official

Wikipedia

English

Etymology

From Old French official, from Latin officium (“duty, service”)

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

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• 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.
4. sanctioned by the pharmacopoeia; appointed to be used in medicine; officinal

   an official drug or preparation

5. Discharging an office or function.
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.

Antonyms

• unofficial

Related terms

• office
• officer
• officiate

Translations

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

Albanian: zyrtar (sq) Arabic: مسؤول (ar) (mas'uul) Azeri: rəsmi (az) Chinese: Mandarin: 官方 (cmn) (guānfāng), 正式 (cmn) (zhèngshì) Czech: oficiální (cs) Dutch: officieel (nl), ambtelijk (nl) Esperanto: oficiala (eo) Finnish: virallinen (fi), virka- (fi) French: officiel (fr) German: offiziell (de), amtlich (de), dienstlich (de) Greek: υπηρεσιακός (el) (ypiresiakós) m., επίσημος (el) (epísimos) m. Hungarian: hivatali (hu), hivatalos (hu) Indonesian: resmi (id)

Japanese: 公式 (ja) (こうしき, kōshiki), 公の (ja) (おおやけの, ōyake-no) Korean: 공무원 (ko) (gongmuwon) Latin: official (la) Maltese: uffiċjali  (mt) Navajo: wááshindoon Norwegian: offisiell (no) Portuguese: oficial (pt) Romanian: oficial (ro) m. and n. Russian: официальный (ru) (oficiál'nyj), служебный (ru) (služébnyj), должностной (ru) (dolžnostnój) Slovene: uráden (sl) Spanish: oficial (es) Turkish: resmî (tr)

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.

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

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

Derived terms

• fourth official

Translations

office holder invested with powers and authorities

Arabic: مسئول (ar) (mas'uul) m. Armenian: պաշտոնյա (hy) (paštonya) Chinese: Mandarin: 官員 (cmn), 官员 (cmn) (guānyuán) Finnish: viranomainen (fi) French: cadre (fr), fonctionnaire (fr) German: Beamte (de) m.

Greek: αξιωματούχος (el) (axiomatouchos) c. Hungarian: hivatalnok (hu), tisztviselő (hu) Japanese: 役員 (ja) (やくいん, yakuin) Romanian: funcționar (ro) m., funcționară (ro) f. Russian: официальное лицо (ru) (oficiál'noje licó) n., чиновник (ru) (činóvnik) m. Spanish: funcionario (es) m. Swahili: rasmi (sw)

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 Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Norwegian: offentlig tjenestemann (no) m.

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: proved · plan · pain · #939: official · loss · spot · wonderful

External links

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