ufficiale

Forms

ufficiale m (plural ufficiali, feminine ufficialessa); as an adjective, the same form for masculine and feminine (plural ufficiali).^[1] Older spellings are uficiale, ufiziale, uffiziale, officiale, offiziale, oficiale and ofiziale.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Late Latin officiālis (“relating to an office or service; public servant”), from officium (“service, duty; office”) with the suffix -ālis.^[5][6][7][8] In Late Latin the adjective was also used as a noun for a public servant or a magistrate's attendant.^[5][7] DELI explains officium as a contraction of opificium (“the doing of a work”), from opus (“work”) and faciō (“to do”).^[5] Old French oficial and Portuguese oficial mean “official”, while Spanish oficial came to mean a skilled workman.^[9]

The military sense comes from French officier, recorded in 1564;^[5][3][4] French “bas-officier” (1680) was replaced by “sous-officier” in 1791, which gave sottufficiale.^[5][3][4] The spelling with ⟨uff-⟩ won only in the second half of the 19th century, “under the auspices of bureaucracy”, over ⟨off-⟩ and ⟨-ziale⟩, as Migliorini put it.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the accounts of the commune of Prato in 1275, as uficiale, a person holding a public office.^[5][7] Dante has officiale in the Convivio (1304–1308).^[5]

Semantic evolution

In the city-states and signorie the ufficiali were the holders of public offices: a Sienese statute requires the podestà “and all the other officials of the Commune of Siena” to give counsel and help.^[10] The military sense, any commissioned officer from second lieutenant up, appears in documents of the Sienese republic at Montalcino in 1556–1558, and basso ufficiale in a law of Victor Amadeus II in 1723.^[5] Tommaseo records pubblico ufficiale and the grade in orders of chivalry in 1879.^[5]

The adjective is much later.^[5][6] In 1812 Bernardoni listed ufficiale or officiale as a new word for “authentic”, and notizia ufficiale is attested in 1846; the adjective now describes anything issued by an authority, done according to protocol or formally announced.^[5][7]

Timeline

• 1275 – Uficiale is recorded in the accounts of Prato.^[5]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses officiale.^[5]
• 1556–1558 – Ufiziale is used for a military officer at Montalcino.^[5]
• 1723 – Basso ufficiale appears in a Savoyard law.^[5]
• 1812 – The adjective is recorded, in the sense “authentic”.^[5][6]
• 1846 – Notizia ufficiale is recorded.^[5]
• 1879 – Tommaseo records pubblico ufficiale.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person holding a public office, pubblico ufficiale, a public official, ufficiale giudiziario, a bailiff, ufficiale di stato civile, a registrar.^[7][2][3]
2. (military) A commissioned officer, from second lieutenant or ensign upwards: È ufficiale di marina da vent'anni.^[7][2][3]
3. In an order of chivalry, the grade above knight and below commander.^[7][3]

Adjective

1. Issued by the competent authority, and so authentic: un comunicato ufficiale, fonti ufficiali.^[7][2][3]
2. Done according to protocol; formal: una visita ufficiale del presidente.^[7][2][3]
3. Made public with formalities: Il loro fidanzamento è ormai ufficiale.^[7][2]
4. Recognized or authorized as the only one: la lingua ufficiale di un paese, la mascotte ufficiale dei Giochi.^[7][2]
5. (sports) Of a match or a race, valid for a championship or ranking.^[7][3]

Word family

• ufficialmente
• ufficialità
• ufficializzare
• sottufficiale
• ufficialessa

Related words

• ufficio
• ufficioso
• Latin officialis
• French officier

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 1025
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 495