Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to an office or a post of authority.
  • adjective Authorized by a proper authority; authoritative.
  • adjective Holding office or serving in a public capacity.
  • adjective Characteristic of or befitting a person of authority; formal.
  • adjective Authorized by or contained in the US Pharmacopoeia or National Formulary. Used of drugs.
  • noun One who holds an office or position, especially one who acts in a subordinate capacity for an institution such as a corporation or governmental agency.
  • noun Sports A referee or umpire.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In pharm., authorized by the pharmacopœia of some country or countries: as, an official drug; an official preparation. In this sense recent, displacing the broader term officinal.
  • Of or pertaining to office or the performance of the duties of an office: as, official duty; official cares or responsibility.
  • Derived from the proper office or officer, or from the proper authority; made or communicated by virtue of authority; hence, authorized: as, an official statement or report.
  • Performing duties or offices; rendering useful service; ministering.
  • noun One who is invested with an office of a public nature; one holding a civil appointment: as, a government official; a railway official.
  • noun In English ecclesiastical law, a person appointed as judge by a bishop, chapter, or archdeacon, to hear causes in the ecclesiastical courts.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One who holds an office; esp., a subordinate executive officer or attendant.
  • noun An ecclesiastical judge appointed by a bishop, chapter, archdeacon, etc., with charge of the spiritual jurisdiction.
  • adjective Of or pertaining to an office or public trust.
  • adjective Derived from the proper office or officer, or from the proper authority; made or communicated by virtue of authority.
  • adjective (Pharm.) Approved by authority; sanctioned by the pharmacopœia; appointed to be used in medicine. Cf. Officinal.
  • adjective obsolete Discharging an office or function.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to an office or public trust.
  • adjective Derived from the proper office or officer, or from the proper authority; made or communicated by virtue of authority
  • adjective Approved by authority; authorized.
  • adjective sanctioned by the pharmacopoeia; appointed to be used in medicine; officinal
  • adjective Discharging an office or function.
  • adjective Relating to an office; especially, to a subordinate executive officer or attendant.
  • adjective Relating to an ecclesiastical judge appointed by a bishop, chapter, archdeacon, etc., with charge of the spiritual jurisdiction.
  • noun An office holder invested with powers and authorities.
  • noun A person responsible for applying the rules of a game or sport in a competition.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective (of a church) given official status as a national or state institution
  • noun a worker who holds or is invested with an office
  • adjective conforming to set usage, procedure, or discipline
  • adjective of or relating to an office
  • adjective having official authority or sanction
  • adjective verified officially
  • noun someone who administers the rules of a game or sport

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Middle English, ecclesiastical officer, from Old French, from Latin officiālis, an attendant of an office, from officium, duty, service; see office.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French official, from Latin officium ("duty, service").

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Examples

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  • a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm. 1396) 25 Official membris is to seie: a fyngir, a ioynt, an hand, either a foot or othere lymes of office.

    July 14, 2008