official

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French official, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin officium (“duty, service”).

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /əˈfɪʃəl/
• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter)

  Audio (US):

  (file)

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) 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.
   • Sir Thomas Browne

     the stomach and other parts official unto nutrition

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.
8. True, real, beyond doubt.

   Well, it's official: you lost your mind!

Antonyms

• unofficial

Related terms

• office
• officer
• officiate
• officiality

Translations

of or pertaining to an office or public trust

• Catalan: oficial (ca)
• Estonian: ametlik (et)
• Finnish: virallinen (fi)
• Italian: ufficiale (it)
• Romanian: oficial (ro)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: служе́бный (ru) (služébnyj), должностно́й (ru) (dolžnostnój)
• Spanish: oficial (es)
• Tagalog: tungkulanin
• Vietnamese: chánh thức

derived from the proper office

• Bashkir: рәсми (rəsmi)
• Catalan: oficial (ca)
• Finnish: virallinen (fi)
• Italian: ufficiale (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Kazakh: ресми (kk) (resmi)
• Malay: rasmi
• Russian: официа́льный (ru) (oficiálʹnyj)
• Swahili: rasmi (sw)

approved by authority

• Bashkir: рәсми (rəsmi)
• Catalan: oficial (ca)
• Finnish: virallinen (fi)
• Italian: ufficiale (it)
• Kazakh: ресми (kk) (resmi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: whaimana
• Romanian: oficial (ro)
• Russian: официа́льный (ru) (oficiálʹnyj)
• Swahili: rasmi (sw)
• Swedish: officiell (sv)

appointed to be used in medicine — see officinal

discharging an office or function

• Catalan: oficial (ca)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: virallinen (fi)

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

• Albanian: zyrtar (sq)
• Arabic: مَسْؤُول (ar) (masʔūl)
• Azeri: rəsmi (az)
• Catalan: oficial (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 官方 (zh) (guānfāng), 正式 (zh) (zhèngshì)

• Czech: oficiální (cs)
• Dutch: officieel (nl), ambtelijk (nl)
• Esperanto: oficiala
• Finnish: virallinen (fi), virka- (fi)
• French: officiel (fr)
• German: offiziell (de), amtlich (de), dienstlich
• Greek: υπηρεσιακός (el) m (ypiresiakós), επίσημος (el) m (epísimos)
• Hindi: अधिकारी (hi) m (adhikari)
• Hungarian: hivatali (hu), hivatalos (hu)
• Ido: oficala (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Indonesian: resmi (id)
• Italian: ufficiale (it)
• Japanese: 公式 (ja) (こうしき, kōshiki), 公の (おおやけの, ōyake-no)
• Kazakh: ресми (kk) (resmi)
• Korean: 공식 (ko) (gongsik)
• Latin: official
• Maltese: uffiċjali
• Navajo: wááshindoon
• Norwegian: offisiell (no)
• Portuguese: oficial (pt)
• Romanian: oficial (ro)
• Russian: официа́льный (ru) (oficiálʹnyj), служе́бный (ru) (služébnyj), должностно́й (ru) (dolžnostnój)
• Slovene: uráden (sl)
• Spanish: oficial (es)
• Turkish: resmî (tr)

relating to an ecclesiastical judge

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

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.

   • Template:quote-magazine
2. A person responsible for applying the rules of a game or sport in a competition.

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

Hyponyms

• See also Wikisaurus:official

Derived terms

• fourth official

Translations

office holder invested with powers and authorities

• Arabic: مَسْئُول m (masʔūl)
• Armenian: պաշտոնյա (hy) (paštonya)
• Belarusian: службо́вая асо́ба f (službóvaja asóba)
• Catalan: funcionari (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 官員／官员 (zh) (guānyuán), 官员 (zh) (guānyuán)

• Czech: funkcionář (cs) m
• Danish: embedsmand c, tjenestemand c (older officially regulated term)
• Dutch: beambte (nl) m or f, functionaris (nl) m or f, ambtenaar (nl) m or f
• Finnish: viranomainen (fi), virkamies (fi) (public official), virkailija (fi), toimihenkilö (fi), toimitsija (in general)
• French: cadre (fr), fonctionnaire (fr)
• German: Beamter (de) m, Beamtin (de) f
• Greek: αξιωματούχος (el) c (axiomatoúchos)
• Hausa: jami'i (ha)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: hivatalnok (hu), tisztviselő (hu)
• Italian: funzionario (it) m
• Japanese: 役員 (ja) (やくいん, yakuin), 役人 (ja) (やくにん, yakunin)
• Korean: 공무원 (ko) (gongmuwon)
• Malay: pegawai
• Maori: āpiha
• Portuguese: oficial (pt) m, funcionário (pt) m
• Romanian: funcționar (ro) m, funcționară (ro) f, oficialitate (ro) f
• Russian: официа́льное лицо́ n (oficiálʹnoje licó), чино́вник (ru) m (činóvnik), слу́жащий (ru) m (slúžaščij)
• Spanish: funcionario (es) m
• Swedish: tjänsteman (sv) c, ämbetsman (sv) c
• Telugu: అధికారి (te) (adhikāri)
• Ukrainian: службо́ва осо́ба f (službóva osóba), урядо́ва осо́ба f (urjadóva osóba); службо́вець (uk) m (službóvecʹ), службо́вка f (službóvka); (in the Russian Empire) чино́вник m (čynóvnyk)

person responsible for applying the rules in a competition

• Danish: dommer (da) c
• Finnish: toimitsija, tuomari (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Swedish: domare (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked‌: "an employee of the public authorities who acts in an official capacity and with certain powers and authorities"

• Norman: ^{(please verify)} commîns m (Jersey)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} offentlig tjenestemann m

Statistics

• Template:rank

Further reading

• “official”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “official”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

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Old French

Alternative forms

• officiel

Noun

official oblique singular, m (oblique plural officiaus or officiax or officials, nominative singular officiaus or officiax or officials, nominative plural official)

1. court official
2. chamber pot

Adjective

official m (oblique and nominative feminine singular officiale)

1. official; certified or permitted by an authoritative source

Descendants

• English: official
• French: officiel

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Portuguese

Adjective

official m or f (plural officiaes)

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) Obsolete spelling of oficial.

Noun

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) Obsolete spelling of oficial.