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An official (from the Latin Officialis, person – or object – related to an officium, v., since the Romans the staff of a high office bearer such as a governor) is, in the primary sense, someone who holds an office (i.e. function, mandate, regardless whether it carries a working space with it) in an organisation, of any kind, but participating in the exercise of authority (either his own or that of his superior and/or employer, public or legally private). An elected official is a person who is an official by virtue of an election; officials may also be appointed, ex officio (i.e. by virtue of another office, often in a specified capacity, such as presiding, advisory, secretary), cooptated, or sometimes hereditary.
Word History Official as a noun is recorded in English since 1314, from Old French official (12th c.), from Latin officialis "attendant to a magistrate, public official", noun use of the original adjective officialis "of or belonging to duty, service, or office," from officium ' office'. Meaning "person in charge of some public work or duty" first recorded 1555. The adjective is first attested in English in 1533, via Old French oficial, again from officialis. In Roman Antiquity An officialis (plural officiales) was the official term (somewhat comparable to a modern civil servant) for any member of the officium (staff) of a high dignitary such as a governor. Ecclesiastical judiciary In Canon law, the word or its Latin original officialis is used absolutely as the legal title of a diocesan bishop's judicial vicar who shares the bishop's ordinary judicial power over the diocese and presides over the diocesan ecclesiastical court. The 1983 Code of Canon Law gives precedence to the title Judicial Vicar, rather than that of Officialis (canon 1420). The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches uses only the title Judicial Vicar (canon 191). In German, the related noun Offizialat was also used for an official bureau in a diocese that did much of its administration, comprising the vicariate-general, an adjoined secretariat, a registry office and a chancery. The title of official principal, together with that of vicar-general, has in Anglicanism? England been merged in that of Diocesan chancellor of a diocese. Other officials In sports, the term official is used to describe a person enforcing playing in the capacity of a linesman, referee and umpire; also specified by the discipline, e.g. American football official, Ice hockey official. The term officer is close to being a synonym (but has more military connotations). A functionary is someone who carries out a particular role within an organisation; this again is quite a close synonym for official, as a noun, but with connotations closer to bureaucrat. Any such person acts in their official capacity, in carrying out the duties of their office; they are also said to officiate, for example in a ceremony. A public official is an official of central or local government. Max Weber on bureaucratic officials Max Weber gave as definition of a bureaucratic official An official must exercise his judgment and his skills, but his duty is to place these at the service of a higher authority; ultimately he is responsible only for the impartial execution of assigned tasks and must sacrifice his personal judgment if it runs counter to his official duties. Official as an adjective As an adjective, official often but not always means pertaining to the government, either as state employee or having state recognition, or to analogous governance, or to formal (especially legally regulated) proceeding as opposed to informal business. Some examples: See also | ||||||||
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