- Today's Word
Relegate
REL-uh-gayt
Definition
- (verb) To assign to a lower position, rank, or status; demote.
- To delegate or transfer a task or responsibility to someone else.
- To exile or banish.
Example
After repeated mistakes on the project, he was relegated to a support role, far from the leadership position he once held.
Fun Fact
“Relegate” comes from the Latin word relegare, which combines re- (back) and legare (to send or delegate). In ancient Rome, the term was used in a legal sense to describe exiling someone to a remote location without stripping them of citizenship. Over time, the word’s meaning broadened to include any form of downgrading or assigning to a less important position. Today, its usage extends to sports, where teams may be “relegated” to lower divisions after poor performance, maintaining its sense of demotion and exclusion.
(verb) To suggest or assume something as a basis for reasoning or argument without prior proof.
The scientist postulated that the mysterious signals were coming from a previously undiscovered layer of the atmosphere, a theory that took years to confirm.
Postulate derives from the Latin postulare, meaning “to demand” or “to claim,” rooted in poscere, meaning “to ask urgently.” In medieval logic and mathematics, a postulate was a foundational assumption that didn’t require proof — something demanded to be accepted as a starting point. Euclid’s famous geometric postulates, written around 300 BCE, are among the most influential examples in intellectual history.