of Alchemy (Ashm.) l. 718 The fyrst [kind of combining] is callyd by phylosophers dyptatyve be-twyxte ye agent & ye pacyent. a1555 J. Bradford Godlie Medit. Lordes Prayer (1562) sig. Q.ii The forgeuenes of oure sinnes..is onely gods worke & we nothing els but patientes & not agentes. 1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. i. i. §6. 6 For he maketh foure originals, whereof three are agents, and the last passiue and materiall. 1646 S. Bolton Arraignment of Errour 295 Nor are we to be meer instruments moved by the will of those in authority..but are morall Agents. 1788 J. Wesley Serm. Several Occasions V. 177 He that is not free is not an agent, but a patient. 1809 T. E. Tomlins Jacob's Law-dict. Agent and Patient, when the same person is the doer of a thing, and the party to whom done: as where a woman endows herself of the best part of her husband's possessions. 1870 F. C. Bowen Logic xii. 401 In conformity with this view, the distinction between agent and patient, between something which acts and some other thing which is acted upon, is formally abolished. 1909 Pop. Sci. Monthly Apr. 379 We are..conversant with the fact in human affairs that whenever purpose is involved there is an intelligent agent. 1989 C. T. Sistare Responsibility & Criminal Liability ii. iv. 15 It is silly to berate the hurricane for irresponsibility... It..cannot be a true agent; it cannot author or own an action. 2010 J. R. Searle Making Social World vii. 152 It is only an exercise of power if the agent gets the subject to do something whether or not the subject wants to do it. b. A person or thing that operates in a particular direction, or produces a specified effect; the cause of some process or change. Frequently with for, in, of.Sometimes difficult to distinguish from the means or agency by which an effect is produced: cf. sense A. 3. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > agent or person who causes causec1374 authora1382 workerc1384 causerc1386 begetterc1390 causac1420 workera1425 upraiserc1440 inspirerc1450 procurer1451 occasioner?c1452 procurator1486 purchaser1548 authorera1556 wielder1570 agent1571 effector1586 effecter1591 authoress1592 effectress1601 effectrix1611 performer1616 inducera1631 causeress1631 causatrix1649 father-in-law1650 pregnatress1651 matter1686 energizer1804 establisher1812 bringer1866 1571 W. Fulke Confut. Popishe Libelle (new ed.) f. 108^v Faieth is produced and brought foorth by the grace of God, as chiefe agent and worker thereof. 1592 R. Greene Philomela sig. F4^v I stepped back againe into the garden,..leauing them still agents of these vnkind villanies. 1645 A. Ross Philos. Touch-stone 35 The fire warmeth more at a neer, then at a remoter distance: Naturall agents work not in distans. 1666 R. Boyle Origine Formes & Qualities 9 Whether or no the Shape can by Physical Agents be alter'd.., yet mentally both..can be done. 1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 155 When the Samians invaded Zancle, a..great Agent in that affair was Hippocrates. 1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 43 I was still to be the wilful Agent of all my own Miseries. 1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature v. 60 Nor can I think, that any body has such an idea of chance, as to make it an agent or really existing and acting cause of any thing. 1848 J. S. Mill Princ. Polit. Econ. i. vii. §3 Successful production..depends more on the qualities of the human agents, than on the circumstances in which they work. 1875 J. W. Dawson Life's Dawn on Earth vi. 134 The Rhizopods were important agents in the accumulation of beds of limestone. 1904 Jrnl. Geol. (Chicago) 12 574 The glacier will be efficient as the agent for débris removal. 1963 J. S. Huxley Human Crisis 19 The key idea of man as the agent for the whole future of evolution. 2010 S. Fry Fry Chrons. 94 At Cambridge..I had no theories about theatre as an agent of social or political change. c. Grammar. The doer of an action, typically expressed as the subject of an active verb or in a by-phrase with a passive verb.Cf. agent noun n. at Compounds 2. ΚΠ c1620 A. Hume Of Orthogr. Britan Tongue (1870) ii. x. §8 The active verb adheres to the person of the agent; As, Christ hath conquered hel and death. 1652 F. Lodowyck Ground-work New Perfect Lang. 15 John and Peter (1 The Agent.) travelled together to (2 The Verb.) Rome. 1764 C. Wiseman Compl. Eng. Gram. 155 Reflective..action returns upon the agent that produces it, as, I flatter myself & c. 1771 D. Fenning New Gram. Eng. Tongue 32 An active verb..necessarily supposes an agent, and an object acted upon; as..I praise John. 1845 Encycl. Metrop. (1847) I. 33/1 It often becomes necessary to state the object of a verb active, or the agent of a verb passive. Hence arises the necessity for..the accusative and the ablative. 1953 W. J. Entwhistle Aspects of Lang. vi. 179 With an intransitive verb the subject is as much a patient as an agent. I walk is as much ‘I cause my walking’ as ‘I experience my walking’. 2007 N. Tsujimura Introd. Japanese Linguistics iv. vii. 166 Truck driver is an acceptable (and existing) compound..but child-driver is not acceptable..since child is the agent of the verb. d. Parapsychology. In telepathy: the person who originates an impression (opposed to the percipient who receives it). ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > the paranormal > [noun] > telepathy > one who practises > that originates impression agent1883 1883 Proc. Soc. Psychical Res. 1882–3 1 119 In Thought-transference..both parties (whom, for convenience' sake, we will call the Agent and the Percipient) are supposed to be in a normal state. 1886 E. Gurney et al. Phantasms of Living I. 6 We call the owner of the impressing mind the agent, and the owner of the impressed mind the percipient. 1961 W. H. Salter Zoar xi. 149 Spontaneous cases [of telepathy] do occasionally occur in which no such connection between apparent agent and apparent percipient can be traced. 1990 L. Picknett Encycl. Paranormal 218/1 Analytical attention..has shifted down the years from agent (sender) to percipient (receiver). 2. A person acting on behalf of another. a. A person who acts as a substitute for another; one who undertakes negotiations or transactions on behalf of a superior, employer, or principal; a deputy, steward, representative; (in early use) an ambassador, emissary. Also figurative. Now chiefly in legal contexts.In Scots Law: a solicitor, advocate (now rare).army, crown, land, parliamentary agent, etc.: see the first element. ΘΚΠ society > authority > delegated authority > one having delegated or derived authority > [noun] > one who acts for another procuratorc1300 proctor1301 attorney1347 provisora1393 assignee1419 procuracya1425 solicitorc1425 factor1445 soliciter1464 doer1465 umbothman1482 agent1523 assign1526 procurera1533 practitioner1560 proxy1585 pragmatic1593 procureur1604 pragmatitioner1607 foreign agent1646 institor1657 agent general1659 proxy-man1696 interestera1701 maat1824 1523 in State Papers Henry VIII (1849) VI. 181 We have ben with the Cardinall de Medices agentes. 1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke xxiv. f. clxxxiiii Ioanna the wyfe of Chusa Herodes agent and factour [L. procuratoris]. a1593 C. Marlowe Massacre at Paris (c1600) sig. D5 Goe call the English Agent hether strait. 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 698 Dioclesian..was agent for the Romans in France. 1642 J. Howell Instr. Forreine Travell xix. 230 Made themselves a prey to their sollicitors and Agents. 1704 London Gaz. mmmmxxviii/4 Mr. John Pain, Agent to the Regiment. 1745 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) II. 362 Agent, that is, rent-gatherer, to the dean. 1818 M. R. Mitford in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) II. xi. 22 He..employed a certain Mr. Crabtree as his agent, steward, etc. 1826 W. Scott Woodstock I. iii. 93 Since the devil fell from Heaven, he never wanted agents on earth. 1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel IV. xii. xxvii. 191 I told them flatly..that, as Mr. Egerton's agent, I would allow no proceedings that might vitiate the election. 1882 Negotiable Instruments Act (India) 40 An agent who signs his name to a promissory note, etc. without indicating thereon that he signs as agent, is liable personally on the instrument. 1944 W. T. Cresswell in R. Greenhalgh Pract. Builder xv. 420/1 In inviting tenders for a target contract the employer, or his agent, prepares a rough estimate of the proposed work. 1983 B. A. K. Rider Insider Trading i. 42 Furthermore, that individual must be..an officer, employee or agent of such an issuing manager. 2000 M. M. Shenkman Compl. Living Trusts Prog. i. 20 In the event of illness, a durable power of attorney enabled her nephew to act as her agent. b. In commercial use: a person or company that provides a particular service, typically one that involves arranging transactions between two other parties; (also) a person or company that represents an organization, esp. in a particular region; a business or sales representative. Cf. agency n. 1b.Frequently with modifying word or phrase specifying the product or service.advertising, employment, estate, insurance, letting, railroad, shipping, tourist, travel agent, etc.: see the first element. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > trader > agent or broker > [noun] broker1377 factor1432 entermeter1440 broggerc1460 chapman1570 institor1657 mackeler1682 agent1707 commission man1733 agenting1751 supercargo1782 commission agent1798 commission merchant1798 curbstone broker1848 managing agent1969 1707 A. Justice Gen. Treat. Monies 19 Most Bills of Exchange are ordinarily Negotiated by the..Interposition of a certain Set of Men commonly called Agents, or Brokers of Exchange. 1789 World 11 Dec. To prevent trouble, it is requested, that no..advertising Agent, will apply. 1812 M. Edgeworth Absentee xii, in Tales Fashionable Life VI. 214 I hope then the agent will give you encouragement about them mines. 1844 Rep. Commissioners 1841 Census: Occup. Abstr. XIII. 281 Ship Agent and Broker. 1885 List of Subscribers Exchange Syst. (United Telephone Co.) (ed. 6) 181 Railway Excursion Agents..Cook Thomas & Son. 1913 Rotarian May 64 (advt.) We are agents for the celebrated Scotch Wool Art Rugs. 1927 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 41 268 The firm of Lewisohn Brothers..had been the selling agents for the Montana Copper Company's product. 1971 N.Y. Mag. 31 May 38 Be completely honest with your agent about how much you really want..to spend. If you have only $500 for a vacation, say so. 1992 Network World 14 Dec. 69 Few..callers have to wait more than 30 seconds to speak to an agent. 2007 J. Mansell Thinking of You xlvi. 332 It's the house of our dreams... I told the agent we'd meet him three at five o'clock. c. North American. An official appointed to represent the government in dealing with an American Indian people; = Indian agent n. at Indian adj. and n. Compounds 1b(a). Now historical. ΘΚΠ society > authority > office > holder of office > public officials > [noun] > in U.S. fence-viewer1661 county commissioner1668 naval officer1702 agent1707 processioner1731 Indian agent1766 processionary1890 trustbuster1893 1707 Act regulating Indian Trade (S. Carolina Dept. Archives: S 165001) Thomas Nairne..is..appointed y^e Agent to reside among y^e Indians. 1776 Jrnl. Proc. Congr. Philadelphia 1775–6 (1778) 180/2 The agent for Indian affairs in the Middle Department, be impowered to purchase for Captain White Eyes, two horses. 1818 in Public & Gen. Statutes U.S.A. (1827) III. 1707 The agent to the Creek nation, [salary] one thousand eight hundred dollars. 1886 Capt. Bell Report in Nation (1888) 15 Mar. 211/1 There can be but one head to an Indian agency, and the agent should be that head, if discipline is to be maintained. 1968 Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald 9 Nov. 5/4 As one former Peigan chief expressed it, ‘the agents pulled us back instead of pushing us forward’. 1979 M. R. Blaine Ioway Indians viii. 246 Pressure on the Ioways to sell their land was also increased, as the agent continued to inquire if all the agency tribes would not care to sell. 2000 A. Harmon Indians in Making vi. 116 When a new Tulalip agent found unmarried men and women living together, he threatened to separate them. d. A person who works secretly to obtain information for a government or other official body; a spy.double, secret, treble agent, etc.: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > [noun] > a secret observer, spy > secret agent intelligencer1540 intelligentiary1577 under-puller1682 agent1804 foreign agent1822 operative1901 spook1942 under-cover1962 Abwehr agent1990 1804 tr. C. Regnier Let. 18 Apr. in Revolutionary Plutarch (new ed.) III. 215 This agent [Fr. agent], spy, and emigrant, who has received his pardon, was already known to the Police. 1854 W. Hazlitt & H. P. Roche Man. Law Maritime Warfare 235 When despatches from an agent of the enemy are carried by a neutral ship,..the plea of ignorance [etc.]. 1932 W. H. Auden Orators iii. 108 The agent clutching his side collapsed at our feet, ‘Sorry! They got me!’ 1946 Ann. Reg. 1945 230 Switzerland..had been full of German agents. 1956 A. H. Compton Atomic Quest ii. 117 Relaying secret information to Russian agents. 2008 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Oct. 382/3 Studying at various K.G.B. schools, ending at Moscow institute that prepared agents for work abroad. e. A person who negotiates and manages business, financial, publicity, or contractual matters for an actor, performer, writer, etc.In earliest use: a theatrical agent. literary, press, publicity, sports agent, etc.: see the first element. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > [noun] > theatrical agency > agent agent1825 theatrical agent1825 entrepreneur1851 ten per center1902 booker1935 1825 P. Egan Life of Actor vi. 220 Mr. Schemer, the agent, had no situation for our hero upon his books, but Proteus heard..that Mr. Make-a-bill..was in great want of a person at his theatre. 1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker vi. 95 By an early hour of the numbered evening I might have been observed..dining with my agent. 1917 P. G. Wodehouse Man with Two Left Feet 34 The name on the door was Abe Riesbitter, Vaudeville Agent, and from the other side of the door came the sound of many voices. 1946 P. Larkin Let. 28 July in Sel. Lett. (1992) 120 Mr Watt, my agent, and Mr Faber, my publisher, have Daimlers and country cottages. 1970 T. Southern Blue Movie i. viii. 64 Her agent..was nonplussed. ‘Look, baby,’ he gently chided, ‘we're walking away with one million..dollars a picture.’ 1983 W. Goldman Adventures in Screen Trade 18 Agents, often to justify their percentage when all they really do for a big star is make a phone call, are geniuses when it comes to new things to ask for. 2003 C. Fifield in K. Ferrier Lett. & Diaries iii. 58 [She] was no longer the timid, inexperienced ingénue..protected by her agent. f. U.S. A stagecoach robber; = road agent n. at road n. Compounds 6. Now historical. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > robber > [noun] > highwayman routerc1300 malandryna1438 stradarolle1562 highpad1567 highway robber1577 way-beatera1586 lance-man1589 high lawyer1591 St. Nicholas' clerk1598 outrider1599 bidstand1600 land-pirate1608 highwayman1617 pad1652 knight of the road1665 rum-padder1665 paddist1671 rum pad1688 pad-thief1690 gentleman (also squire) of the pad1700 snaffler1728 gentleman1778 scamp1782 scampsman1799 bandolero1832 ladrone1832 Spring-heeled Jack1838 road agent1840 agent1876 1876 Weekly Calaveras Chron. (Mokelumne Hill, Calif.) 29 July 3/1 The driver finally succeeded in satisfying the ‘agent’ that no express box was carried by San Andreas. 1880 A. A. Hayes New Colorado (1881) xi. 154 We reached it before long, and concluded that the ‘agents’, or robbers, had an excellent eye for position. 1904 S. E. White Blazed Trail Stories ii. iii. 155 Nex' time I drives stage some of these yere agents massacrees me from behind a bush. 1970 H. S. Drago Great Range Wars xviii. 207 The agents developed a system of marking departing stagecoaches that were carrying treasure so that confederates would know which ones to stop. 3. The means by which something is done; the material cause or instrument through which an effect is produced (often implying a rational employer or contriver).Sometimes overlapping with sense A. 1b. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means keyOE toolc1000 wherewithc1230 ministerc1380 meanc1390 instrumenta1425 organ?a1425 mesne1447 moyen1449 handlec1450 hackneya1500 receipta1500 operative1526 ingine1531 appliance1555 agent1579 matter1580 mids1581 wedge1581 wherewithal1583 shoeing-horn1587 engine1589 instrumental1598 Roaring Meg1598 procurement1601 organy1605 vehicle1615 vehiculuma1617 executioner1646 facility1652 operatory1660 instrumentality1663 expedient1665 agency1684 bladea1713 mechanic1924 mechanism1924 1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 621 The gallowes is no agent or doer in those good thinges. 1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares 21/1 Not a nayle in it [sc. the Crosse] but is a necessary Agent in the Worlds redemption. a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) i. iii. 46 Here is her hand, the agent of her heart. View more context for this quotation 1654 J. Bramhall Just Vindic. Church of Eng. iii. 43 God doth often good works by ill agents. 1793 B. Vaughan Lett. Concert Princes p. iii War, which is the agent which must in general be employed upon these occasions, presents..an uncertain court of judicature. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Love thou thy Land in Poems (new ed.) I. 225 Nature..Thro' many agents making strong, Matures the individual form. 1878 W. S. Jevons Polit. Econ. 26 Whatever thus furnishes us with the first requisite of production is called a natural agent, that is, something which acts for us and assists us. 1920 Intellect 12 233/2 Money is the agent through which good purposes are made effective. 2002 Y. Takahashi in S. W. Wells Shakespeare Surv. 181 [In Marlowe's physiology] the arteries..carry the vital spirit..which is the agent by which the soul effects movement. 4. Chemistry. A substance that brings about a chemical or physical effect or causes a chemical reaction. In later use chiefly with preceding modifying word specifying the nature of the effect or reaction. Cf. reagent n. 2.alkylating, oxidizing, reducing, wetting agent, etc.: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > operation upon something > [noun] > that which main thing1623 agent1624 influence1736 factor1816 subfactor1868 the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > [noun] > types by properties agent1624 analyser1661 pyrophorus1734 pyrophore1788 frigoric1812 diffusate1850 diffusant1867 cryogen1875 metachrome1876 carrier1902 getter1912 active1918 network former1947 network modifier1947 radiosensitizer1953 monophase1968 1624 ‘E. Orandus’ tr. N. Flamel Expos. Hieroglyphicall Figures St. Innocent's Church-yard 159 The vinegre..is the onely Agent [Fr. l'vnique agent; L. solum medium aptum] in the whole World for this Art, that can resolue and reincrudate, or make raw againe the Mettallicke Bodies. 1671 J. Webster Metallographia 365 The agent in the change wrought by Petrification, is..a petrific Seed, consisting only in a saxeous odour, or invisible ferment. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters i. 81 Water is a most useful agent in chemistry. 1797 Monthly Mag. 3 350/2 Some observations on the sthenic or asthenic virtue of chemical agents, that is to say, their ability or impotence to produce irritation. 1827 M. Faraday Exper. Res. xli. §12. 226 This quantity is..wholly available in the liquid when used as a bleaching agent. 1858 T. Graham Elem. Chem. (ed. 2) II. viii. 361 Oxalic acid is mostly to be preferred as the precipitating agent. 1950 Dispensatory U.S.A. (ed. 24) II. 2016/2 Piperoxane hydrochloride is an adrenergic-blocking agent of short duration of action. 1962 Science 12 Oct. 137/2 Xenon tetrafluoride, when dissolved in hydrogen fluoride, is a moderately strong fluorinating agent. 2011 Wisconsin State Jrnl. (Nexis) 3 Oct. a2 Bleaches marketed as color-safe..use weaker oxidizing agents. 5. Computing. A program that (autonomously) performs a task such as information retrieval or processing on behalf of a client or user. More fully software agent, user agent. ΚΠ 1970 Adv. in Computers 10 15 An algorithm is a set of instructions of finite size, requires a computing agent to ‘react’ to the instructions, requires facilities (resources) for storage and control, [etc.]. 1981 Request for Comments (Network Working Group) (Electronic text) No.806. 8 The model consists of a Message Transfer System and a number of User Agents. 1984 Washington Post (Nexis) 2 Sept. g2 Little software ‘agents’ that scurry back and forth between human and program to retrieve precisely what the human wants. 1990 ICL Techn. Jrnl. 7 424 This can provide a ‘user agent’ capability so that, for example, the user is informed as soon as he logs in if there is mail waiting for him. 2008 London Lite (Nexis) 3 July 13 5 per cent is how much more profit a sharetrading software agent can make by learning when to bid aggressively and when to cut its losses. B. adj. Acting, exerting power (sometimes contrasted with patient adj. 2a).† party agent n. Obsolete Law the person or party bringing a suit. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > doing > [adjective] > as opposed to passive activea1398 agent1535 unpassive1602 unparalysed1814 non-passive1905 1535 W. Marshall tr. Marsilius of Padua Def. of Peace i. viii. f. 67^v The fynall necessytie also, and the cause agent [L. causam agentem] or effectyue wherof. 1575 tr. L. Daneau Dialogue Witches iii. sig. E.vii The ayre being more thin and liquide then the water, and more vnable to resist, is sooner and more easily affected by externall and agent [L. agentibus] qualities. 1615 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 24 Hughe Mill and Elinor his wife the parties agentes in this cause and William delve defendent. 1620 J. Melton Astrologaster 13 What a hot fellow Sol (whom all Agent Causes follow). 1704 J. Norris Ess. Ideal World II. vii. 350 The proper office of this agent intellect, to serve as an under-labourer to that which is patient. 1856 T. De Quincey Confessions Eng. Opium-eater (rev. ed.) in Select. Grave & Gay V. 83 Agent or patient, singly or one of a crowd. 1949 M. C. Fitzpatrick tr. St. Thomas Aquinas On Spiritual Creatures i. 25 The Philosopher is speaking in that passage not of the agent cause but of the formal cause. 2009 N. X. M. Tadiar Things fall Away vii. 290 The [Philippine] people have transmogrified from..an identification with the Christ child..into an agent force of revolution. Compounds C1. attributive with capital initial and the name of a colour, as Agent Blue, Agent Pink, Agent White, etc. Designating any of a group of herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War to remove forest cover and destroy crops. See also Agent Orange n.The herbicides were named after the colour coding on the drums containing them, and were used in South-East Asia between 1962 and 1971. They later became notorious for their toxic effects. ΘΚΠ the world > life > death > killing > killer of nature > [noun] > herbicide > defoliant defoliant1943 agent1966 Agent Orange1966 1964 C. L. Flynn Test & Eval. A/A 45Y-2 Pressurized Defoliant Dispenser (AD 453073) iv. 24 Grid tests with the defoliant agent, orange, were conducted to determine the capability of the..system to deliver approximately three gallons of defoliant agent per acre.] 1966 N.Y. Times 21 Sept. 10/1 They stressed that the defoliation and crop destruction chemicals were not lethal. One chemical, whose code name is Agent Orange, consists of a 50-50 mixture of butyl esters and a second, known as Agent Blue, comprises cacedylic [read cacodylic] acid. 1972 New Scientist 6 Jan. 36/3 More than a million gallons of Agent Orange..was being shipped back to the United States... This move still leaves the less toxic Agent White and Agent Blue at the disposal of United States and South Vietnam forces. 1982 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 7 June b8/3 Veterans of the war in Vietnam who had been exposed to Agent Orange, Agent Blue and Agent White have asserted that the defoliants have caused cancer. 2003 G. B. Swanson Click Here 56 The gardener proudly shows the rose..and smiles as though he himself..contrived its subtle fragrance—a cloud of agent pink—that wafts across the yard. 2010 Charleston (W. Va.) Gaz. (Nexis) 16 Feb. 7 a Decker volunteered for a small Army group that tested Agent Orange, Agent Purple, Agent Pink..and other chemicals on a remote military reservation in Thailand. C2. agent noun n. Grammar a noun (in English typically one ending in -er or -or) denoting someone or something that performs the action of a verb, as worker, accelerator, etc. [Compare post-classical Latin nomen agentis (1523 or earlier; > German Nomen agentis (1817 or earlier)), both apparently earliest in grammars of Semitic languages.] ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > noun > [noun] > other specific types of noun increaser1612 regulara1637 energizer1751 agent noun1782 nomen actionis1820 segolate1831 class noun1849 patrial1854 nomen agentis1859 metaplast1864 agent word1879 post-genitive1922 conversion-noun1928 noun adjective1930 head noun1933 relatum1933 actant1967 class name1994 1782 Key to French Lang. iii. 99 When Two or more Agent Nouns are coupled together by a Conjunction, though they be both of the Singular Number, yet the Verb must be put in the Plural. 1879 W. D. Whitney Sanskrit Gram. 374 There is hardly a suffix by which action-nouns are formed which does not also make agent-nouns or adjectives. 1960 Amer. Speech 35 120 Short-time..had an agent noun, a short-timer. 2000 O. A. Oronce et al. Computer Technol. for Kids 2 i. 16 The word computer is the agent noun formed from the verb compute. It means a person or device that computes. agent word n. Grammar a word that indicates agency or active force; esp. a word that denotes the doer of an action; = agent noun n. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > noun > [noun] > other specific types of noun increaser1612 regulara1637 energizer1751 agent noun1782 nomen actionis1820 segolate1831 class noun1849 patrial1854 nomen agentis1859 metaplast1864 agent word1879 post-genitive1922 conversion-noun1928 noun adjective1930 head noun1933 relatum1933 actant1967 class name1994 1879 W. D. Whitney Sanskrit Gram. 385 Adjectives and other agent-words..such as..‘movable’,..‘enlightener’,..‘strengthened’. 1977 R. M. Gagné in L. J. Briggs et al. Instructional Design (1991) i. v. 135 Another obvious prerequisite..is a set of rules for placing differing types of words in a proper order, so that an ‘agent’ word comes first, followed by an ‘action’ word. 2004 Reading Teacher 58 261/1 Most agent words ending in -er..come from Old or Middle English. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021). agentn.² Brit. /aˈʒɒ̃/, U.S. /ɑˈʒɑn(t)/ Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French agent. Etymology: < French agent agent of the law, (especially in later use) policeman (although this is apparently first attested later than in English: 1843 or earlier), short for agent de police (1797; < agent officer (see agent n.¹) + de de prep. + police police n.).Not fully naturalized in English. In France or French-speaking contexts: an agent of the law; a policeman. ΘΚΠ society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman truncheon officer1708 runner1735 horny1753 nibbing-cull1775 nabbing-cull1780 police officer1784 police constable1787 policeman1788 scout1789 nabman1792 nabber1795 pig1811 Bow-street officer1812 nab1813 peeler1816 split1819 grunter1823 robin redbreast1824 bulky1828 raw (or unboiled) lobster1829 Johnny Darm1830 polis1833 crusher1835 constable1839 police1839 agent1841 johndarm1843 blue boy1844 bobby1844 bluebottle1845 copper1846 blue1848 polisman1850 blue coat1851 Johnny1851 PC1851 spot1851 Jack1854 truncheonist1854 fly1857 greycoat1857 cop1859 Cossack1859 slop1859 scuffer1860 nailerc1863 worm1864 Robert1870 reeler1879 minion of the law1882 ginger pop1887 rozzer1888 nark1890 bull1893 grasshopper1893 truncheon-bearer1896 John1898 finger1899 flatty1899 mug1903 John Dunn1904 John Hop1905 gendarme1906 Johnny Hop1908 pavement pounder1908 buttons1911 flat-foot1913 pounder1919 Hop1923 bogy1925 shamus1925 heat1928 fuzz1929 law1929 narker1932 roach1932 jonnop1938 grass1939 roller1940 Babylon1943 walloper1945 cozzer1950 Old Bill1958 cowboy1959 monaych1961 cozzpot1962 policeperson1965 woolly1965 Fed1966 wolly1970 plod1971 roz1971 Smokey Bear1974 bear1975 beast1978 woodentop1981 Five-O1983 dibble1990 Bow-street runner- 1804 Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 266/1 Six Gens d'Armes and an Agent of Police entered his room so unexpectedly, that he had no time to make use of the..dagger which lay on the table.] 1841 E. A. Poe Murders in Rue Morgue in Graham's Mag. Apr. 172/1 We..were admitted by the agents in charge... We..went into the other rooms..a gendarme accompanying us throughout. 1890 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 344/1 The duty of the gendarmerie..is generally to maintain internal order and peace. In Brussels [there are]..central and other bureaus, with a body of agents (police constables) in each. 1921 J. Joyce Let. 30 Aug. (1957) 171 With his help and that of an agent I was got into a taxi. 1936 H. G. Wells Croquet Player iv. 66 I would have taken a tram but an agent explained they were not running. 1967 ‘R. Petrie’ Foreign Bodies i. 5 The marionette agent who flicked white gloves from the police box. 2011 L. B. Brooke Becoming Americans in Paris ii. iii. 114 Agents, with somber resolution and batons in hand, propelled themselves against the multitude with what the moderate L'Œuvre called ‘violence extraordinaire’. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021). agentv. Brit. /ˈeɪdʒ(ə)nt/, U.S. /ˈeɪdʒənt/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: agent n.¹ Etymology: < agent n.¹ transitive. To act as agent in (some business or process); to conduct or carry out as agent. Also: to act as an agent for (a person or project). ΘΚΠ society > authority > delegated authority > action or function of a delegate or deputy > act as deputy for [verb (transitive)] > perform by or as agent attorneya1616 agent1637 procurate1659 the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > render instrumental [verb (transitive)] > deal with or carry out as agent factor1611 agent1637 1637 R. Baillie Let. 4 Oct. (1841) I. 22 My Lord Duke was carefully sollisted to agent this weighty business. 1677 J. Brown Christ the Way viii. 167 He..is their atturnay to agent their businesse at the throne of grace. 1711 G. Mackenzie Lives Writers Sc. Nation II. 615 He had agented his misfortunate Princess['s] Cause at all the Courts of Europe in vain. 1754 A. Stevenson Hist. Church & State Scotl. II. ii. ii. 358 They intreated his grace earnestly to agent their cause with the king. 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian i, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 6 I'll employ my ain man o' business, Nichel Novit..to agent Effie's plea. 1870 Banner of Truth (Hackensack, New Jersey) 1 June 188/1 When, therefore, you pray for him, you are upon the matter praying for yourselves and agenting your own cause. 1942 Billboard 31 Jan. 9/2 Miss Bankhead had asked for $3000 a week, but is taking $2750. William Morris Agency agented her. 1951 L. Z. Hobson Celebrity (1953) vi. 84 The deal had been ‘agented’ by the author's own brother. 1999 Independent 27 Feb. ii. 14/6 The book, due next year, was agented by Andrew Lownie and sold to Little, Brown. 2004 E. Tennant in Slightly Foxed Winter 82 Those, in publisher-speak, who were ‘badly agented’..—in other words paid an advance that their..book failed to earn back. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < n.¹adj.a1500n.²1841v.1637
随便看	disfiguring disfiguringly discipleband discipled disciplegroup disciplehood disciplelike disciplemaker disciplemaking disciples disciples of christ discipleship discipleships discipless disciplinable disciplinableness disciplinal disciplinant disciplinants disciplinarian disciplinarianism disciplinarians disciplinarily disciplinarities disciplinarity

agentn.1adj.

Compounds

agentn.2

agentv.

agentn.¹adj.

agentn.²