Appointee

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /əˌpɔɪnˈtiː/

Definitions

1. An individual designated by an authoritative body to take on a role or position in an organization or government agency for a specific purpose
2. A person who has been officially selected to undertake responsibilities or duties in a designated role within a formal entity
3. A person chosen by a governing authority to fulfill specific duties or functions within an organization or institutional setting

Etymology: "Appointee" is formed from "appoint" plus the suffix "-ee," which in English denotes the person who receives an action. An appointee is therefore literally the one who has been appointed. The suffix came into English through French, where "-é" (as in the past participle ending of verbs) passed into nouns naming recipients, and English adopted it widely in such formations. The base word, "appoint," was borrowed from Old French "apointer," a verb meaning to arrange, settle or put in order, and it carried the sense of fixing or setting something in place. Its English use for choosing a person to a post developed from that idea of settling a matter by agreement or decision. The French source of "appointee" is the past participle "appointé," which is why the word follows the French model of forming a noun from a participle.

Synonyms: appointee, designee