Etymology
The word is derived from the Greek διπλωμάτης, diplōmátēs, the holder of a diploma (a folded paper, literally a "folding"), referring in this case not to an educational certificate but to a diplomat's letters of accreditation, which enable him or her to carry out duties on behalf of one country or institution within the jurisdiction of another country or institution.
Read more about this topic: Diplomat
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)