officiate

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb act in an official capacity in a ceremony or religious ritual, such as a wedding
  2. verb perform duties attached to a particular office or place or function

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin officiātus, perfect participle of Late Latin officior (“to perform a function”) and of Medieval Latin officiō (“to officiate, say mass (9th cent.); to serve a church (13th cent.); to serve (early 13th c., 14th in British sources); to discharge an office (14th c.)”), from Latin officium (“official duty, service”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). The noun is derived from Medieval Latin officiātus (“monk in charge of a monastic office, official (start of 12th c., 14th in British sources)”), substantivized from the participle, see -ate (noun-forming suffix).

In classic literature

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading