Agentship

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of exercising influence and participating in decisions is essential for shaping circumstances
2. The capacity to act intentionally and produce effects in a situation
3. The ability to make choices and influence outcomes in various contexts

Etymology: "Agentship" is a plain compound: "agent" plus the suffix "-ship," which English uses to form nouns for a state, condition, or quality. Attaching "-ship" to "agent" gives a noun for the condition of acting or being able to act. The word's meaning stays close to its parts, so there is little to unpack beyond that. "Agent" itself comes from Latin "agens," the present participle of "agere," meaning "to drive, do, or act," which is also the source of "act," "action," and "agenda." The suffix "-ship" descends from an Old English word, "scieppan," meaning "to shape or create," which in compounds came to mean "state" or "condition," as in "friendship" and "hardship."

Synonyms: representation, agency, intermediary, brokerage, mediatorship