official
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English
Etymology
From Middle English official, from Old French official, from Latin officiālis, from Latin officium (“duty, service”), by surface analysis, office + -ial.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /əˈfɪʃəl/
Audio (General American): (file) - Rhymes: -ɪʃəl
Adjective
official (comparative more official, superlative most official)
- Of or pertaining to an office or public trust.
- official duties
- Derived from the proper office or officer, or from the proper authority; made or communicated by virtue of authority
- an official statement or report
- Approved by authority; authorized.
- The Official Strategy Guide
- (pharmaceutical) Sanctioned by the pharmacopoeia; appointed to be used in medicine; officinal.
- an official drug or preparation
- Discharging an office or function.
- 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: , 2nd edition, London: A Miller, for Edw Dod and Nath Ekins, , →OCLC:
- the stomach and other parts official unto nutrition
- Relating to an office; especially, to a subordinate executive officer or attendant.
- Relating to an ecclesiastical judge appointed by a bishop, chapter, archdeacon, etc., with charge of the spiritual jurisdiction.
- (informal) True, real, beyond doubt.
- Well, it's official: you lost your mind!
- (pharmacology) Listed in a national pharmacopeia.
Antonyms
Derived terms
- antiofficial
- co-official
- ex-official
- extraofficial
- Facebook official
- inofficial
- nonofficial
- non-official
- official at-bat
- official cover
- official gazette
- Official IRA
- officialise/-ize, -isation/-ization
- officialism
- officiality
- officiality
- official language
- officially
- official mark
- officialness
- official passport
- official scorer
- semi-official
Related terms
Translations
of or pertaining to an office or public trust
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derived from the proper office
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approved by authority
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(of alleged truth) canonical but disputed
appointed to be used in medicine — see officinal
discharging an office or function
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relating to an office; especially, to a subordinate executive officer or attendant
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relating to an ecclesiastical judge
Noun
official (plural officials)
- An office holder, a person holding an official position in government, sports, or other organization.
- Officials in the Firefly administration assure the Sylvanians they don't want war either.
- In most soccer games, there are three officials: the referee and two linesmen.
- 1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, Pt. III:
- ...officials with their prehensile bottoms...
- 2014 March 15, “Turn it off”, in The Economist, volume 410, number 8878:
- If the takeover is approved, Comcast would control 20 of the top 25 cable markets […] Antitrust officials will need to consider Comcast’s status as a monopsony (a buyer with disproportionate power), when it comes to negotiations with programmers, whose channels it pays to carry.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
office holder invested with powers and authorities
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked: "an employee of the public authorities who acts in an official capacity and with certain powers and authorities"
person responsible for applying the rules in a competition
Further reading
- “official”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “official”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old French official, from Latin officiālis; equivalent to office + -al.
Pronunciation
Noun
official (plural officials)
- An underling of a member of the clergy, often heading a clerical court.
- A hireling or subordinate; one employed to serve, especially at an estate.
Descendants
References
- “officiāl, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-03-20.
Adjective
official (plural and weak singular officiale)
- (of body parts) Functional; serving a purpose.
- (rare) Requisite or mandatory for a task.
Descendants
References
- “officiāl, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-03-20.
Old French
Alternative forms
Noun
official oblique singular, m (oblique plural officiaus or officiax or officials, nominative singular officiaus or officiax or officials, nominative plural official)
Adjective
official m (oblique and nominative feminine singular officiale)
- official; certified or permitted by an authoritative source
- 1377, Bernard de Gordon, Fleur de lis de medecine (a.k.a. lilium medicine), page 182 of this essay:
- tumeur c’est maladie officiale
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Descendants
Portuguese
Adjective
official m or f (plural officiaes)
Noun
official m or f by sense (plural officiaes)