'assignee' originates from French, formed from the verb 'assigner' with the nominalizing suffix '-é' (later borrowed into English as '-ee') indicating the recipient of an action; the verb 'assign' ultimately traces back to Latin 'assignare' (ad- 'to' + signare 'to mark').

'assignee' changed from Latin 'assignare' → Old French 'assigner' → Middle English forms related to 'assign' and the recipient-forming suffix, eventually becoming the modern English noun 'assignee'.

Initially related to the action of marking or allotting ('to mark'/'to allot'), it evolved to refer specifically to 'a person to whom rights, duties, or property are transferred'.