Definition of: a gent

(ā′jənt) noun
1. One who or that which acts or has power to act; an efficient cause of anything; actor; doer.
2. One who or that which acts for another; a factor; steward; deputy.
3. Any force or substance having power to effect a material change in bodies, as a chemical, drug, or earth movement.
4. A means by which something is done.
5. One who transacts business for another: a literary agent.
6. A traveling salesman or canvasser.
—adjective Obs. Acting: opposed to passive. [<L agens, agentis, ppr. of agere Ado] Synonyms (noun): actor, cause, doer, factor, instrument, means, mover, operator, performer, promoter. In strict philosophical usage, the prime mover or doer of an act is the agent. Thus we speak of someone as a free agent. But in common usage, especially in business, an agent is not the prime actor, but only an instrument or factor, acting under orders or instructions. Compare CAUSE. Antonyms: chief, inventor, originator, principal.