One who brings messages.
"The village messenger rode all morning to deliver the urgent news from the capital before sunset."
In plain English: A messenger is someone who carries a message from one person to another.
"The messenger brought the package to my front door."
Usage: Use "messenger" to describe a person or animal that carries news or items from one place to another. Avoid confusing it with other roles unless specifically referring to someone delivering a message rather than performing a different job title.
To send something by messenger.
"He decided to have a messenger deliver the urgent package before noon."
In plain English: To act as a messenger means to carry a message from one person to another.
"The teacher messengered the news about the snow day to all the parents quickly."
Usage: The verb form of messenger means to deliver a message or item on behalf of someone else, often implying a third party handles the transport rather than the sender or recipient doing it directly. Use this word when describing the act of entrusting another person with the task of bringing information from one location to another.
An occupational surname, from occupations for a messenger.
"During the genealogy class, Sarah excitedly shared that her great-grandfather was actually named Messenger, an occupational surname derived from his work delivering goods in the 1800s."
The word "messenger" entered Middle English from Old French as a combination of message and the suffix -er. It eventually replaced the native Old English terms for envoy to become the standard way to describe someone who delivers messages.