Dep"u*ty (-t&ybreve;), n.; pl. Deputies (#). [F. député, fr. LL. deputatus. See Depute.] 1. One appointed as the substitute of another, and empowered to act for him, in his name or his behalf; a substitute in office; a lieutenant; a representative; a delegate; a vicegerent; as, the deputy of a prince, of a sheriff, of a township, etc.

There was then [in the days of Jehoshaphat] no king in Edom; a deputy was king.

1 Kings xxii. 47.

God's substitute,
His deputy anointed in His sight.

Shak.

&fist; Deputy is used in combination with the names of various executive officers, to denote an assistant empowered to act in their name; as, deputy collector, deputy marshal, deputy sheriff.

2. A member of the Chamber of Deputies. [France]

Chamber of Deputies, one of the two branches of the French legislative assembly; -- formerly called Corps Législatif. Its members, called deputies, are elected by the people voting in districts.

Syn. -- Substitute; representative; legate; delegate; envoy; agent; factor.

DEPUTY, n. A male relative of an office-holder, or of his bondsman.
The deputy is commonly a beautiful young man, with a red necktie and
an intricate system of cobwebs extending from his nose to his desk.
When accidentally struck by the janitor's broom, he gives off a cloud
of dust.

"Chief Deputy," the Master cried,
"To-day the books are to be tried
By experts and accountants who
Have been commissioned to go through
Our office here, to see if we
Have stolen injudiciously.
Please have the proper entries made,
The proper balances displayed,
Conforming to the whole amount
Of cash on hand -- which they will count.
I've long admired your punctual way --
Here at the break and close of day,
Confronting in your chair the crowd
Of business men, whose voices loud
And gestures violent you quell
By some mysterious, calm spell --
Some magic lurking in your look
That brings the noisiest to book
And spreads a holy and profound
Tranquillity o'er all around.
So orderly all's done that they
Who came to draw remain to pay.
But now the time demands, at last,
That you employ your genius vast
In energies more active. Rise
And shake the lightnings from your eyes;
Inspire your underlings, and fling
Your spirit into everything!"
The Master's hand here dealt a whack
Upon the Deputy's bent back,
When straightway to the floor there fell
A shrunken globe, a rattling shell
A blackened, withered, eyeless head!
The man had been a twelvemonth dead.

Jamrach Holobom