Official

Anofficialis someone who holds an office (function ormandate,regardless of whether it carries an actualworking spacewith it) in anorganizationor government and participates in the exercise ofauthority(either their own or that of their superior or employer, public or legally private). An elected official is a person who is an official by virtue of anelection.Officials may also be appointedex officio(by virtue of another office, often in a specified capacity, such as presiding, advisory, secretary). Some official positions may beinherited.A person who currently holds an office is referred to as anincumbent.Something "official" refers to something endowed with governmental or other authoritative recognition or mandate, as inofficial language,official gazette,orofficial scorer.

Etymology

The wordofficialas anounhas been recorded since theMiddle Englishperiod, first seen in 1314.^[1]It comes from theOld Frenchofficial(12th century), from theLatinofficialis( "attendant to a magistrate, government official" ), the noun use of the originaladjectiveofficialis( "of or belonging to duty, service, or office" ) fromofficium( "office" ). The meaning "person in charge of some public work or duty" was first recorded in 1555. The adjective is first attested in English in 1533 via the Old Frenchoficial.The informal termofficialese,the jargon of "officialdom", was first recorded in 1884.

Roman antiquity

Anofficialis(pluralofficiales) was the official term (somewhat comparable to a modern civil servant) for any member of theofficium(staff) of a high dignitary such as a governor.

Ecclesiastical judiciary

Incanon law,the word or its Latin originalofficialisis used absolutely as the legal title of a diocesan bishop'sjudicial vicarwho shares the bishop'sordinaryjudicial power over thedioceseand presides over the diocesanecclesiastical court.

The1983Code of Canon Lawgives precedence to the title judicial vicar, rather than that ofofficialis(canon 1420). TheCode of Canons of the Eastern Churchesuses only the title judicial vicar (canon 191).

In German, the related nounOffizialatwas also used for an official bureau in a diocese that did much of its administration, comprising thevicariate-general,an adjoined secretariat, a registry office and a chancery.

In Catholicism, the vicar-general was originally called the "official" (officialis).^[2]

The title ofofficial principal,together with that of vicar-general, has in Anglicanism been merged in that ofdiocesan chancellorof a diocese.^[3]

Sports

Insports,the term official is used to describe a person enforcing playingrulesin the capacity of anassistant referee,refereeandumpire;also specified by the discipline, e.g.American football official,ice hockey official.An official competition is created or recognized as valid by the competent body, is agreed to or arranged by people in positions of authority.^[4]It is synonymous, among others, with approved, certified, recognized, endorsed, and legitimate.^[5]

Other

The termofficeris close to being a synonym (but has more militaryconnotations). Afunctionaryis someone who carries out a particular role within an organization; this again is quite a close synonym for official, as anoun,but with connotations closer tobureaucrat.Any such person acts in theirofficial capacity,in carrying out the duties of their office; they are also said toofficiate,for example, in aceremony.Apublic officialis an official of central or localgovernment.

Max Weber on bureaucratic officials

Max Webergave as definition of a bureaucratic official:

they are personally free and appointed to their position on the basis of conduct
he exercises the authority delegated to them in accordance with impersonal rules, and their loyalty is enlisted on behalf of the faithful execution of their official duties
their appointment and job placement are dependent upon their technical qualifications
their administrative work is a full-time occupation
their work is rewarded by a regular salary and prospects of advancement in a lifetime career.

An official must exercise their judgment and their skills, but their duty is to place these at the service of a higher authority; ultimately they are responsible only for the impartial execution of assigned tasks and must sacrifice their personal judgment if it runs counter to their official duties.

Adjective

As anadjective,"official" often, but not always, means pertaining to the government, as state employee or having state recognition, or analogous to governance or to a formal (especially legally regulated) proceeding as opposed to informal business. In summary, that has authenticity emanates from an authority. Some examples:

Anofficial holidayis apublic holiday,having national (or regional) recognition.
Anofficial languageis a language recognised by a government, for its own use in administration, or for delivering services to its citizens (for example, onsignposts).
Anofficialspokespersonis an individual empowered to speak for the government, or some part of it such as aministry,on a range of issues and on the record for themedia.
Anofficial statementis an issued by an organisation as an expression of its corporate position or opinion;^{[citation needed]}anofficial apologyis an apology similarly issued by an organisation (as opposed to an apology by an individual).^{[citation needed]}
Officialpolicyis policy publicly acknowledged and defended by an organisation.^{[citation needed]}In these casesunofficialis an antonym, and variously may mean informal, unrecognised, personal or unacknowledged.
Anofficial strikeis astrikeorganised and recognised by alabour union,as opposed to anunofficial strikeat grassroots level.
Anofficial schoolis aschooladministered by the government or by a local authority, as opposite to aprivate schoolorreligious school.^{[citation needed]}
Anofficial history,for example of an institution or business, or particularly of awarormilitary unit,is a history written as a commission, with the assumption of co-operation with access to records and archives; but without necessarily fulleditorial independence.^{[citation needed]}
Anofficial biographyis usually on the same lines, written with access to private papers and the support of the family of the subject.^{[citation needed]}

References

^"Official vs. Officially - What's the difference?".Ask Difference. 25 November 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 6 October 2022.
^van Hove, Alphonse (1913)."Diocese".In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.
^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Official".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 22.
^"official, adjective".Cambridge Dictionary.Archivedfrom the original on 23 November 2022.
^"Synonyms for official".Thesaurus.com.Archivedfrom the original on 7 June 2022.