ˈājənsē, -si noun
( -es )
Etymology: agen t (II) + -cy
1. : the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power : action or activity : operation
I have no intention to dispute her free agency — Tobias Smollett
2. : a person or thing through which power is exerted or an end is achieved : instrumentality , means
through the agency of Benjamin Rush he renewed relations with Jefferson — W.C.Ford
example is still … the greatest agency by which men help each other — G.F.Kennan
3.
a. : the office or function of an agent
b. : the relationship between a principal and his agent
4.
a. : an establishment engaged in doing business for another
an advertising agency
an employment agency
b. : the place of business or the district of such an agency
5.
a. : a department or other administrative unit of a government
the War Department, the only agency equipped to administer occupied areas — E.J.Hayward
the independent agencies are generally regulatory in nature — H.M.Somers
b. : the office or headquarters of a government agent (as of an Indian agent)
the house had once been used as an Indian agency
c. : the district administered by a government agent (as by a former British agent in India)