Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2022 May 27

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May 27

Catch-all term for embassy/consulate/trade office in English

Country A sometimes have embassy and or consulates in country B to provide consular services. These building/institutions can have many different names in English:

- embassy

- consulate

- trade office (when political pressure prevents it from being called a embassy/consulate [1])

Is there a catch-all term for all of these in English? Basically I'm looking for a shorter alternative to writing "embassy/consulate" all the time.

Thank you.Daniel T Wolters (talk) 18:17, 27 May 2022 (UTC)

Diplomatic mission covers the first two, and avoids the MOS:SLASH problem. Be aware of limitations of the term for non-diplomatic purposes as covered by your third item. Bazza (talk) 18:54, 27 May 2022 (UTC)

Thank you very much! Daniel T Wolters (talk) 19:23, 27 May 2022 (UTC)

I don't think there is a catch-all phrase. Consuls are not considered diplomats. Note too there are also high commissions that perform the same functions as embassies, but are accredited differently. TFD (talk) 19:44, 27 May 2022 (UTC)

Even though consuls are not diplomats in a narrow sense, consular officials normally enjoy some form of diplomatic immunity in the host country, and it is common to include them in the sense of the term diplomatic mission. However, the term refers only metonymically to the building in which they are housed.  --Lambiam 20:20, 27 May 2022 (UTC)