'assignee' originates from English formation using the suffix '-ee' (from French '-é'), specifically formed from the verb 'assign', where 'assign' ultimately comes from Latin 'assignare' (from 'ad-' + 'signare').

'assignee' changed from Anglo-French/Old French forms such as 'asignee' and from Middle English uses of 'assign' (related to 'assignen'), and eventually became the modern English word 'assignee'.

Initially related to the idea of someone 'appointed' or 'marked out' (from 'signare' = 'to mark'), and over time it evolved into the specific modern sense of 'a person to whom rights, property, or duties are transferred'.