Etymology

official

of·fi·cial
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Today it means: Of or about an office or public trust. Full definition →

Middle English official ← Old French official ← Latin officiālis
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromofficium“duty, service”
  2. Latin · derived fromofficiālis
  3. Old French · derived fromofficial
  4. Middle English · inherited fromofficial
  5. English todayofficial

From Middle English official, from Old French official, from Latin officiālis, from Latin officium (“duty, service”), by surface analysis, office + -ial.

Words from the same roots

Latinofficium all →

officeofficerofficiate

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.