officer

See also: Officer

English

A group of customs officers

Etymology

From Middle English officer, from Anglo-Norman officer, officier, from Old French officer, Late Latin officiarius (“official”), from Latin officium (“office”) + -ārius (“-er”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɒfɪsə/
  • (weak vowel merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɒfəsə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɔfɪsɚ/
  • (weak vowel merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɔfəsɚ/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɑfɪsɚ/
  • (weak vowel merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɑfəsɚ/
• (dialectal, informal) IPA^(key): /ˈɒfsə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: of‧fi‧cer

Noun

officer (plural officers)

2. One who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization, especially in military, police or government organizations.
3. A respectful term of address for an officer, especially a police officer.
   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIX, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.

5. One who holds a public office.
7. An agent or servant imparted with the ability, to some degree, to act on initiative.
9. (colloquial, military) A commissioned officer.

Derived terms

• accountable disbursing officer
• accountable officer
• animal control officer
• brother-officer
• bylaw officer
• careers officer
• case officer
• chief executive officer
• chief experience officer
• chief financial officer
• chief information officer
• chief legal officer
• chief operating officer
• chief petty officer
• chief petty officer first class
• chief petty officer second class
• chief technical officer
• chief technological officer
• chief technology officer
• civil enforcement officer
• commanding officer
• commissioned officer
• community police officer
• correctional officer
• correction officer
• corrections officer
• customs officer
• detention officer
• dog officer
• duty officer
• executive officer
• field officer
• first officer
• flag officer
• flying officer
• general officer
• grounds officer
• guest relation officer
• honorary officer
• house officer
• intelligence officer
• judicial officer
• liaison officer
• line officer
• loan officer
• master chief petty officer
• naval officer
• non-commissioned officer
• noncommissioned officer
• officer cadet
• officer down
• officer-involved
• officer-involved shooting
• officerless
• officer-like
• officerly
• officer of the court
• officer of the peace
• outdoor officer
• parole officer
• patrol officer
• peace officer
• penal officer
• petty officer
• petty officer first class
• petty officer second class
• petty officer third class
• pilot officer
• police officer
• press officer
• prison officer
• probation officer
• public information officer
• public officer
• radio officer
• range safety officer
• relieving officer
• resource officer
• returning officer
• riding officer
• riot police officer
• sabbatical officer
• school resource officer
• second officer
• security officer
• senior chief petty officer
• sheriff officer
• staff officer
• third officer
• traffic officer
• truant officer
• warrant officer
• warrant officer 2
• warrant officer class 1
• warrant officer class 2

 

Related terms

• office
• official
• officiate

Descendants

• → Central Dusun: upisor
• → Punjabi: ਅਫ਼ਸਰ (afasar)
• → Swahili: afisa

Translations

one who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization

• Afrikaans: offisier
• Albanian: oficer (sq) m
• Arabic: مَأْمُور (ar) m (maʔmūr)
• Armenian: պաշտոնյա (hy) (paštonya), աստիճանավոր (hy) (astičanavor)
• Belarusian: чыно́ўнік m (čynóŭnik), чыно́ўніца f (čynóŭnica)
• Bulgarian: длъ́жностно лице́ n (dlǎ́žnostno licé), чино́вник (bg) m (činóvnik), чино́вница f (činóvnica), чино́вничка f (činóvnička)
• Catalan: oficial (ca) m
• Cherokee: ᎠᏍᎦᏰᎬᏍᏓ (asgayegvsda)
• Chinese:

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

• Choctaw: afisa
• Coptic: ϩⲩⲡⲏⲣⲉⲧⲏⲥ (hupēretēs)
• Czech: funkcionář (cs) m, funkcionářka (cs) f
• Esperanto: oficiro
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: upseeri (fi)
• French: fonctionnaire (fr) m, officier (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Funktionär (de) m, Funktionärin (de) f
• Greek: αξιωματικός (el) m (axiomatikós)
• Hebrew: פָּקִיד (he) m (pakíd)
• Hindi: अफ़सर m (afsar), अफसर (hi) (aphsar), सरकार (hi) f (sarkār)
• Hungarian: tiszt (hu), katonatiszt (hu), rendőr (hu), rendőrtiszt (hu)
• Italian: funzionario (it) m
• Japanese: 役員 (ja) (やくいん, yakuin)
• Korean: 역원(役員) (ko) (yeogwon)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئەفسەر (efser)

• Ladino: ofitser
• Latin: praefectus m
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: pareigūnas m
• Macedonian: чиновник m (činovnik), чиновничка f (činovnička)
• Malay: pegawai (ms)
• Manx: fer oik m
• Maori: āpiha
• Marathi: ऑफिसर m (ŏphisar), अधिकारी (mr) m (adhikārī)
• Navajo: siláo binantʼaʼí
• Ojibwe: zhimaaganishii-ogimaa (military)
• Ottoman Turkish: مأمور (meʼmur)
• Persian: اَفسَر (fa) (afsar), سَرکار (fa) (sarkâr)
• Polish: wysoki urzędnik m, wyższy urzędnik m
• Portuguese: oficial (pt) m or f, comandante (pt) m or f, agente (pt) m or f
• Romanian: ofițer (ro) m, funcționar (ro) m
• Russian: слу́жащий (ru) m (slúžaščij), чино́вник (ru) m (činóvnik), чино́вница (ru) f (činóvnica), должностно́е лицо́ (ru) n (dolžnostnóje licó)
• Scottish Gaelic: oifigear m
• Slovak: funkcionár m, funkcionárka f
• Spanish: oficial (es)
• Swahili: afisa (sw), ofisa (sw)
• Swedish: officer (sv) c (military), direktör (sv) c (business)
• Thai: เจ้าหน้าที่ (th) (jâao-nâa-tîi)
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: службо́вець (uk) m (službóvecʹ), службо́вка (uk) f (službóvka)
• Welsh: swyddog (cy) m
• Zazaki: êfser m, êfser f, êfsere f

a respectful term of address for an officer, especially a police officer

• Hungarian: biztos úr
• Italian: agente (it) m or f (literally “agent”)
• Japanese: お巡りさん (ja) (omawari-san)
• Spanish: comisario (es)
• Turkish: memur bey

one who holds a public office

• Arabic: مَسْؤُول (ar) m (masʔūl)
• Belarusian: чыно́ўнiк m (čynóŭnik), чыно́ўнiца f (čynóŭnica), ура́днiк m (urádnik), ура́днiца f (urádnica)
• Bulgarian: чино́вник (bg) m (činóvnik), чино́вничка f (činóvnička), чино́вница f (činóvnica)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 官員／官员 (zh) (guānyuán)

• Finnish: virkamies (fi)
• French: fonctionnaire (fr) m or f
• German: Beamter (de) m, Beamtin (de) f
• Hindi: अधिकारी (hi) m (adhikārī)
• Hungarian: tisztviselő (hu), tisztségviselő (hu)
• Ingrian: cinovnikka
• Japanese: 役人 (ja) (やくにん, yakunin)
• Korean: 공무원(公務員) (ko) (gongmuwon)
• Ottoman Turkish: مأمور (meʼmur)
• Polish: urzędnik (pl) m, urzędniczka (pl) f
• Portuguese: funcionário público (pt) m
• Romanian: funcționar public m
• Russian: чино́вник (ru) m (činóvnik), чино́вница (ru) f (činóvnica)
• Scottish Gaelic: maor m
• Swedish: tjänsteman (sv) c, ämbetsman (sv) c
• Ukrainian: чино́вник m (čynóvnyk), чино́вниця f (čynóvnycja), уря́дник m (urjádnyk), уря́дниця f (urjádnycja)

agent or servant endowed with the ability to act on initiative

• Finnish: asiamies (fi)
• Swahili: afisa (sw)

contraction of the term "commissioned officer"

• Albanian: oficer (sq) m
• Arabic: ضَابِط m (ḍābiṭ)
• Armenian: սպա (hy) (spa)
• Azerbaijani: zabit (az)
• Belarusian: афіцэ́р m (aficér)
• Bulgarian: офице́р m (oficér)
• Burmese: စစ်ဗိုလ် (cacbuil)
• Catalan: oficial (ca) m or f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 軍官／军官 (zh) (jūnguān)

• Czech: důstojník (cs) m, oficír (cs) m (dated)
• Danish: officer (da) c
• Dutch: officier (nl) m
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: ohvitser
• Finnish: upseeri (fi)
• French: officier (fr) m, officière (fr) f
• Georgian: ოფიცერი (opiceri)
• German: Offizier (de) m, Offizierin (de) f
• Hebrew: קָצִין (he) m (katsín)
• Hindi: ऑफ़िसर m (ŏfisar), अफ़सर m (afsar), अफसर (hi) m (aphsar)
• Hungarian: tiszt (hu), katonatiszt (hu)
• Inari Sami: upseer
• Indonesian: perwira (id)
• Ingrian: ofitsera
• Italian: ufficiale (it) m or f, agente (it) m or f
• Japanese: 士官 (ja) (しかん, shikan), 将校 (ja) (しょうこう, shōkō)
• Kazakh: офицер (ofiser)
• Korean: 장교(將校) (ko) (janggyo), 군관(軍官) (ko) (gun'gwan)
• Kyrgyz: офицер (ky) (ofitser)
• Latvian: virsnieks m
• Lithuanian: karininkas m
• Macedonian: офицер m (oficer)
• Malay: pegawai (ms), perwira (Indonesia)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: offiser m

  Nynorsk: offiser m

• Persian: اَفسَر (fa) (afsar)
• Polish: oficer (pl) m
• Portuguese: oficial (pt) m or f, executor (pt) m, agente (pt) m or f
• Romanian: ofițer (ro) m
• Russian: офице́р (ru) m (oficér) (military or police)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: офѝцӣр m, ча̑снӣк m

  Roman: ofìcīr (sh) m, čȃsnīk (sh) m

• Slovak: dôstojník m, oficier m (dated)
• Slovene: oficir m, častnik m
• Spanish: oficial (es) m or f
• Swedish: officer (sv) c
• Tajik: афсар (afsar)
• Thai: นายทหาร
• Turkish: subay (tr)
• Turkmen: ofiser
• Ukrainian: офіце́р (uk) m (oficér)
• Urdu: افسر m (afsar)
• Uzbek: ofitser (uz)
• Vietnamese: sĩ quan (vi)

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

• Albanian: (1) ^{(please verify)} oficer (sq), (2) ^{(please verify)} nënpunës
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} officier (nl) m
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} קָצִין (he) m (katsín)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} agente (it) m, ^{(please verify)} ufficiale (it)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} oficial (es) m

Verb

officer (third-person singular simple present officers, present participle officering, simple past and past participle officered)

1. (transitive) To supply with officers.
2. (transitive) To command as or like an officer.
   • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 31, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

     Many of our journals are officered by Irish gentlemen, and their gallant brigade does the penning among us, as their ancestors used to transact the fighting in Europe; and engage under many a flag, to be good friends when the battle is over.

   • 1929, Robert Graves, chapter 10, in Good-Bye to All That‎^[1], London: Jonathan Cape, page 115:

     The regular battalions of the regiment, though officered mainly by Anglo-Welshmen of county families, did not normally contain more than about one Welshman in fifty in the ranks.

   • 1992, Alasdair Gray, Poor Things, Bloomsbury, published 2002, page 306:

     [A]t least a quarter of those who fought and died in the Great War were prosperous with spacious homes, and to this class belonged nearly all who had ordered and officered the carnage.

Synonyms

• direct
• conduct
• manage

Related terms

• CO
• NCO

Translations

to supply with officers

• Vietnamese: chỉ huy (vi)

to command like an officer

Middle English

Alternative forms

• offecer, officeer, officeere, officere, officiare, officier, offiser, offycer, offycere, offyseer, oficer

Etymology

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman officer, officier, from Latin officiārius; equivalent to office +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔfiˈseːr/, /ˈɔfisər/

Noun

officer (plural officers)

1. A hireling or subordinate; one employed to serve, especially at an estate.
2. An official or officeholder; the holder of a prominent office or position.
3. A municipal, local or societal official or officeholder.
4. A religious or ecclesiastical official or officeholder.
5. (religion) A deputy or subordinate of the forces of good or evil.
6. (rare) One who supervises or organises jousting.
7. (rare) A member or leader of a military force.

Descendants

• English: officer
• Scots: offisher

References

• “offī̆cē̆r, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-03-20.

Old French

Alternative forms

• officier

Noun

officer oblique singular, m (oblique plural officers, nominative singular officers, nominative plural officer)

1. officer

References

• officer on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from French officer.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

officer c

1. officer, a military person of fänrik grade or higher
2. (archaic) ämbetsman, tjänsteman; one who holds a public office

Declension

Declension of officer

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	officer	officers
	definite	officeren	officerens
plural	indefinite	officerare	officerares
	definite	officerarna	officerarnas

Derived terms

• arméofficer
• artilleriofficer
• dagofficer
• flygofficer
• frälsningsofficer
• förbindelseofficer
• gendarmeriofficer
• marinofficer
• officerare
• officersaspirant
• officersgrad
• officersjunta
• officerskår
• officersmäss
• officersskola
• officersutbildning
• reservofficer
• sambandsofficer
• sjöofficer
• specialistofficer
• stabsofficer
• stamofficer
• säkerhetsofficer
• underofficer
• underrättelseofficer
• yrkesofficer

 

References

• officer in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• officer in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• officer in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• officer in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)