Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “official” come from?

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

official (Old French): court official; chamber pot; official; certified...

Definitions

  1. court official; chamber pot; official; certified...

Ancestry of “official”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinofficiālis—
2Latinofficiumduty, service; office; obligation, an obligatory...
3Latinopificiumwork
4LatinopifexSomeone who does work ; worker, maker, framer,...
5LatinOpsearth goddess, fertility deity
6Latinoscenany bird by whose song cries augurs divined...
7Latinopscen—
8Latinob-towards; against
9Latinobolusobolus
10Ancient Greekὀβολόςobol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and...
11Ancient Greekὀβελόςa spit, rod; a horizontal line
12Ancient Greekβέλοςmissile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly...
13Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷélHos—
14Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷelH-to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing

Words derived from “official”

  • official
  • officially
  • unofficial
  • unofficially
  • officialdom
  • officialism
  • nonofficial
  • officiality
  • officialese
  • officialization
  • inofficial
  • officialize
  • officialness
  • extraofficial
  • antiofficial
  • officialty
  • inofficially
  • unofficiality
  • nonofficially
  • co-official
  • semi-official
  • unofficialness
  • officiellement
  • inofficiel
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH- →