amt (n.)

late 14c., also embassador, "diplomatic emissary of a ruler in the court of another," from Old French embassator, ambassateor, which comes via Provençal or Old Spanish from Latin ambactus "a servant, vassal," from Celtic amb(i)actos "a messenger, servant" (from PIE root *ambhi- "around" + *ag- "to drive, draw out or forth, move").

Compare embassy. Forms in am- and em- were used indiscriminately in English 17c.-18c. Until 1893 the United States sent and received none, having only ministers (often called ambassadors), who represented the state, not the sovereign.

1844, American English, from the name of Jacob Amman, 17c. Swiss Mennonite preacher who founded the sect. The surname is a contraction of Old High German ambahtman, title of an official in the German Swiss cantons, from ambet "office" (German Amt; see amt, a Celtic borrowing related to the beginning of ambassador) + man "man." Originally also spelled Omish, which reflects the pronunciation in Pennsylvania German dialect. As a noun, by 1884. Other early names for the sect were Ammanite and, in a European context, Upland Mennonite.