▪ I. messenger
(ˈmɛsɪndʒə(r))
Forms: α. 3–6 messager, 3–5 -ere, (4 mesager, messagyr, -gre), 3–4 messagyer, messeger, (4 messagere, masager), 5 massageer (messageer), 4 mas(s)eger, 5 -gere, 5–6 messagier, (5 massagier, 6 messurger). β. 4–6 messanger, 4–5 -ere, -ir, 5–6 -aunger, (4 mesanger, 5 messongere, myssanger), 4–7 messinger, 5 -ere, 4–5 messynger(e, (4 mensanger, -syngere, massingere, 5 masynger, 6 mesynger), 4–5 massenger, 5 massanger(e, messengere, (masenger, -yr, messengyr), 5 messangier, -yer, -yre, 6 messengier, 4– messenger.
[ME. messager, -ier, a. F. messager (OF. also messagier), f. message: see message n. Cf. Pr. messatgier, Sp. mensajero, Pg. mensageiro, It. messaggiero, -ere. For the insertion of n in the β forms, cf. passenger, etc.]
1. a. One who carries a message or goes on an errand; † an envoy, ambassador (obs.). corbie messenger: see corbie 2.
(God's) messenger: (a) used for angel n., as representing the etymological sense of that word, and as expressing the function assigned to angels in Scripture; (b) applied to a prophet, or to a clergyman, as charged with a message from God to mankind.
| α a 1225 Ancr. R. 190 Heie monnes messager, me schal heiliche underuongen. 1362 Langl. P.Pl. A. iv. 115 Bote hit beo Marchaund..or Messager with lettres. 1481 Caxton Godeffroy i. 18 Machomet..whiche was messager of the deuil. 1521–2 Douglas in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 295 For baith by messurger and write I declarit him playnlie I wald pass thro{supt} this Realme. 1558 Knox First Blast (Arb.) 6 The especiall dutie of Goddes messagers is to preache repentance. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 389 The next day..came messagers and letters that Auspurge was taken. |
| β 13.. K. Alis. 7609 Ac, by special messangere, Y wol sende hire love-drewry. c 1450 Holland Howlat 231 The Dow, Noyis messinger. 1460 Lybeaus Disc. 1747 (Kaluza) A maide, þat is her messengere..brouȝt me her. 1535 Coverdale 1 Sam. xix. 20 Saul sent his messaungers to Dauids house, that they shulde..kyll him. 1588 in Harl. Misc. (1809) II. 87 If he minded to revenge against any other nation, he would plead the cause by messengers. 1624 S. Ward in Ussher's Lett. (1686) 321 This Messenger bringeth the Book, and things from Mr. Crane. 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 572 God..Thither will send his winged Messengers On errands of supernal Grace. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. xiv. 295 Messengers were sent express. 1859 W. Collins Q. of Hearts (1875) 14 [He] sent off a mounted messenger with the letter. |
b. The bearer
of (a specified message).
| α 1577 Dee Relat. Spir. i. (1659) 63 Those that are the Messagers and Angles of the Dignified and Triumphant Glory. 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. cix. 672 Yet doth God appoint vs to be..messagers of his vnfallible trueth. |
| β a 1340 Hampole Psalter ciii. 5 When þou wol þou makis þaim [gostis] messangers of þi will. 1595 Shakes. John ii. i. 260 Messengers of Warre. a 1625 Fletcher, etc. Fair Maid Inn iii. ii, At next visit, Madam, I'll be a messenger of comfort. 1703 De Foe in 15th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. iv. 76 You must not refuse to be the messenger of my acknowledgments. |
† c. In New England (17th c.), the representative of a Congregational church at a synod.
Obs. The title may have been suggested by ἄγγελος ‘angel’ (of a church) in
Rev. i–iv.
| 1646 in Rec. Massachussetts (1853) II. 155 To assemble the churches, or their messeng{supr}{sups}, upon occasion of counsell. Ibid., A publike assembly of the elders and other messengers of the severall churches. 1665 J. Eliot Commun. of Churches 4 The Intrinsecall and proper Efficients of a Council, are the Churches, who elect and send Messengers to that end. Ibid., The Members Constituent of a Council, are Church-Messengers. |
d. fig.| c 1400 Rom. Rose 2919 The eye is a good messangere, Which can to the herte..Tidyngis sende. 1490 Caxton Eneydos xix. 71 [Mount Caucasus] sendeth doun her colde messagers as snowe, froste, heyle, & tempeste. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. ii. 77 His teares, pure messengers, sent from his heart. 1615 Crooke Body of Man 535 The Sences..are the messengers and interpreters of the Soule. 1812 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 83 Casting these leaden messengers of death [sc. bullets]. 1832 W. Irving Alhambra II. 39 Day after day he watched for the return of the messenger of love [sc. a bird]. 1860 Ruskin Mod. Paint. V. vi. vi. 43 It [the trunk] is rather a messenger to the roots. |
e. Used as the name of a newspaper, periodical, etc.
| 1834 (title) Southern literary messenger. 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 109/2 Many excellent literary journals and magazines..among these..the time-honoured Viestnik Yevropî (‘Messenger of Europe’). 1922 Joyce Ulysses 460 Messenger of the Sacred Heart and Evening Telegraph with Saint Patrick's Day Supplement. 1975 (title) Kent Messenger. |
f. Biol. A molecule or substance that carries genetic information. Freq.
attrib. (
cf. messenger RNA in 7).
| 1961 Brenner et al. in Nature 13 May 576 The paradox..can be resolved by the hypothesis, put forward by Jacob and Monod [in J. Mol. Biol. (in the press)], that..ribosomes are non-specialized structures which receive genetic information from the gene in the form of an unstable intermediate or ‘messenger’. 1962 Listener 8 Mar. 413/2 ‘Messenger’ molecules of RNA. 1969 A. M. Campbell Episomes ix. 116 The genes of one operon are all transcribed onto the same messenger molecule. Ibid. 117 The rate of messenger synthesis. 1971 Nature 2 July 12/1 Where there are no operons messengers are evidently monocistronic. |
† 2. esp. a. A servant sent forward to prepare the way; a forerunner, precursor, harbinger.
Obs.| c 1325 Metr. Hom. (1862) 44 He [St. John] was ryt Cristes messager. 1340 Ayenb. 195 Huanne a riche man ssel come to ane toune..he zent his messagyers be-uore uor to nime guod in. 1382 Wyclif Luke ix. 52 And he sente messangeris bifore his siȝt. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. v. i. 117 There is come a Messenger before To signifie their comming. [1884 Bible (R.V.) Mal. iii. 1 (as in earlier versions).] |
b. fig.| a 1225 Ancr. R. 190 Ich am þe scheadewe, seið þis messager, þet is, worldes pine. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 1368 [1417] And lucifer, þe dayes messager, Gan for to ryse, and out here bemys þrow. c 1386 ― Knt.'s T. 633 The bisy larke, messager of day. ― Man of Law's Prol. 6 Of Aprill, that is messager to May. 1545 Primer, Lauds C iij b, The birde, of day messinger, Croweth and sheweth, that light is nere. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. ii. i. 104 Yon grey Lines, That fret the Clouds, are Messengers of Day. |
c. cuckoo's messenger: (see
quot.).
| 1885 Swainson Prov. Names Birds 103 Wryneck... From its arrival the same time as, or a little before, the cuckoo, it has the names of..Cuckoo's messenger [etc.]. |
d. pl. Small clouds detached from the main mass.
| 1787 Best Angling (ed. 2) 145 When..there are small black fragments of clouds like smoke, flying underneath, which some call messengers,..rain is not far off. 1880 Jefferies Gr. Ferne F. 133. |
3. a. A government official employed to carry dispatches, and, formerly, to apprehend state prisoners;
esp. one employed by the Secretaries of State.
Messenger of the Exchequer (see
quot. 1706).
King's Messenger or
Queen's Messenger, one who conveys dispatches to or from the Sovereign.
| 1535 Act 27 Hen. VIII, c. 27 §3 There shalbe..one other person, which shalbe called Messanger of the same Courte. 1694 Wood Life 2 Aug. (O.H.S.) III, Most of the messingers are gone into the country to fetch up persons seised upon account of the plot. 1696 Phillips, Messenger, one that attends upon the King and his Council to carry Dispatches, and waits upon the Sergeant at Arms to Apprehend Prisoners of State. 1706 ― (ed. Kersey), Messengers of the Exchequer, certain Officers in that Court, four in Number, who as Pursuivants, attend the Lord Treasurer, to carry his Letters and Orders. 1713 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 31 Mar., Mr. Noble..was..seized again by the Sheriff, and is now in a messenger's hands at the Black Swan in Holborn. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. i. §9 A man had better a thousand times be hunted by bailiffs or messengers. 1866 Guide to Employm. in Civ. Serv. 71 War Department... Messengers, Queen's Messengers, and Letter-carriers. 1874 Act 37 & 38 Vict. c. 81 §4 The office of messenger or pursuivant of the Great Seal shall as a separate office be abolished. 1879 C. Marvin Public Offices 201 A Queen's Messenger who is about to set off in five minutes' time for Cairo. |
b. Sc. messenger(-at-arms): see
quot. 1838.
| 1482 in Rymer Foedera (1711) 166/1 We..Constitute..the same Gartier and Northumberlond, our Ambassadours, Oratours, Procuratours, Factours, and Masseagers. 1587 Sc. Acts. Jas. VI (1814) III. 449/2 Of late ȝeiris þair is enterit in the office of armes sindry extraordinar maseris..and a verie greit nowmer of messingeris. 1753 R. Thomson (title) A Treatise of the Office of Messenger. Ibid. 2 There ought only to be in all Scotland 200 Messengers, or Officers of Arms (including Heralds, Macers and Pursuivants, 17 in Number). 1812 Tennant Anster F. ii. xxxiii, Sheriffs learn'd..and messengers-at-arms, with brows of brass. 1838 Bell Dict. Law Scot., Messenger-at-arms; an officer appointed by, and under the control of the Lyon King-at-Arms... They are employed in executing all summonses and letters of diligence, both in civil and criminal matters. Our signet letters..were constantly directed to messengers-at-arms, as sheriffs in that part. 1872 Michie Deeside Tales 17 (E.D.D.) A messenger-at-arms..the terror of evil doers far and wide. |
† c. messenger of the press, an officer appointed to search for unlicensed publications and presses.
| 1682 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 226 The Stationers company..have called one Robert Stephens (a common messenger of the presse) on the livery. 1694 Wood Life 16 Oct. (O.H.S.) III, Tomson the printer was seized on by Stephens the messenger of the press, in the act of printing a pamphlet reflecting on the Government. 1706 in Phillips (ed. Kersey). |
d. Bankruptcy Law. (See
quot. 1894.)
| 1732 Act 5 Geo. II, c. 30 §4 That every such Bankrupt..shall be..required..to deliver up.. all his..Bookes of Accounts..not seized by the Messenger of the said Commission. 1883 Act 46 & 47 Vict. c. 52 §153 The official solicitors and messengers in bankruptcy..shall be transferred to and become officers of the Board of Trade. 1894 G. Y. Robson Law Bankruptcy (ed. 7) 77 The messenger was a sort of sheriff's officer employed to execute the orders and warrants of the court. Originally..a messenger was attached to the court of each commissioner... In the Bankruptcy Act, 1883, the messenger and his staff are transferred to..the Board of Trade, and are to perform analogous duties to those previously discharged by them. |
e. (See
quot.)
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Messengers, boys appointed to carry orders from the quarter-deck. |
4. An endless rope or chain passing from the capstan to the cable to haul it in. Also, a similar contrivance for hauling-in a dredge. Also, ‘any line sent ahead by which a larger line is run to a dock, buoy or similar use’ (G. Bradford
Gloss. Sea Terms 1927).
| 1633 T. James Voy. 80 We..put our Cables ouer-boord, with Messengers vnto them. 1784 J. King Cook's Voy. Pacific III. 475 Having, in our endeavours to heave the anchor out of the ground, twice broken the old messenger, and afterward a new one. 1882 Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 159 The messenger is an endless chain passing round the capstan and two rollers in the manger. |
5. a. (See
quot.)
| 1746 Chesterfield Lett. (1845) I. 53 My long and frequent letters..put me in mind of certain papers, which you have very lately, and I formerly, sent up to kites, along the string, which we called messengers; some of them the wind used to blow away,..and but few of them got up and stuck to the kite. 1864 Every Little Boy's Bk. 99 Some boys amuse themselves by sending messengers up to their kites when they have let out all their string. A messenger is formed of a piece of paper three or four inches square. |
b. A device which may be sent down a line in order to trip some mechanism attached to it.
| 1929 Jrnl. du Conseil IV. 193 When a messenger is sent down the line it first hits the arm holding the stop. By the blow the stop is forced away, the messenger below is set free. 1959 H. Barnes Oceanogr. & Marine Biol. iii. 113 When the required depth has been reached, the bottle is allowed to remain there for 3 to 5 minutes, so that the thermometer may reach equilibrium and a ‘messenger’ is then sent down the wire. The hook is released and the springs contract closing the bottle. 1963 H. F. P. Herdman in M. N. Hill Sea II. vi. 124 When the messenger hits this catch, the lids are immediately closed and the bottle falls away through 180°. |
6. The secretary-bird.
| 1793 Buffon's Birds VII. 316. |
7. attrib. and
Comb., as
messenger-authority,
messenger-bird,
messenger-boy,
messenger-wind;
messenger-like adv.;
messenger cable, a cable used to support a power cable or other conductor of electricity; a suspension cable or wire;
messenger RNA Biol., RNA which, after being synthesized in a cell nucleus in accordance with the genetic information carried by a gene (‘transcription’), passes out of the nucleus and carries this information to a ribosome, where it determines which particular protein is synthesized there (‘translation’);
abbrev. mRNA (M 5);
messenger sword, a sword-like implement, constituting a credential of the royal messengers of Ashantee (
Cent. Dict. 1890);
messenger wire = messenger cable.
| 1711 Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) III. 337 There are further miracles remaining for 'em to perform, e'er they can in modesty plead the apostolick or messenger-authority. |
| 1869 H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey II. 327 A messenger-bird is described as issuing from the gloomy dungeon. |
| 1876 J. S. Ingram Centenn. Exposition 713 The messenger boys were seen everywhere conspicuous in their neat uniforms. 1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 26 Aug. 11/1 A Wall-street banker..sent a note by a district messenger boy to the office of his broker. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 84 Messenger boys stealing to put on sixpence. 1959 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 208, I was amateur agent for it, messenger boy, editorial consultant..and I made a hundred mistakes. |
| 1916 Stand. Rules Amer. Inst. Electr. Engin. §778 A messenger wire or cable is a wire or cable running along with and supporting other wires, cables or contact conductors. 1948 Building, Estimating & Contracting (Amer. Techn. Soc.) IX. 48 A stranded steel messenger cable is strung over the chord of the trusses. |
| 1594 G. Ellis in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) 25 He is upon a journey, messenger like,..to apprehend..her Majesty's loving subjects. |
| 1961 Brenner et al. in Nature 13 May 577/1 Model III implies that a special type of RNA molecule, or ‘messenger RNA’, exists which brings genetic information from genes to non-specialized ribosomes. 1961 Jacob & Monod in Jrnl. Molecular Biol. III. 350 A small fraction of RNA, first observed by Volkin & Astrachan (1957) in phage infected E. coli and recently found to exist also in normal yeasts..and coli.., does seem to meet all the qualifications listed above. This fraction (which we shall designate ‘messenger RNA’ or M-RNA) amounts to only about 3% of the total RNA. 1970 Ambrose & Easty Cell Biol. iii. 113 Three types of RNA are involved in protein synthesis in the cytoplasm—messenger, transfer, and ribosomal RNA. 1973 Sci. Amer. Aug. 21/1 Some of the RNA (messenger RNA) determines the structure of the proteins (primarily enzymes) that constitute or manufacture all the tissues of the organism. |
| 1898 Blackw. Mag. Mar. 427 The messenger-wind that drives before the dawn. |
| 1898 E. J. Houston Dict. Electr. Words (ed. 4) 849/2 Messenger wire of aerial cable. 1916 Messenger wire [see messenger cable above]. 1948 Man. Uniform Traffic Control Devices (U.S. Pub. Roads Admin.) iii. 117 All overhead cable shall be supported by a suitable aerial messenger wire whenever there is a span of more than 30 feet. |
▪ II. messenger, v. (
ˈmɛsɪndʒə(r))
[f. messenger n.] trans. To send by messenger,
esp. within an organization.
| [1687 R. L'Estrange Brief Hist. Times i. 84 No other way to Save our Prince, and our Religion..but by a Fair Riddance of all the Kings English Subjects of That Persuasion [sc. Roman Catholic]; which by Pursuivanting, Messengering, Sergeanting, Cooping-up, Squeezing, Rifling, Plundering, and Oppressing, they had well-nigh Effected already.] 1822 C. Lamb Lett. (1935) II. 351 Can I have a revise of Philelia..sent by post. Don't trouble yourself to messenger it. 1979 Washington Post 6 Mar. b8/2 A copy of the letter was received from the White House..and of course immediately messengered to the FTC hearings and ABC witnesses. 1985 R. Lourie First Loyalty (1986) xxi. 202, I told him that I would need a letter on his stationery messengered up to me, and then I would messenger the film down to him. |