# officer
## English
### 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: /ˈɒfɪsə/
** (weak vowel merger) IPA: /ˈɒfəsə/
* (General American) IPA: /ˈɔfɪsɚ/
** (weak vowel merger) IPA: /ˈɔfəsɚ/
* (cot–caught merger) IPA: /ˈɑfɪsɚ/
** (weak vowel merger) IPA: /ˈɑfəsɚ/
* (dialectal, informal) IPA: /ˈɒfsə/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Hyphenation: of‧fi‧cer

### Noun

officer (plural officers)
* One who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization, especially in military, police or government organizations.
    Hypernyms: officeholder < person
* 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.
* One who holds a public office.
    Hypernyms: officeholder < person
* An agent or servant imparted with the ability, to some degree, to act on initiative.
* (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
* express officer
* field officer
* field training officer
* fire 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
* noncommissioned officer
* non-commissioned 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

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Verb

officer (third-person singular simple present officers, present participle officering, simple past and past participle officered)
* (transitive) To supply with officers.
* (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, 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
## 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: /ɔfiˈseːr/, /ˈɔfisər/

### Noun

officer (plural officers)
* A hireling or subordinate; one employed to serve, especially at an estate.
* An official or officeholder; the holder of a prominent office or position.
* A municipal, local or societal official or officeholder.
* A religious or ecclesiastical official or officeholder.
* (religion) A deputy or subordinate of the forces of good or evil.
* (rare) One who supervises or organises jousting.
* (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)
* officer

### References

* officer on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub

## Swedish
### Etymology

Borrowed from French officer.

### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Noun

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

#### 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)