EMISSARY • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Emissary

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/ˈɛməsˌɛri/ Listen

noun

Emissary n. (pl. emissaries) An agent employed to advance, in a covert manner, the interests of his employers; one sent out by any power that is at war with another, to create dissatisfaction among the people of the latter. "Buzzing emissaries fill the ears Of listening crowds with jealousies and fears."

Synonyms: Emissary, Spy. A spy is one who enters an enemy's camp or territories to learn the condition of the enemy; an emissary may be a secret agent appointed not only to detect the schemes of an opposing party, but to influence their councils. A spy must be concealed, or he suffers death; an emissary may in some cases be known as the agent of an adversary without incurring similar hazard.

adjective

Emissary adj.

Exploring; spying.

(Anat.) Applied to the veins which pass out of the cranium through apertures in its walls.

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Etymology of 'Emissary'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Emissary" Quotes from Famous Books

... with his inflamed brain and nerves jangling like a network of loose wire, she seemed like a direct emissary from the place of torment, which was as real to him as the wagon in ...

— The Fighting Shepherdess • Caroline Lockhart

... madame, when I have brought your son back to you—if you will allow me to be your emissary ...

— Ursula • Honore de Balzac

... with its delivery mistook the footman for his lordship. This is very unlikely, as the man is willing to make an affidavit he had "just cleaned himself," and therefore, it is clear the boy must have been a paid emissary. But the public will be delighted to learn, to prevent the possibility of future mistakes—"John" has been denuded of his whiskers—the only features which, on a careful examination, presented the slightest resemblance to his noble master. In fact, otherwise the fellow ...

— Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, Complete • Various

... industrial battle were drawn closer—the opposing forces were massed in more definite formation—the feeling was more intense and bitter. In the gloom and hush of the impending desperate struggle that was forced upon it by the emissary of an alien organization, this little American city waited the coming of the dark messenger to Captain Charlie. It was felt by all alike that the workman's death would precipitate ...

— Helen of the Old House • Harold Bell Wright

... representation of the situation, he claimed the facts were that the French had taken possession of all Nova Scotia north of the Bay of Fundy, and had obliged many of the Acadians of the peninsula to remove thither and swear allegiance to the king of France; that the governor of Canada, through his emissary le Loutre, had offered a premium for every prisoner, head, or scalp of an Englishman; that the French had sent a ship of thirty-six guns and 300 men to the Bay of Fundy and had not only incited the Indians to hostilities but had behaved as if there ...

— Glimpses of the Past - History of the River St. John, A.D. 1604-1784 • W. O. Raymond

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