# agent
## English
### Etymology

From Latin agēns, present active participle of agere (“to drive, lead, conduct, manage, perform, do”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈeɪ.d͡ʒənt/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Hyphenation: a‧gent

### Noun

agent (plural agents)
* One who exerts power, or has the power to act.
** 1862, Brigham Young, “Call for Teams to Go to the Frontiers, etc.”, in Journal of Discourses, volume 9:Seeing we are so wonderfully endowed with priceless gifts by our Heavenly Father, will he not require usury at our hands? He will. But he has made us agents to ourselves, which makes us responsible for the way in which we use the talents he has given us, for the manner we expend the gold and silver, the wheat and fine flour, the cattle upon a thousand hills, and the wine and oil, for they all belong to Him
* One who acts for, or in the place of, another (the principal), by that person's authority; someone entrusted to act on behalf of or in behalf of another, such as to transact business for them.
** 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 36, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:I see in him [Moby Dick] outrageous strength, with an inscrutable malice sinewing it. That inscrutable thing is chiefly what I hate; and be the white whale agent, or be the white whale principal, I will wreak that hate upon him.
* A person who looks for work for another person and brokers a deal between the hiree and hirer.
** 4 June 2016, Press Association, Ronald Koeman’s agent says Dutchman has agreed terms with Everton
    Ronald Koeman has agreed a deal with Everton to become their new manager, his agent has reportedly told Dutch media. The agent Rob Jansen said, according to the popular Voetbal International website, that it was now down to Southampton and Everton to agree a compensation package for the Dutchman, who has a year remaining on his contract at St Mary’s.
* Someone who works for an intelligence agency: whether an officer or employee thereof or anyone else who agrees to help their efforts (for ideology, for money, as blackmailee, or otherwise).
** Paragraph 4, Public Prosecutor v Yue Mun Yew Gary [2012] SGHC 188
    @Gary, are you a PAP agent? ... =) trying to incite rebellion and revolution on this site so that the govt will have an excuse to take down this site?
* An active power or cause or substance; something (e.g. biological, chemical, thermal, etc.) that has the power to produce an effect.
** 1807, James Edward Smith, chapter 11, in An introduction to physiological and systematical botany:So far seems to be the work of chemistry alone; at least we have no right to conclude that any other agent interferes; since hay, when it happens to imbibe moisture, exhibits nearly the same processes."
* (computing) In the client-server model, the part of the system that performs information preparation and exchange on behalf of a client or server. Especially in the phrase “intelligent agent” it implies some kind of autonomous process which can communicate with other agents to perform some collective task on behalf of one or more humans.
* (grammar) The participant of a situation that carries out the action in this situation, e.g. "the boy" in the sentences "The boy kicked the ball" and "The ball was kicked by the boy".
    Antonym: patient
    Coordinate terms: subject, object; rheme, theme
    Near-synonym: doer
** 2009, Tarsee Li, The Verbal System of the Aramaic of Daniel: An Explanation in the Context of Grammaticalization, page 58:A verb is typically described as active when its subject is the agent or actor. By contrast, a verb is said to be passive when the subject does not perform the action, but is the patient, target, or undergoer of the action.
* (gambling) A cheat who is assisted by dishonest casino staff.
** 1978, John Scarne, Scarne's guide to casino gambling, page 108:Nevada casinos are fleeced out of millions of dollars yearly by agents (cheats acting as players) in collusion with crooked Black Jack dealers and pit bosses.
* (usually US, capitalized) A respectful term of address for an agent, especially a non-police law enforcement agent.
** 2013, Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto V, scene: Standoff between Michael de Santa and Steve Haines, level/area: The Wrap Up:Steve Haines (Robert Bogue): Agent Sanchez! Apprehend these suspects!

#### Synonyms

* (one who exerts power): See also Thesaurus:doer
* (one who acts in place of another): See also Thesaurus:deputy
* (person who looks for work for another person): manager, representative, rep
* (someone who works for an intelligence agency): See also Thesaurus:spy
* (grammar): actor, performer

#### Antonyms

* (antonym(s) of “grammar”): patient, recipient, undergoer

#### Derived terms

* agented
* agentese
* agentess
* agent-general
* agent general
* agenthood
* agential
* agentic
* agenticity
* agenting
* agentive
* agentless
* agentlike
* agent noun
* Agent Orange
* agent-oriented
* agent participle
* agentry
* agentship
* agentspace
* antibacterial agent
* anticaking agent
* anti-caking agent
* anti-foaming agent
* antimicrobial agent
* baggage agent
* bargain agent
* binding agent
* bioagent
* bleaching agent
* blister agent
* blowing agent
* bonding agent
* book agent
* bulking agent
* casting agent
* catalytic agent
* change agent
* chelating agent
* chemical agent
* chemoagent
* clarifying agent
* cleaning agent
* clearing agent
* coagent
* coating agent
* colour retention agent
* contract agent
* contrast agent
* count agent
* counteragent
* counting agent
* crown agent
* cyberagent
* double agent
* dry agent
* drying agent
* enforcement agent
* estate agent
* firming agent
* flavoring, flavouring agent
* flour treatment agent
* foaming agent
* foreign agent
* free agent
* gelling agent
* glazing agent
* immunoagent
* improving agent
* Indian agent
* infeasible agent
* infectious agent
* innocent agent
* insurance agent
* intelligence agent
* intelligent agent
* interagent
* land agent
* law agent
* leavening agent
* lifting agent
* mail user agent
* monoagent
* moral agent
* multiagent
* multi-agent system
* nanoagent
* nerve agent
* nettle agent
* newsagent
* nonagent
* oxidising agent
* oxidizing agent
* parliamentary agent
* press agent
* principal-agent problem
* processing agent
* purchasing agent
* raising agent
* real estate agent
* reducing agent
* road-agent
* road agent
* sales agent
* secret agent
* select agent
* service agent
* shipping agent
* shopping agent
* sleeper agent
* sourcing agent
* special agent
* structuring agent
* subagent
* superagent
* surfactant
* teachable agent
* thickening agent
* ticket agent
* transfer agent
* travel agent
* triple agent
* underagent
* user agent
* voluntary agent
* wetting agent
* whitening agent

#### Related terms

* act
* action
* agency

#### See also

* proxy

### Further reading

* “agent”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “agent”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

### Anagrams

* Tegan, ganté, genta

## Azerbaijani
### Noun

agent (definite accusative agenti, plural agentlər)
* agent

#### Declension
### Further reading

* “agent” in Obastan.com.

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin agentem. First attested in the 14th century.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central) [əˈʒen]
* IPA: (Balearic) [əˈʒent]
* IPA: (Valencia) [aˈd͡ʒent]

### Noun

agent m or f by sense (plural agents)
* agent

#### Derived terms

* agent doble
* agent secret

#### Related terms

* agència

### References

* ↑ “agent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025

### Further reading

* “agent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “agent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “agent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Chinese
### Etymology

From English agent.

### Pronunciation

* Cantonese (Jyutping): ei$^1$ zeon$^2$
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: ei$^1$ zeon$^2$
*** Yale: ēi jéun
*** Cantonese Pinyin: ei$^1$ dzoen$^2$
*** Guangdong Romanization: éi$^1$ zên$^2$
*** Sinological IPA : /ei̯⁵⁵ t͡sɵn³⁵/

### Noun

agent
* (Hong Kong Cantonese) sales agent

## Crimean Tatar
### Etymology

Latin agentis (“acting”).

### Noun

agent
* agent

#### Derived terms

* agentlik

### References

* Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎, Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

## Czech
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈaɡɛnt]

### Noun

agent m anim
* agent, spy (someone who works for an intelligence agency)
* agent, representative (someone who represents a company)

#### Declension
### Noun

agent m anim or m inan
* (computing) agent (program that acts on someone's behalf)

#### Declension

when animate:
when inanimate:

#### Related terms

* See akt
* agentura

### Further reading

* “agent”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
* “agent”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
* “agent”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

## Danish
### Etymology

From Latin agēns.

### Noun

agent c (singular definite agenten, plural indefinite agenter)
* agent (all senses)

#### Synonyms

* spion

#### Derived terms

* agent provocateur
* agentfilm
* agentroman
* agentur
* dobbeltagent
* efterretningsagent
* generalagent
* handelsagent
* politiagent

### See also

* agens
* kommissionær
* repræsentant
* subjekt

## Dutch
### Etymology

Borrowed from French agent, from Latin agēns (“one who acts”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /aːˈɣɛnt/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: a‧gent
* Rhymes: -ɛnt

### Noun

agent m (plural agenten, diminutive agentje n, feminine agente)
* a police officer
    Toen confisceerde de agent de wiet en rookte het in één keer op.Then the police officer confiscated the weed and smoked it all in one go.
    Synonym: politieman
** a police officer of the low(est) rank, constable, junior officer
    Synonym: politieagent
* an undercover agent; intelligence officer, secret agent
* an agent (one who acts on behalf of another)
** a broker
    Synonym: makelaar
** a middleman, surrogate

#### Derived terms

* agentschap
* beursagent
* verzekeringsagent
* wisselagent

#### Related terms

* agens

#### Descendants

* Afrikaans: agent
* → Caribbean Javanese: akhèn
* → Indonesian: agen

### Anagrams

* gaten

## French
### Etymology

Inherited from Middle French agent, from Latin agentem.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a.ʒɑ̃/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

agent m (plural agents, feminine agente)
* agent

#### Derived terms

* agent de police
* agent de quartier
* agent de sécurité
* agent double
* agent immobilier
* agent orange
* agent provocateur
* agent secret
* complément d’agent
* nom d’agent

#### Related terms

* agence

#### Descendants

* → Turkish: ajan
* → Persian: آژان (âžân)

### Further reading

* “agent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

### Anagrams

* étang
* gante, ganté
* géant
* gênât

## Italian
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English agent.

### Noun

agent m (invariable, feminine agente)
* agent

### Anagrams

* tange, tenga

## Kashubian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Polish agent.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈa.ɡɛnt/
* Rhymes: -aɡɛnt
* Syllabification: a‧gent

### Noun

agent m inan (female equivalent agentka)
* (espionage) agent (someone who works for an intelligence agency)
    Synonym: szpijona
* (business) representative (company agent)
    Synonyms: przedstawicél, przedstôwca

#### Related terms

* agenturalny
* agenturowi
* agentura

### Further reading

* Jan Trepczyk (1994) “agent”, in Słownik polsko-kaszubski (in Kashubian), volumes 1–2
* Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “agent”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎
* “agent”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

## Latin
### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈa.ɡent/, [ˈäɡɛn̪t̪]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈa.d͡ʒent/, [ˈäːd͡ʒen̪t̪]

### Verb

agent
* third-person plural future active indicative of agō

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology

From Latin agens, genitive agentis.

### Noun

agent m (definite singular agenten, indefinite plural agenter, definite plural agentene)
* an agent

### References

* “agent” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
* “agent” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology

From Latin agens, genitive agentis.

### Noun

agent m (definite singular agenten, indefinite plural agentar, definite plural agentane)
* an agent

### References

* “agent” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Polish
### Etymology

Borrowed from German Agent, from French agent, from Middle French agent, from Latin agēns. Doublet of agens. First attested in 1609.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈa.ɡɛnt/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -aɡɛnt
* Syllabification: a‧gent

### Noun

agent m pers (female equivalent agentka, diminutive agencik or agenciak)
* (espionage) agent (someone who works for an intelligence agency)
    Synonyms: szpieg, wywiadowca
* commission agent (agent entrusted with the possession of goods to be sold in the agent's name)
    Synonym: ajent
* (business) representative (company agent)
    Synonym: przedstawiciel
* (acting, literature) impresario, literary agent
    agent literacki ― a literary agent
* (espionage) officer, peeper, secret agent
    Synonyms: cichociemny, tajniak
* (Middle Polish) legal defense assistant [from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 18th century]
    agent trybunału ― a tribunal assistant

#### Derived terms

* agenturalny
* agenturowy
* agentura
* podwójny agent

#### Related terms

* agencyjny
* agencyjnie
* agenturalnie
* agencja
* agenda
* agendka
* agens
* agenturalność
* agenturka

#### Collocations

* (espionage):
** tajny agent ― a secret agent
** domniemany agent ― an alleged agent
** rzekomy agent ― a supposed agent
** sowiecki/radziecki agent ― a soviet agent
** potrójny agent ― a triple agent
** ukryty agent ― a hidden agent
** prawdziwy/rzeczywisty agent ― a real agent
** anonimowy agent ― an anonymous agent
** uzbrojony agent ― an armed agent
** potencjalny agent ― a potential agent
** zachodni agent ― a wester agent
** lista agentów ― a list of agent
** pseudonimy agentów ― agents' pseudonyms
** spis agentów ― an index of agent
** przygoda agenta ― an agent's adventures
** rola agenta ― the role of an agent
** życie agenta ― the life of an agent
** nazwisko agenta ― an agent's last name
** akta/teczka agenta ― an agent's briefcase/file/folder/portfolio/suitcase/dossier
** robota/praca agenta ― an agent's work
** agent wywiadu ― an intelligence agent
** agent kontrwywiadu ― a counterintelligence agent
** agent wpływu ― an agent of influence
** szukać agenta ― to look for an agent
** tropić agentów ― to track agents
** ujawniać/ujawnić agentów ― to expose an agent
** zrobić agenta z kogoś ― to make an agent (out) of something
* (a representative):
** za pośrednictwem agentów ― by an agent
** imperialistyczny agent ― an imperialist agent
** podstawiony agent ― a substitute agent
** płatny agent ― a paid agent
** długoletni agent ― a long-term agent
** emerytowany agent ― a retired agent
** dawny agent ― a former agent
** cenny agent ― a valued agent
** policyjny agent ― a police agent
** wyszkolony agent ― a trained agent
** obcy/zagraniczny agent ― a foreign agent
** doświadczony agent ― an experienced agent
** dzielny agent ― a brave agent
** komunistyczny agent ― a communist agent
** specjalny agent ― a special agent
** cywilny agent ― a civil agent
** czołowy agent ― a head/lead agent
** najważniejszy agent ― the most important agent
** słynny agent ― a famous agent
** miejscowy agent ― a local agent
** najlepszy agent ― the best agent
** nowy agent ― a new agent
** dobry agent ― a good agent
** agent ubezpieczeniowy ― an insurance agent
** agent imperialistyczny ― an imperialist agent
** agent federalny ― a federal agent
** agent celny ― a customs agent
** agent transferowy ― a transfer agent
** agent pracujący gdzieś ― an agent working somewhere
** agent ulokowany gdzieś ― an agent located somewhere
** agent policyjny ― a police agent
** agent dyplomatyczny ― a diplomatic agent
** agent reklamowy ― an advertising agent
** agent handlowy ― a trade agent
** agent turystyczny ― a tourist agent
** agent operacyjny ― an operative agent
** agent filmowy ― a film agent
** agent rządowy ― a government agent
** meldunek agenta ― agent check-in
** siatka/sieć agentów ― a network of agent
** grupa agentów ― a group of agent
** raport agenta ― an agent's report
** sprawa agentów ― an agents' case/matter/issue
** zdanie agenta ― an agent's task
** zachowanie agenta ― an agent's behavior
** agent bezpieki ― a secret police agent
** agent gestapo ― a gestapo agent
** agent imperializmu ― an agent of imperialism
** agent policji ― a police agent
** agent ochrony ― a defence agent
** agent nieruchomości ― a real-estate agent
** agent biura ― an office agent
** agent wroga ― an agent of the enemy
** agent szatana ― an agent of Satan
** agent rządu ― a government agent
** agent handlu ― a trade agent
** agent bezpieczeństwa ― a security agent
** werbować agenta ― to recruit an agent
** przekazać agentowi ― to communicate/pass along (something) to an agent
** agenci rządzą ― agents operate/run (something)
** agent sprawdza ― an agent checks something

### References

* ↑ Mirosław Bańko, Lidia Wiśniakowska (2021) “agent”, in Wielki słownik wyrazów obcych, →ISBN
* ↑ Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “agent”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
* 1 2 Teresa Sokołowska (21.05.2009) “AGENT”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]

### Further reading

* agent in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* agent in Polish dictionaries at PWN
* Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “agient”, in Słownik języka polskiego
* Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “agent”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861

## Romanian
### Alternative forms

* aghent

### Etymology

Borrowed from French agent.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [aˈdʒent]

### Noun

agent m (plural agenți, feminine equivalent agentă)
* agent

#### Declension
### Further reading

* agent in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

## Scots
### Alternative forms

* awgent

### Etymology

From Latin agēns, present active participle of agere (“to drive, lead, conduct, manage, perform, do”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈeːdʒənt/, /ˈɑː-/

### Noun

agent (plural agents)
* (law) solicitor

### Verb

agent (third-person singular simple present agents, present participle agentin, simple past agentit, past participle agentit)
* to act as law agent

### References

* “agent, n. & v. tr.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

From Latin agēns, present active participle of agere (“to drive, lead, conduct, manage, perform, do”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ǎɡent/
* Hyphenation: a‧gent

### Noun

àgent m (Cyrillic spelling а̀гент)
* agent

#### Declension
### References

* “agent”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

## Swedish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /aˈɡɛnːt/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

agent c
* an agent

#### Related terms

* agentfilm
* agentkontor
* agentprovision
* agentroman
* agentskap
* agentur
* agentverksamhet
* handelsagent

#### See also

* aktör
* ombud

### References

* agent in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

### Anagrams

* agnet, genat, tagen, tagne

## Tatar
### Noun

agent
* Latin spelling of агент (ağent)