office

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Noun 1.3.1 Derived terms 1.3.2 Related terms 1.3.3 Translations 1.4 References 2 French 2.1 Etymology 2.2 Pronunciation 2.3 Noun 2.4 References

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

Wikipedia

From Anglo-Norman office, offis etc., and Old French office, from Latin officium (“‘task, business, duty, official duty, office, court’”), probably contr. from opificium (“‘the doing of a work, a working’”), from opifex (“‘one who does a work’”), from opus (“‘work’”) + facere (“‘to do’”).

[edit] Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈɒfɪs/
• (US) IPA: /ˈɑfɪs/, /ˈɔfɪs/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}
• Hyphenation: of‧fice

[edit] Noun

office (plural offices)

1. A building or room where clerical or professional duties are performed.
2. A bureau, an administrative unit of government.
3. A position of responsibility of some authority within an organisation.
4. (‘good offices’) Mediation or help in resolving a dispute.
   • The UN Secretary General uses what is termed his "good offices" (generally meaning his prestige and the weight of the world community he represents) when he meets with world leaders, either publicly or privately, in an effort to prevent international disputes from developing, escalating or spreading.
5. rite, ceremonial observance of social or religious nature
6. religious service, especially a liturgy officiated by a Christian priest or minister
7. major administrative division, notably in certain governmental administrations, either at ministry level (e.g. the British Home Office) or within or dependent on such a department
8. (obsolete) a task that one feels obliged to do
   • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Modern Library Edition (1995), page 144

     ...there I readily engaged in the office of pointing out to my friend the certain evils of such a choice.

[edit] Derived terms

• office boy
• office mate
• post office
• box office
• ticket office
• paperless office
• home office
• doctor's office
• in office
• out of office

[edit] Related terms

• officer
• official
• officiate

[edit] Translations

[edit] References

• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
• office in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

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[edit] French

[edit] Etymology

Borrowed from Latin officium.

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɔfis/
•  audio^{help, file}

[edit] Noun

office m. (plural offices)

1. charge, task, mandate
2. administrative bureau, department
3. religious service, notably liturgical office
4. place where a household's table (food and drink)-related services are conducted, especially by domestic staff

[edit] References

• Nouveau Petit Larousse illustré. Dictionnaire encyclopédique. Paris, Librairie Larousse, 1952, 146th edition