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Etymology and origin of the English word unofficial

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1784 a letter by J. Murray
Ultimate origin
Latin officium
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English official
English unofficial

Pronunciation

  • /ʌn.əˈfɪʃ.əl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + official.[2][3][4] The OED compares the earlier inofficial.[2] Official comes from Old French oficial and directly from Late Latin officiālis (“of duty or office”), from Latin officium (“service, duty”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not arising from the duties of an official position: 1784, in a letter of J. Murray.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Within a few years of its first record the word was used of people not holding an official position (1787), of a manner or tone not characteristic of an official, that is informal (1787), and of things not authorized or confirmed by a government or other body (1796).[2] Etymonline dates the sense "not having official sanction" to 1798 and its use of persons to 1829.[3] The noun, a person who is not an official, especially an unofficial member of a colonial legislature, is recorded from 1833.[2][5] British English uses the word for a strike called without the approval of the union.[6][4]

Timeline

  • 1784 – not arising from the duties of an official position.[2][5]
  • 1787 – not holding an official position; informal.[2]
  • 1796 – not officially authorized or confirmed.[2]
  • 1833 – noun, a person who is not an official.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not authorized, approved or confirmed by those in authority: unofficial results.[6][5][2]
  2. Not acting in an official capacity or holding an official position: the unofficial leader of the group.[7][2][5]
  3. Not formal; informal in manner or tone.[6][2]
  4. Of a strike: not approved by the workers' trade union.[6][4]
  5. Of a drug: not listed in an official pharmacopoeia.[6][5]

Noun

  1. An unofficial member of a legislature in a British dependency.[5][2]

Word family

  • unofficially

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Unofficial.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/unofficial. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·