: an associate or coworker typically in a profession or in a civil or ecclesiastical office and often of similar rank or status : a fellow worker or professional
Which of the following words come from the same source as colleague: college, legacy, collaborate, allegation, collar, relegate, delegate? It might be easier to guess if you know that the ancestor in question is legare, a Latin verb meaning "to choose or send as a deputy or emissary" or "to bequeath." All of the words in the list above except collaborate (which comes from the Latin collaborare, meaning "to labor together") and collar (from collum, collus, Latin for "neck") are descendants of legare.
Not since Cronkite's CBS mentor and colleague Edward R. Murrow lifted Senator Joe McCarthy by the skunk tail for public inspection had one TV broadcast reflected such a fateful climate change in public opinion. James Wolcott, Vanity Fair, June 2003My colleague Gene Sperling and I were standing over my speakerphone, but for all Mario Cuomo knew we were on our knees. George Stephanopoulos, Newsweek, 15 Mar. 1999Nineteenth-century naturalist Thomas Henry Huxley, a colleague of Charles Darwin, was the first to suggest that dinosaurs and birds were related. Laura Tangley, U.S. News & World Report, 6 July 1998… it gets noticed no more than an hour later by another colleague of mine, whom I've never met personally but know to be an art historian … John Barth, Atlantic, March 1995 A colleague of mine will be speaking at the conference. on her first day at work her colleagues went out of their way to make her feel welcome See More
Recent Examples on the WebUse nature as a catalyst for all kinds of interaction—from meditation time in the park with friends on a weekend to suggesting a walking meeting with a colleague. Tracy Brower, Forbes, 14 Aug. 2022 After sharing the idea with a colleague named Whit Alexander, the two expanded the game, adding mini-competitions that involved charades-like play-acting, sculpting shapes from clay, and humming popular songs. Cade Metz, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Aug. 2022 Two years into Dawn’s analysis, the precocious, out-of-touch daughter makes her bumpy return, and Lulu embarks on an affair with a married colleague. Hannah Gold, The New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2022 The property is the most expensive residential property for sale in New Mexico, according to Claudia Mardel of Keller Williams, who is listing the property with her colleague Pam Sawyer. Katherine Clarke, WSJ, 26 July 2022 Li Jin chatted about the crypto market onstage with my colleague Anne Sraders. Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 13 July 2022 McGranahan later cried with a colleague but quickly got back to work. Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN, 9 July 2022 In 2016, before the two colleagues met, Mr. Tong purchased an out-of-service bus from a vehicle workshop with another colleague for about $7,700.New York Times, 9 July 2022 The same approach can apply if dealing with one particular chatty colleague, Brooks said. Danielle Abril, Washington Post, 17 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle French collegue, from Latin collega, from com- + legare to depute — more at legate