official

English

Etymology

From Middle English official, from Old French official, from Latin officiālis, from Latin officium (“duty, service”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈfɪʃəl/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪʃəl

Adjective

official (comparative more official, superlative most official)

1. Of or pertaining to an office or public trust.

   official duties

2. Derived from the proper office or officer, or from the proper authority; made or communicated by virtue of authority

   an official statement or report

3. Approved by authority; authorized.

   The Official Strategy Guide

   1. (Of a statement) Dubious but recognized by authorities as truth and/or canon.

      Despite these testimonies, "accidental asphyxiation" remains his official cause of death.

4. (pharmaceutical) Sanctioned by the pharmacopoeia; appointed to be used in medicine; officinal.

   an official drug or preparation

5. Discharging an office or function.
   • 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A. Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], OCLC 152706203:

     the stomach and other parts official unto nutrition

6. Relating to an office; especially, to a subordinate executive officer or attendant.
7. Relating to an ecclesiastical judge appointed by a bishop, chapter, archdeacon, etc., with charge of the spiritual jurisdiction.
8. (slang) True, real, beyond doubt.

   Well, it's official: you lost your mind!

9. (pharmacology) Listen in a national pharmacopeia.

Antonyms

• unofficial

Derived terms

• antiofficial
• co-official
• ex-official
• extraofficial
• Facebook official
• inofficial
• nonofficial
• official at-bat
• official cover
• Official IRA
• officialise/-ize, -isation/-ization
• officialism
• officiality
• officiality
• officially
• officialness
• official scorer
• semi-official

 

Related terms

• office
• officer
• officiate

 

Translations

of or pertaining to an office or public trust

• Belarusian: службо́вы (službóvy)
• Bulgarian: служебен (bg) (služeben)
• Catalan: oficial (ca)
• Estonian: ametlik (et)
• Finnish: virallinen (fi)
• Galician: oficial m or f
• Greek: επίσημος (el) (epísimos)
• Hungarian: hivatalos (hu), hivatali (hu)
• Italian: ufficiale (it)
• Polish: służbowy (pl)

• Romanian: oficial (ro)
• Russian: служе́бный (ru) (služébnyj), должностно́й (ru) (dolžnostnój)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Latin: zvanični m, službeni m

• Spanish: oficial (es)
• Tagalog: tungkulanin
• Ukrainian: службо́вий (službóvyj), посадо́вий (posadóvyj)
• Vietnamese: chánh thức, chính thức (vi)

derived from the proper office

• Bashkir: рәсми (räsmi)
• Bulgarian: официален (bg) (oficialen)
• Catalan: oficial (ca)
• Finnish: virallinen (fi)
• Hungarian: hatósági (hu)
• Italian: ufficiale (it)

• Kazakh: ресми (kk) (resmï)
• Malay: rasmi
• Russian: официа́льный (ru) (oficiálʹnyj)
• Spanish: oficial (es)
• Swahili: rasmi (sw)

approved by authority

• Bashkir: рәсми (räsmi)
• Belarusian: афіцы́йны (aficýjny), офіцыя́льны (oficyjálʹny)
• Bulgarian: официа́лен (bg) (oficiálen)
• Catalan: oficial (ca)
• Finnish: virallinen (fi)
• Hungarian: hivatalos (hu)
• Italian: ufficiale (it)
• Japanese: 正式な (ja) (seishiki na), 正式の (ja) (seishiki no)
• Kazakh: ресми (kk) (resmï)

• Maori: whaimana
• Polish: oficjalny (pl)
• Romanian: oficial (ro)
• Russian: официа́льный (ru) (oficiálʹnyj)
• Spanish: oficial (es)
• Swahili: rasmi (sw)
• Swedish: officiell (sv)
• Ukrainian: офіці́йний (oficíjnyj), офіціа́льний (oficiálʹnyj)

(of alleged truth) canonical but disputed

• Hungarian: hivatalos (hu)

• Japanese: 表向きの (omote-muki no)

appointed to be used in medicine — see officinal

discharging an office or function

• Catalan: oficial (ca)

• Finnish: virallinen (fi)

relating to an office; especially, to a subordinate executive officer or attendant

• Albanian: zyrtar (sq)
• Arabic: مَسْؤُول‎ (ar) (masʾūl)
• Azerbaijani: rəsmi (az)
• Bulgarian: служебен (bg) (služeben), официален (bg) (oficialen)
• Catalan: oficial (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 官方 (zh) (guānfāng), 正式 (zh) (zhèngshì)

• Czech: oficiální (cs)
• Dutch: officieel (nl), ambtelijk (nl)
• Esperanto: oficiala
• Finnish: virallinen (fi), virka- (fi)
• French: officiel (fr)
• German: offiziell (de), amtlich (de), dienstlich
• Greek: υπηρεσιακός (el) m (ypiresiakós), επίσημος (el) m (epísimos)
• Hindi: अधिकारी (hi) m (adhikārī)
• Hungarian: hivatali (hu), hivatalos (hu)
• Ido: oficala (io)

• Indonesian: resmi (id)
• Italian: ufficiale (it)
• Japanese: 公式 (ja) (こうしき, kōshiki), 公の (おおやけの, ōyake no)
• Kazakh: ресми (kk) (resmï)
• Korean: 공식 (ko) (gongsik)
• Latin: official
• Maltese: uffiċjali
• Navajo: wááshindoon
• Norwegian: offisiell (no)
• Portuguese: oficial (pt)
• Romanian: oficial (ro)
• Russian: официа́льный (ru) (oficiálʹnyj), служе́бный (ru) (služébnyj), должностно́й (ru) (dolžnostnój)
• Slovene: uráden (sl)
• Spanish: oficial (es)
• Turkish: resmî (tr)

relating to an ecclesiastical judge

Noun

official (plural officials)

1. An office holder invested with powers and authorities.

   David Barnes was the official charged with the running of the sports club.

   Last year, Yulong Snow Mountain park officials reported that 2.6 million visitors came to the mountain.

   • 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.

2. A person responsible for applying the rules of a game or sport in a competition.

   In most soccer games there are three officials: the referee and two linesmen.

Hyponyms

• See also Thesaurus:official

Derived terms

• federal official
• fourth official
• officialdom
• officialese
• officialhood
• officialship
• officialty
• television match official
• video official

 

Translations

office holder invested with powers and authorities

• Arabic: مَسْئُول‎ m (masʾūl)
• Armenian: պաշտոնյա (hy) (paštonya)
• Azerbaijani: məmur (az)
• Belarusian: службо́вая асо́ба f (službóvaja asóba)
• Bulgarian: длъжностно́ лице́ n (dlǎžnostnó licé)
• Catalan: funcionari (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 官員 (zh), 官员 (zh) (guānyuán)

• Czech: funkcionář (cs) m, úředník (cs) m
• Egyptian: (sr)
• Danish: embedsmand c, tjenestemand c (older officially regulated term)
• Dutch: beambte (nl) m or f, functionaris (nl) m or f, ambtenaar (nl) m or f
• Finnish: viranomainen (fi), virkamies (fi) (public official), virkailija (fi), toimihenkilö (fi), toimitsija (fi) (in general)
• French: cadre (fr), fonctionnaire (fr)
• German: Beamter (de) m, Beamtin (de) f
• Greek: αξιωματούχος (el) c (axiomatoúchos)
• Hausa: jami'i (ha)
• Hindi: अधिकारी (hi) m (adhikārī)
• Hungarian: hivatalnok (hu), tisztviselő (hu), tisztségviselő (hu)
• Italian: funzionario (it) m

• Japanese: 役員 (ja) (やくいん, yakuin), 役人 (ja) (やくにん, yakunin)
• Jarawa: babu
• Korean: 공무원 (ko) (gongmuwon)
• Malay: pegawai
• Maori: āpiha
• Middle English: officer
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: (offentlig) tjenestemann m

• Polish: urzędnik (pl) m
• Portuguese: oficial (pt) m, funcionário (pt) m
• Romanian: funcționar (ro) m, funcționară (ro) f, oficialitate (ro) f
• Russian: официа́льное лицо́ n (oficiálʹnoje licó), чино́вник (ru) m (činóvnik), слу́жащий (ru) m (slúžaščij), функционе́р (ru) m (funkcionér), должностно́е лицо́ (ru) n (dolžnostnóje licó)
• Slovak: úradník m, funkcionár m
• Spanish: funcionario (es) m
• Swedish: tjänsteman (sv) c, ämbetsman (sv) c
• Telugu: అధికారి (te) (adhikāri)
• Ukrainian: службо́ва осо́ба f (službóva osóba), урядо́ва осо́ба f (urjadóva osóba); службо́вець (uk) m (službóvecʹ), службо́вка (uk) f (službóvka); (in the Russian Empire) чино́вник m (čynóvnyk)

person responsible for applying the rules in a competition

• Bulgarian: съдия (bg) m (sǎdija)
• Danish: dommer (da) c
• Finnish: toimitsija (fi), tuomari (fi)

• Hungarian: játékvezető (hu)
• Swedish: domare (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. 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"

• Norman: ^{(please verify)} commîns m (Jersey)

Further reading

• official in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• official in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

---

Middle English

Alternative forms

• officiale, offycyal, offyciall, officiall, offecialle

Etymology

From Old French official, from Latin officiālis; equivalent to office +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔfisiˈaːl/, /ɔˈfisial/

Noun

official (plural officials)

1. An underling of a member of the clergy, often heading a clerical court.
2. A hireling or subordinate; one employed to serve, especially at an estate.

Descendants

• English: official
• Scots: offeecial

References

• “officiāl, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Adjective

official (plural and weak singular officiale)

1. (of body parts) Functional; serving a purpose.
2. (rare) Requisite or mandatory for a task.

Descendants

• English: official
• Scots: offeecial

References

• “officiāl, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

---

Old French

Alternative forms

• officiel

Noun

official m (oblique plural officiaus or officiax or officials, nominative singular officiaus or officiax or officials, nominative plural official)

1. court official
2. chamber pot

Adjective

official m (oblique and nominative feminine singular officiale)

1. 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 quote)

Descendants

• → Middle English: official, officiale, offycyal, offyciall, officiall, offecialle
  • English: official
  • Scots: offeecial
• French: officiel

---

Portuguese

Adjective

official (plural officiaes, comparable)

1. Obsolete spelling of oficial

Noun

official m, f (plural officiaes)

1. Obsolete spelling of oficial