'Surrogate' is Latin for 'asked as a replacement' — from 'sub-' + 'rogare' (to ask). A stand-in.
A substitute, especially a person deputizing for another in a specific role or office; serving as a replacement.
From Latin surrogatus, past participle of surrogare (to substitute, to put in another s place, to elect as a substitute), a compound of sub- (under, in place of) + rogare (to ask, to propose, to put to the vote). Rogare derives from Proto-Indo-European *roǵ- (to stretch out the hand, to reach, to ask), a root related to Latin regere (to rule, to direct) and its derivatives rector, region, and rex (king). The Roman legal term surrogatus referred specifically to substituting one person for another in legal proceedings or elections
In New York State, a 'Surrogate's Court' is the court that handles wills, estates, and adoptions. The judge is called a 'Surrogate' because they stand in place of the deceased in managing their affairs — they are the legal substitute for someone who can no longer act. The term has been used in New York since the colonial era.
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