bureaucratese

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥

Proto-Hellenic *pāwər

Ancient Greek πῦρ (pûr)

Proto-Indo-European *-rós

Proto-Hellenic *-rós

Ancient Greek -ρός (-rós)

Ancient Greek πῠρρός (pŭrrhós)bor.

Latin burrus

Latin burra

Old French *bure

Proto-Indo-European *-lós

Proto-Indo-European *-elós

Proto-Italic *-elos

Latin -lus

Latin -ellus

Old French -el

Old French burel

French bureau

Proto-Indo-European *kret-

Ancient Greek κρᾰ́τος (krắtos)

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂

Proto-Hellenic *-íā

Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā)

Ancient Greek -κρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (-krătĭ́ā)lbor.

French -cratie

French bureaucratie

French bureaucratebor.

English bureaucrat

Proto-Indo-European *-iskos

Proto-Germanic *-iskaz

Proto-West Germanic *-iskbor.

Late Latin -iscus

▲

Vulgar Latin -iscus

Latin -ēnsis

Old French -eisbor.

Middle English -eys

English -ese

English bureaucratese

From bureaucrat + -ese.

Noun

bureaucratese (uncountable)

(informal, derogatory) A style of language, used by bureaucrats, that involves jargon or euphemism to the detriment of broader understanding.
- 2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 186:
  Help you fill out the application for food stamps and other government programs, break down the discouraging bureaucratese.
(informal, derogatory) Wordy, ostentatious talk or writing that resembles bureaucratic writing.
The company president's annual statement was complete bureaucratese: it was utterly content-free.

Synonyms

Related terms

Translations

pejorative term for language typically used by bureaucrats

Bulgarian: канцела́рски стил m (kancelárski stil), чино́внически ези́к m (činóvničeski ezík)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 官腔 (zh) (guānqiāng), 官話 / 官话 (zh) (guānhuà)
Finnish: (viranomaisten) kapulakieli
French: langue de bois (fr) f
German: (languages in general) Bürokratensprache f, Behördensprache (de) f, Verwaltungsjargon m; (for German more often) Amtsdeutsch (de) n, Behördendeutsch (de) n, Beamtendeutsch (de) n; (the same terms can also be formed with other languages e.g. Amtsenglisch n (“English bureaucratese”))
Italian: burocratese (it)
Polish: żargon biurokratyczny m inan
Russian: канцеляри́т (ru) m (kanceljarít)
Swedish: kanslisvenska c
Ukrainian: канцеля́рська мо́ва f (kanceljársʹka móva)

pejorative term for language resembling that used by bureaucrats

Finnish: kapulakieli (fi)
French: baratin (fr) m, charabia (fr) m
German: Behördensprache (de) f, Kanzleistil (de); (for German more often) Beamtendeutsch (de) n, Amtsdeutsch (de) n, Papierdeutsch (de) n
Polish: żargon biurokratyczny m inan
Ukrainian: канцеля́рська мо́ва f (kanceljársʹka móva)