agency

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti Proto-Italic *agō Latin agō Medieval Latin agēns Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Medieval Latin -ius Medieval Latin -ia Medieval Latin agēntiabor. English agency From Medieval Latin agentia, from Latin agēns (present participle of agere (“to act”)), agentis (cognate with French agence, see also agent).

1. The capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power.

   “A few advances there are in the following papers tending to assert the superintendence and agency of Providence in the natural world.”

   “Because structure in this argument means institutions— pregiven norms, values, beliefs, and practices— it is open-textured, incomplete, cannot guarantee its own applications, therefore, all behavior is action, has agency (Garfinkel 1964; Strauss et al. 1963).”

2. The capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices.

   “moral agency”

   “individual agency”

3. A medium through which power is exerted or an end is achieved.
4. The office or function of an agent; also, the relationship between a principal and that person's agent.

   “authority of agency”

5. An establishment engaged in doing business for another; also, the place of business or the district of such an agency.

   “As an employment agency you have a responsibility to supply work to the individual agency worker, as well as a service to the client.”

6. A department or other administrative unit of a government; also, the office or headquarters of, or the district administered by, such unit of government.

   “Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry”

   “Central Intelligence Agency”