official

adjective: 1. of or relating to an office or position of duty, trust, or authority: official powers. 2. authorized or issued authoritatively: an official report. 3. holding office. 4. appointed or authorized to act in a designated capacity: an official representative. 5. (of an activity or event) intended for the notice of the public and performed or held on behalf of officials or of an organization; formal: the official opening of a store. 6. of or relating to an office, its administration, or its duration. 7. sanctioned by, recognized by, or derived from authority: an official statement. 8. appointed by authority, esp for some special duty. 9. having a formal ceremonial character: an official dinner. 10. of or relating to an office, position, or trust: official duties; official documents. 11. holding an office : having authority: the president's official representative. 12. authoritative, authorized: official statement; an official biography. 13. prescribed or recognized as authorized: an official language. 14. befitting or characteristic of a person in office: extended an official greeting; official condolences. noun: 1. a person appointed or elected to an office or charged with certain duties. 2. a person who holds a position in an organization, government department, etc, esp a subordinate position. 3. one who holds or is invested (see below) with an office : officer: government officials; A company official responded to our request. 4. one who administers the rules of a game or sport especially as a referee or umpire: a football official. invest (Medieval Latin investire, from Latin, to clothe): 1. to array in the symbols of office or honor. 2. to furnish with power or authority. 3. to grant someone control or authority over : vest. in medicine, pharmacology: 1. noting drugs or drug preparations that are recognized by and that conform to the standards of the United States Pharmacopeia or the National Formulary. 2. Authorized by or contained in the "US Pharmacopoeia" or "National Formulary." Used of drugs. 3. described by the U.S. Pharmacopeia or the National Formulary: The official drug is sold under several trade names. Official (initial capital letter): 1. of or relating to one of the two factions of the IRA and Sinn Féin, created by a split in 1969. The Official movement subsequently renounced terrorism and entered constitutional politics in the Irish Republic as the Workers' Party (now the Democratic Left). 2. a member of the Official IRA and Sinn Féin. Compare Provisional. Provisional (usually initial capital letter): 1. of or being the wing of the Irish Republican Army that follows a policy of violence. 2. a member of the Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army. 3. of, designating, or relating to the unofficial factions of the IRA and Sinn Féin that became increasingly dominant following a split in 1969. The Provisional movement remained committed to a policy of terrorism until its ceasefires of the mid-1990s. 4. Also called "Provo," a member of the Provisional IRA or Sinn Féin. Examples: She interviewed a senior official from the previous administration. A company official responded to our request. Related Words: precise, authoritative, definite, fitting, valid, proper, formal, conclusive, administrator, representative, minister, executive, bureaucrat, commissioner, agent, director, manager, officer, leader, secretary. Synonyms: (Noun) functionary, officeholder, officer, public servant. (Adjective authorized, sanctioned. Antonyms: nonofficial, unauthorized, unofficial, unsanctioned. May be confused: official, officious. Origin: 1300–50; Middle English < Late Latin officiālis of duty, equivalent to Latin offici(um) office + -ālis -al1. First Known Use: Noun: 14th century. Adjective: circa 1585. History and Etymology: Noun: Middle English, "person presiding over an ecclesiastical court, domestic retainer," borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin officiālis "person performing the duties of an office, head of an ecclesiastical court," going back to Latin, "attendant on a magistrate," derivative of officiālis "pertaining to fixed duties" — more at official entry 2. Adjective: Middle English, "functional (of a part of the body)," borrowed from Medieval Latin officiālis "functional, pertaining to duties of an office," going back to Latin, "pertaining to fixed duties," from officium "duty, office" + -ālis -al entry 1. Source 1, Source 2.