officialese

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English official

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 officialese

From official + -ese.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ə.fɪ.ʃəˈliːz/

Noun

officialese (countable and uncountable, plural officialeses)

1. The typical language of officials or official documents; legalistic and pompous language. [from 19th c.]

   Synonym: bureaucratese

   • 2011, Thomas Penn, Winter King, Penguin, published 2012, page 263:

     These were men, the chronicler continued, who ‘spoke pleasantly’, in the smooth officialese that most of Henry's counsellors were accustomed to deploy […]

   • 2021, Tom Albrighton, How to Write Clearly […] , ABC Business Communications Ltd, →ISBN, page 144:

     But while using officialese might give your writing the outward appearance of being thorough and correct, that doesn't mean there's anything happening underneath. Officialese is a kind of defense mechanism. It's rooted in the fear of getting something wrong, or leaving something out, or looking stupid.

Translations

bureaucratese — see bureaucratese

See also

• legalese