Ambassage

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A diplomatic mission or the role of serving as an envoy between governments or organizations
2. The office or responsibility carried by an envoy who represents one country or group to another
3. A formal assignment involving representation and negotiation on behalf of a government or institution

Etymology: "Ambassage" is an obsolete spelling of "embassage," a variant of "ambassade," which English took from French. The French form itself descends from the Italian "ambasciata," the word for a message or a mission, and it shares its root with "ambassador," which came into English through the same Romance channels. The two spellings "ambassage" and "embassage" appear to have circulated side by side, so the word is less a separate coinage than an alternate dress for the same diplomatic idea. The word's meaning stayed close to its core: a body of envoys sent by one ruler to another, or the mission they carried out. That concrete sense of an embassy as a group of people travelling on official business is what the word preserved, while later English tended to favour "embassy" for the same thing.

Synonyms: embassy, mission, delegation