Etymology

agent general

Today it means: The representative of a British colony or, later, of a Canadian province or Australian state in key cities abroad. Full definition →

First used 17th c.French agent général ← Italian agente generale
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The story

  1. Italian · calque ofagente generale
  2. French · calque ofagent général
  3. English todayagent general

From agent + general, after French agent général, Italian agente generale.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 17th c. The representative of a British colony or, later, of a Canadian province or Australian state in key cities abroad.
  • from 17th c. An ecclesiastic elected to manage accounting and other matters for the Church of France.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.