Etymologically
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officier

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officier1 officiate

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɔ.fi.sje/[1]

Forms

officier[1]

Etymology

The verb is borrowed from Medieval Latin officiare (“to perform one's office; to celebrate divine service”), from Latin officium (“duty, office”) (see office).[2][3][4][5][6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Jean Priorat's Abrejance de l'ordre de chevalerie (1286–1290) uses it for carrying out one's office.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Bonaventure des Périers (1558) has it for celebrating a religious service: Monsieur le curé, je ne sais pas où vous avez apprins à officier.[2][7] Richelet (1680) records the jocular bien officier “to eat and drink heartily”.[2][3] In the 19th century it came to mean to act with ceremony (1868), and recently to carry out a somewhat complicated operation with playful solemnity.[3] The participle officiant became a noun for the celebrant in 1671.[3]

Timeline

  • 1286–1290 – To carry out one's office, Jean Priorat.[2]
  • 1558 – To celebrate a service, Des Périers.[2]
  • 1671 – Officiant, the celebrant.[3]
  • 1680 – Bien officier “to eat and drink well”, Richelet.[2]
  • 1868 – To act with ceremony.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To officiate, celebrate a religious service: l'évêque officiait.[8][1]
  2. (figurative, humorous) To act with ceremony, go about something solemnly.[8][3]

Word family

  • officiant

officier2 officer

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɔ.fi.sje/[1]

Forms

officier m (plural officiers, feminine officière)[1]

Etymology

The officer is borrowed from Medieval Latin officiārius (“holder of an office”), a derivative of Latin officium (“duty, office”).[3][4][6][1] The Medieval Latin word was used for a domestic servant or a steward (1098) and a court usher (1075).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded in 1324 for the holder of an office or charge, Anglo-Norman officer is found in 1292 for a royal or ecclesiastical official.[4][6][9]

Semantic evolution

Many titles followed: officier de justice (late 14th century), officier d'armes “herald” (1470), officier de santé (1680), later a medical practitioner without a doctorate (until 1892), officier municipal (1790) and officier de l'état civil (1804).[3] The word also named a household servant in charge of the table.[3][8]

The modern military sense started in the navy, for a sailor holding a rank of command (1529); in the army the title at first applied only to high ranks, and bas officiers for sergeants and corporals appear in 1690, later sous-officier (1771).[3][6] From 1704 it is also a grade in an honorary order, such as the Légion d'honneur.[3]

Timeline

  • 1324 – The holder of an office.[4][6]
  • 1529 – A naval officer.[3]
  • 1680 – Officier de santé.[3]
  • 1690 – Bas officiers.[3]
  • 1704 – A grade in an honorary order.[3]
  • 1771 – Sous-officier.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An officer in the army, navy or air force: officier de marine, officiers supérieurs.[3][8][1]
  2. A police officer: officier de police judiciaire.[3]
  3. The holder of a public office: officier ministériel, officier de l'état civil, (historical) holder of an office under the old monarchy.[8][3]
  4. A grade in an honorary order: officier de la Légion d'honneur.[3]

Word family

  • sous-officier

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)