Roots
 Yes Minister
Deepti

Looking around at the state of affairs in the political sphere, it is a good idea to hone one’s register of diplomacy; you never know which word could be your saviour or nemesis. The origin of the word ‘diplomat’ will assure you that it is indeed a long-winding brief that reflects the etymology of its label. ‘Diploma’ is the origin of ‘diplomat’ and ‘diploma’ in its original Greek form means ‘folded paper’. The connection between the two lies in the 17th century when the Codex Juris Gentium Diplomaticus was published. This volume was a collection of public documents that included many documents on international affairs.

From this work emerged the sense of ‘diplomatic’ as ‘relating to official documents’ and, henceforth, the sense of ‘an official representing a country abroad’ was a short journey. Another word for diplomat is ‘plenipotentiary’, made up of the Latin words plenum, meaning ‘full’, and potent, meaning ‘powerful’. It means ‘invested with full power’, thus used for a person such as a diplomatic agent who is fully authorised to represent`A0a government.

Once diplomats occupy attention, ‘diplomatic immunity’ is not far off. This is a simple synonym for the more complex word ‘extraterritoriality’ that refers to the exemption from the jurisdiction of local law that is granted to foreign diplomats.

The word literally means ‘outside the territory’ as it is composed of the Latin words extra, meaning ‘outside’, and territorium, meaning ‘land or territory’.

The word ‘ambassador’ has a humble origin in the Latin word ambactus that means ‘servant’. When English ‘borrowed’ it, it came to be used for ‘an accredited diplomat sent by a state as its permanent representative in a foreign country’.

This word gave birth to the following related words. An ambassador-at-large is an American concept used for an ambassador with special duties, not appointed to a particular country. An ambassador extraordinary is a diplomat sent by a state or monarch on a diplomatic mission to another. Ambassador plenipotentiary uses the two synonyms to create a label for an ambassador with full powers to sign treaties or otherwise act for the state or monarch.