officious

English

Etymology

16th century, from Latin officiōsus (“kindly”), from officium (“service”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪʃəs

Adjective

officious (comparative more officious, superlative most officious)

1. (obsolete) Obliging, attentive, eager to please.
   • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 53:

     Elizabeth's misery increased, at such unnecessary, such officious attention!

2. Offensively intrusive or interfering in offering advice and services.
   • 1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 168:

     The help tended to be officious, the rules, if heeded, restrictive, and the management meddlesome.

Derived terms

• inofficious
• officious intermeddler
• officiously
• officiousness

 

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₃ep-‎ (0 c, 26 e)

Translations

(obsolete in English) eager to please

• Dutch: bereidwillig (nl), overijverig (nl)
• German: übereifrig, dienstfertig, beflissen (de), dienstgeflissen, dienstbeflissen (de), bemüht (de)
• Swedish: fjäskig (sv)

offensively intrusive or interfering

• Bulgarian: натрапчив (bg) (natrapčiv), досаден (bg) (dosaden)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 多管闲事的 (zh)

• Dutch: opdringerig (nl)
• Finnish: virkaintoinen (fi), tungetteleva (fi)
• German: aufdringlich (de), wichtigmacherisch
• Irish: anchúramach
• Maori: whakapōrearea, whawhewhawhe
• Norwegian: offisiøs (no)
• Polish: nadgorliwy (pl)
• Russian: назо́йливый (ru) (nazójlivyj), навя́зчивый (ru) (navjázčivyj)
• Spanish: entrometido (es), inoportuno (es), oficioso (es)
• Swedish: beskäftig (sv)