official
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English official, from Old French official, from Latin officiālis, from Latin officium (“duty, service”).
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
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.
- Sir Thomas Browne
- the stomach and other parts official unto nutrition
- Sir Thomas Browne
- 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.
- True, real, beyond doubt.
- Well, it's official: you lost your mind!
AntonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
of or pertaining to an office or public trust
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derived from the proper office
approved by authority
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
NounEdit
official (plural officials)
- 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.
- 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.
HyponymsEdit
- See also Thesaurus:official
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
office holder invested with powers and authorities
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person responsible for applying the rules in a competition
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- 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"
Further readingEdit
- official in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- official in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
Middle EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old French official, from Latin officiālis; equivalent to office + -al.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
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.
DescendantsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- “officiāl, n.” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-03-20.
AdjectiveEdit
official (plural and weak singular officiale)
- (of body parts) Functional; serving a purpose.
- (rare) Requisite or mandatory for a task.
DescendantsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- “officiāl, adj.” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-03-20.
Old FrenchEdit
Alternative formsEdit
NounEdit
official m (oblique plural officiaus or officiax or officials, nominative singular officiaus or officiax or officials, nominative plural official)
AdjectiveEdit
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