A Proxy is the authority to represent another person or entity... Especially in the capacity of voting issues, such as on a board of directors.

This authority can be granted willingly, (as in the case of someone who cannot attend a meeting sending another to vote in her place) or unwillingly (such as in the case of a parent's authority over the affairs of a child. It can be granted with or without limitation ("Go to the meeting and vote yes on the takeover, for all my shares." or "The Executor is granted any and all reasonable powers necesary to manage and maintain the estate of Jonh, while he is in his coma.")

A parent, for instance, holds an automatic right of proxy in certain interests of her child. The child need not and cannot make decisions not granted her by her parent, because the parent has the legal authority to make those decisions for the child.

When something is done or decided by proxy, it means the actual effort of action, and sometimes the decision, was made by someone else.

implied action taken or status gained through association with or "closeness to" another (same origin as proximity)

to get something second hand

legal definition similiar to power of attorney, e.g. alternative way that leads to a same purpose or conclusion.

When there is a causal relationship that can be drawn; a cause and effect. Because of one thing, another thing can be said (to occur) as a byproduct.

Proxy, can also mean using someone on your behalf.

To have someone else wait in line for your lazy ass.

if someone used a "medium," for example below the "mug," and that person did something, the next person who uses that medium basically did that same thing.

A sort of "middle man" on the internet. Normally when you go to a website, you send your "request" packets straight to the site's server, and then the server sends "reply" packets back which is what you see as the website. With a proxy, you send your request packet to a server, which then sends a new request packet to the website's server, which then sends back a reply to the proxy's server, and the proxy sends the web site to your computer. This can be used for anonymous surfing on the web. Not all proxys are anonymous, though. Some just edit the packet they send to have your IP address instead of the proxy's, then the reply goes straight to you.