ag-, agen-, act-, agi-, agit-

(Latin: to set in motion, to hurry, to shake; to drive; to do, to act; to lead, to conduct, to guide)

agency (s) (noun), agencies (pl)
1. An organization, especially a company, that acts as the agent, representative, or subcontractor of a person or another company: Because Jack was out of work, he went to the employment agency to see if there was a job for him in his town.
2. An administrative division of a government or international organization: One example of such an agency is a United Nations agency.
3. The building or offices where a business negotiates deals for clients is located: The Johnson family was looking for a new home, so they went to the real estateagency in town.
4. The action, medium, or means by which something is accomplished: Sally though that work would be the best agency in order to forget her problems.
5. A legal relationship involving a person, the principal, and someone else who acts for the person, the agent; or the area of the law concerned with such relationships: Ingrid, who could not take care of herself anymore, had been confirmed incompetent and had an agency, or legal representation, to take care of her official letters, banking, etc.
agenda (uh JEN duhz) (s) (noun), agendas: agendae (pl)
1. A list of issues to be discussed at a meeting: The teachers read through the agenda before the staff conference began.
2. An efficient and systematic plan of topics to be taken care of: The secretary kept track of the agendas of the two executives.

The better informed person will use agenda for the plural and agendum for the singular usage.

agendum (s) (noun), agenda; agendas (pl)
Things to be done, such as a memoranda of items to be considered at a meeting: Agenda was the plural form in the original Latin, but now is often used as a singular in English, in the sense of "list" and followed by a singular verb.

So well-established is agenda as a singular that "agendas" is now commonly heard and seen as the plural form, however the correct Latin singular is agendum.

The agendum is whether the teaching staff wants an extended school year or not.

The agenda have been established for the next business meeting.

Something to be done.
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A record or schedule that will be discussed at a meeting .
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agent (s) (noun), agents (pl)
1. Someone who acts or has the power or authority to act: A revenuer is a government agent whose duty it is to collect revenue.
2. Anyone empowered to act for or to represent another person; An agent can be an author's agent or an insurance agent.
3. A means by which something is done or that is caused to be done; an instrument: The building of a daycare center for little children proved to be an agent of definite improvement in the community.
4. A force or substance that causes a change: Examples of an agent can be a chemical agent or an infectious agent.

June put a bleaching agent into the white load of laundry to be washed.
5. A representative or official of a government or administrative department of a government: Jack's uncle was an agent for the FBI.
6. A spy: In the movie, the man with the black coat and hat turned out to be an undercover agent!
7. In linguistics, the noun or noun phrase that specifies the person through whom or the means by which an action is effected: An agent can be the person who does something, like the girl (the agent) started making the cookies for Christmas early in December!

agile (adjective), more agile, most agile
1. Referring to a person or animal able to move quickly and with suppleness, skill, and control: The members of the trapeze troupe were all very agile and never made a mistake in their perfmance.
2. The ability to think quickly and intelligently; alert: Even though Ingrid was a centenarian, she still had an agile mind.
agilely (adverb), more agilely, most agilely
Pertaining to how a movement is carried out with quickness, briskness, lightness, and ease: The neighbor's cat jumped agilely from the roof top to the tree branch.
agileness (s) (noun) (no pl)
Nimbleness or gracefulness of a person, or animal: The agileness of many wild animals is characterized by quickness, grace, ease, and fastness in movement.
Agilisaurus (s) (noun) (no pl)
An agile (nimble) lizard from Middle Jurassic Dashanpu Quarry in Sichuan, China: Agilisaurus got its name because it is believed to have been agile as indicated by the light structure of the skeleton and the ratios of its limbs. It was named by Peng Guangzhao in 1992.
agility (s) (noun), agilities (pl)
1. The power, or talent, to move quickly and easily; nimbleness: The agility of the famed hurdler was also an inspiration for younger runners.
2. The ability to think and draw conclusions quickly. such as intellectual acuity: Based on the number of scholarships she won, Harriete's mental agility was remarkable.
Nimbleness and quick response.
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Ease of movement and resourcefulness of mind.
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Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
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agit. vas. (Latin phrase)
"Agitato vase": The vial or vessel which is being shaken is expressed by the shortened form, agit. vas.
agita, agit. (Latin phrase)
Shake: Agita, agit. sometimes appears on a medical or prescription instruction.
agitable (adjective), more agitable, most agitable
A reference to a person's capability of getting upset or becoming emotionally disturbed: Mrs. Smart got into an agitable mood and was quite tense when her students were not concentrating on their work and were too loud as well.
agitant (s) (noun), agitants (pl)
1. Anyone, or something, that tends to arouse public feeling, interest, or support for or against something: Thomas was known to be an agitant who always wanted to organize demonstrations and protest marches against war.
2. Anything that causes something to move vigorously or violently: In some countries an earthquake can be the agitant causing the ground to shake and tremble, and houses to tumble down.
agitate (verb), agitates; agitated; agitating
1. To move violently; to stir up or to shake up: The new washing machine agitated, stirred, and mixed the laundry with the detergent in the water.
2. To excite or to disturb the feeling of: The news on TV agitated Sam so much that he had to phone his neighbot to talk about it.
agitation (s) (noun), agitations (pl)
1. Violent motion, or stirring strong, tumultuous feelings: Jane's agitation was so great that she could not sit down, was fidgety, restless, and continually strutted around the room with her head bent down.
2. Emotional disturbance or excitement: Lynn was so upset and nervous and worried that she was in a state of agitation and could hardly be understood when she talked.
3. A marked increase in motor activity, generally associated with mental disturbance: There are many causes for agitation, especially including delirium and mania.