Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
REPRESENTATIVE
I. adjective
Date: 14th century
serving to represent,
2. standing or acting for another especially through delegated authority, of, based on, or constituting a government in which the many are represented by persons chosen from among them usually by election, serving as a typical or characteristic example , of or relating to representation or representationalism, representatively adverb representativeness noun representativity noun
II. noun
Date: 1635
one that represents another or others: as, a. one that represents a constituency as a member of a legislative body, a member of the house of representatives of the United States Congress or a state legislature, one that represents another as agent, deputy, substitute, or delegate usually being invested with the authority of the principal, one that represents a business organization, one that represents another as successor or heir, a typical example of a group, class, or quality ; specimen