Where does “office” come from?

office (Old French) comes from Latin officium, from Latin opificium, from Latin opifex, from Latin Ops, from Latin oscen, from Latin opscen, from Latin ob-, from Latin obolus — to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing.

office (Old French): office; service

Definitions

office; service

Ancestry of “office”, step by step

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Latin	officium	duty, service; office; obligation, an obligatory...
2	Latin	opificium	work
3	Latin	opifex	Someone who does work ; worker, maker, framer,...
4	Latin	Ops	earth goddess, fertility deity
5	Latin	oscen	any bird by whose song cries augurs divined...
6	Latin	opscen	—
7	Latin	ob-	towards; against
8	Latin	obolus	obolus
9	Ancient Greek	ὀβολός	obol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and...
10	Ancient Greek	ὀβελός	a spit, rod; a horizontal line
11	Ancient Greek	βέλος	missile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly...
12	Proto-Indo-European	gʷélHos	—
13	Proto-Indo-European	gʷelH-	to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing

Words derived from “office”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH- →