Officer Of"fi·cer noun [ French
officier . See
Office , and confer
Official ,
noun ]
1. One who holds an office; a person lawfully invested with an office, whether civil, military, or ecclesiastical; as, a church officer ; a police officer ; a staff officer . "I am an
officer of state."
Shak. 2. (U. S. Mil.) Specifically, a commissioned officer, in distinction from a warrant officer. Field officer ,
General officer ,
etc. See under Field , General . etc. --
Officer of the day (Mil.) ,
the officer who, on a given day, has charge for that day of the quard, prisoners, and police of the post or camp. --
Officer of the deck , or
Officer of the watch (Nautical) ,
the officer temporarily in charge on the deck of a vessel, esp. a war vessel.
Officer Of"fi·cer transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Officered ;
present participle & verbal noun Officering .]
1. To furnish with officers; to appoint officers over. Marshall. 2. To command as an officer; as, veterans from old regiments officered the recruits.
Official Of·fi"cial adjective [ Latin
officialis : confer French
officiel . See
Office , and confer
Official ,
noun ]
1. Of or pertaining to an office or public trust; as, official duties, or routine. That, in the official marks invested, you
Anon do meet the senate.
Shak. 2. Derived from the proper office or officer, or from the proper authority; made or communicated by virtue of authority; as, an official statement or report. 3. (Pharm.) Approved by authority; sanctioned by the pharmacopœia; appointed to be used in medicine; as, an official drug or preparation. Confer Officinal . 4. Discharging an office or function. [ Obsolete]
The stomach and other parts official unto nutrition.
Sir T. Browne.
Official Of·fi"cial noun [ Latin
officialis a magistrate's servant or attendant: confer French
official . See
Official ,
adjective , and confer
Officer .]
1. One who holds an office; esp., a subordinate executive officer or attendant. 2. An ecclesiastical judge appointed by a bishop, chapter, archdeacon, etc., with charge of the spiritual jurisdiction. Blackstone.
Officialism Of·fi"cial·ism noun The state of being official; a system of official government; also, adherence to office routine; red-tapism. Officialism may often drift into blunders.
Smiles.
Officiality Of·fi`ci·al"i·ty (ŏf*fĭsh`ĭ*ăl"ĭ*tȳ)
noun See Officialty .
Officially Of·fi"cial·ly adverb By the proper officer; by virtue of the proper authority; in pursuance of the special powers vested in an officer or office; as, accounts or reports officially verified or rendered; letters officially communicated; persons officially notified.
Officialty Of·fi"cial·ty noun [ Confer F.
officialité .]
The charge, office, court, or jurisdiction of an official. Ayliffe.
Officiant Of·fi"ciant noun [ Latin
officians , present participle See
Officiate .]
(Eccl.) The officer who officiates or performs an office, as the burial office. Shipley.
Officiary Of·fi"ci·a·ry adjective Of or pertaining to an office or an officer; official. [ R.]
Heylin.
Officiate Of·fi"ci·ate intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Officiated ;
present participle & verbal noun Officiating .] [ Late Latin
officiare . See
Office .]
To act as an officer in performing a duty; to transact the business of an office or public trust; to conduct a public service. Bp. Stillingfleet.
Officiate Of·fi"ci·ate transitive verb To discharge, perform, or supply, as an official duty or function. [ Obsolete]
Merely to officiate light
Round this opacous earth.
Milton.
Officiator Of·fi"ci·a`tor noun One who officiates. Tylor.
Officinal Of·fic"i·nal adjective [ French, from Latin
officina a workshop, contr.fr.
opificina , from
opifex a workman;
opus work +
facere to make or do.]
1. Used in a shop, or belonging to it. [ Obsolete or R.]
Johnson. 2. (Pharm.) Kept in stock by apothecaries; -- said of such drugs and medicines as may be obtained without special preparation or compounding; not magistral. » This term is often interchanged with
official , but in strict use
officinal drugs are not necessarily
official . See
Official ,
adjective , 3.
Officious Of·fi"cious adjective [ Latin
officiosus : confer French
officieux . See
Office .]
1. Pertaining to, or being in accordance with, duty. [ R.]
If there were any lie in the case, it could be no more than as officious and venial one.
Note on Gen. xxvii. (Douay version). 2. Disposed to serve; kind; obliging. [ Archaic]
Yet not to earth are those bright luminaries
Officious .
Milton. They were tolerably well bred, very officious , humane, and hospitable.
Burke. 3. Importunately interposing services; intermeddling in affairs in which one has no concern; meddlesome. You are too officious
In her behalf that scorns your services.
Shak. Syn. -- Impertinent; meddling. See
Impertinent . --
Of*fi"cious*ly ,
adverb --
Of*fi"cious*ness ,
noun
Offing Off"ing noun [ From
Off .]
That part of the sea at a good distance from the shore, or where there is deep water and no need of a pilot; also, distance from the shore; as, the ship had ten miles offing ; we saw a ship in the offing .
Offish Off"ish adjective Shy or distant in manner. [ Colloq. U.S.]
Offlet Off"let noun [
Off +
let .]
A pipe to let off water.
Offprint Off`print" transitive verb [
Off +
print .]
To reprint (as an excerpt); as, the articles of some magazines are offprinted from other magazines.
Offprint Off"print` noun A reprint or excerpt.
Offscouring Off"scour`ing noun [
Off +
scour .]
That which is scoured off; hence, refuse; rejected matter; that which is vile or despised. Lam. iii. 45.
Offscum Off"scum` noun [
Off +
scum .]
Removed scum; refuse; dross.
Offset Off"set` noun [
Off +
set . Confer
Set-off .]
In general, that which is set off, from, before, or against, something ; as: --
1. (Botany) A short prostrate shoot, which takes root and produces a tuft of leaves, etc. See Illust. of Houseleek . 2. A sum, account, or value set off against another sum or account, as an equivalent; hence, anything which is given in exchange or retaliation; a set-off. 3. A spur from a range of hills or mountains. 4. (Architecture) A horizontal ledge on the face of a wall, formed by a diminution of its thickness, or by the weathering or upper surface of a part built out from it; -- called also set-off . 5. (Surv.) A short distance measured at right angles from a line actually run to some point in an irregular boundary, or to some object. 6. (Mech.) An abrupt bend in an object, as a rod, by which one part is turned aside out of line, but nearly parallel, with the rest; the part thus bent aside. 7. (Print.) A more or less distinct transfer of a printed page or picture to the opposite page, when the pages are pressed together before the ink is dry or when it is poor. Offset staff (Surv.) ,
a rod, usually ten links long, used in measuring offsets.
Offset Off·set" transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Offset ;
present participle & verbal noun Offsetting .]
1. To set off; to place over against; to balance; as, to offset one account or charge against another. 2. To form an offset in, as in a wall, rod, pipe, etc.
Offset Off"set intransitive verb (Printing) To make an offset.
Offshoot Off"shoot` noun [
Off +
shoot .]
That which shoots off or separates from a main stem, channel, family, race, etc.; as, the offshoots of a tree.
Offshore Off"shore" adjective From the shore; as, an offshore wind; an offshore signal.
Offskip Off"skip` noun [
Off +
- skip , as in
landskip .]
(Paint.) That part of a landscape which recedes from the spectator into distance. [ R.]
Fairholt.
Offspring Off"spring` noun sing. & plural [
Off +
spring .]
1. The act of production; generation. [ Obsolete]
2. That which is produced; a child or children; a descendant or descendants, however remote from the stock. To the gods alone
Our future offspring and our wives are known.
Dryden. 3. Origin; lineage; family. [ Obsolete]
Fairfax.
Offtake Off"take` noun [
Off +
take .]
1. Act of taking off; specif., the taking off or purchase of goods. 2. Something taken off; a deduction. 3. A channel for taking away air or water; also, the point of beginning of such a channel; a take-off.
Offuscate, Offuscation Of·fus"cate, Of`fus·ca`tion See Obfuscate , Obfuscation . [ Obsolete]
Oft Oft (ŏft; 115)
adverb [ Anglo-Saxon
oft ; akin to Old Saxon & German
oft , Old High German
ofto , Swedish
ofta , Danish
ofte , Icelandic
opt , Goth.
ufta ; of uncertain origin. Confer
Often .]
Often; frequently; not rarely; many times. [ Poetic]
Chaucer. Oft she rejects, but never once offends.
Pope.
Oft Oft adjective Frequent; often; repeated. [ Poetic]
Often Of`ten adverb [
Compar. Oftener ;
superl. Oftenest .] [ Formerly also
ofte , from
oft . See
Oft .,
adverb ]
Frequently; many times; not seldom.
Often Of"ten adjective Frequent; common; repeated. [ R.] "Thine
often infirmities."
1 Tim. v. 23. And weary thee with often welcomes.
Beau. & Fl.
Oftenness Of"ten·ness noun Frequency. Hooker.
Oftensith Of"ten·sith adverb [
Often +
sith time.]
Frequently; often. [ Obsolete]
For whom I sighed have so oftensith .
Gascoigne.
Oftentide Of"ten·tide" adverb [
Often +
tide time.]
Frequently; often. [ Obsolete]
Robert of Brunne.
Oftentimes Of"ten·times` adverb [
Often +
time. Confer
-wards .]
Frequently; often; many times. Wordsworth.
Ofter Oft"er adverb Compar. of Oft . [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Ofttimes Oft"times` adverb [
Oft +
time. Confer
-wards .]
Frequently; often. Milton.
Ogam Og"am noun Same as Ogham .
Ogdoad Og"do·ad noun [
Gr .
... ,
... , from ... eight.]
A thing made up of eight parts. Milman.
Ogdoastich Og`do·as`tich noun [ Greek ... the eighth + ... a verse.]
A poem of eight lines. [ Obsolete]
Selden
Ogee O·gee" noun [ French
ogive ,
augive , Late Latin
augiva , of uncertain origin; confer Late Latin
ogis a support, prop. Latin
augere to increase, strengthen, Spanish
auge highest point of power or fortune, apogee, Arabic
auj , an astronomical term.]
1. (Architecture) A molding, the section of which is the form of the letter S, with the convex part above; cyma reversa. See Illust. under Cyma . 2. Hence, any similar figure used for any purpose. Ogee arch (Architecture) ,
a pointed arch, each of the sides of which has the curve of an ogee, that is, has a reversed curve near the apex.
Ogeechee lime O·gee"chee lime` [ So named from the Ogeechee River in Georgia.] (Botany) (a) The acid, olive-shaped, drupaceous fruit of a species of tupelo ( Nyssa capitata ) which grows in swamps in Georgia and Florida. (b) The tree which bears this fruit.
Ogganition Og`ga·ni"tion noun [ Latin
oggannire to snarl at;
ob (see
Ob- ) +
gannire to yelp.]
Snarling; grumbling. [ R.]
Bp. Montagu.
Ogham Og"ham noun [ Ir.]
A particular kind of writing practiced by the ancient Irish, and found in inscriptions on stones, metals, etc. [ Written also
ogam .]
Ogive O"give noun [ French
ogive , Old French
augive a pointed arch, Late Latin
augiva a double arch of two at right angles.]
(Architecture) The arch or rib which crosses a Gothic vault diagonally.
Ogle O"gle (ōg'l)
transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Ogled ;
present participle & verbal noun Ogling .] [ From a Dutch word corresponding to German
äugeln to ogle, from
auge eye; confer Dutch
ooglonken to ogle, OD.
oogen to cast sheep's eyes upon,
ooge eye. See
Eye .]
To view or look at with side glances, as in fondness, or with a design to attract notice. And ogling all their audience, ere they speak.
Dryden.
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