"official" meaning in Middle English

See official in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ɔfisiˈal/, /ɔˈfisial/ Forms: officiale [plural], officiale [singular, weak], officiale [alternative], offycyal [alternative], offyciall [alternative], officiall [alternative], offecialle [alternative]
Etymology: From Old French official, from Latin officiālis; equivalent to office + -al. Etymology templates: {{bor|enm|fro|official}} Old French official, {{der|enm|la|officiālis}} Latin officiālis, {{af|enm|office|-al}} office + -al Head templates: {{head|enm|adjective|plural and weak singular|officiale||{{{2}}}||{{{3}}}|head=}} official (plural and weak singular officiale), {{enm-adj|officiale}} official (plural and weak singular officiale)
  1. (of body parts) Functional; serving a purpose.
    Sense id: en-official-enm-adj--voF9khM
  2. (rare) Requisite or mandatory for a task. Tags: rare
    Sense id: en-official-enm-adj-ZxxQxb7~ Categories (other): Middle English entries with incorrect language header, Middle English terms suffixed with -al, Anatomy Disambiguation of Middle English entries with incorrect language header: 15 37 29 19 Disambiguation of Middle English terms suffixed with -al: 25 41 13 21 Disambiguation of Anatomy: 21 56 9 13
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Categories (other): People, Religion Disambiguation of People: 0 0 0 0 Disambiguation of Religion: 0 0 0 0

Noun

IPA: /ɔfisiˈal/, /ɔˈfisial/ Forms: officials [plural], officiale [alternative], offycyal [alternative], offyciall [alternative], officiall [alternative], offecialle [alternative]
Etymology: From Old French official, from Latin officiālis; equivalent to office + -al. Etymology templates: {{bor|enm|fro|official}} Old French official, {{der|enm|la|officiālis}} Latin officiālis, {{af|enm|office|-al}} office + -al Head templates: {{head|enm|noun|g=|g2=|g3=|head=|sort=}} official, {{enm-noun|officials}} official (plural officials)
  1. An underling of a member of the clergy, often heading a clerical court.
    Sense id: en-official-enm-noun-wW5dVsi0
  2. A hireling or subordinate; one employed to serve, especially at an estate.
    Sense id: en-official-enm-noun-cUKlmoAB
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Categories (other): People, Religion Disambiguation of People: 0 0 0 0 Disambiguation of Religion: 0 0 0 0

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "categories": [
    {
      "_dis": "0 0 0 0",
      "kind": "other",
      "langcode": "enm",
      "name": "People",
      "orig": "enm:People",
      "parents": [],
      "source": "w+disamb"
    },
    {
      "_dis": "0 0 0 0",
      "kind": "other",
      "langcode": "enm",
      "name": "Religion",
      "orig": "enm:Religion",
      "parents": [],
      "source": "w+disamb"
    }
  ],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "English",
      "lang_code": "en",
      "word": "official"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Scots",
      "lang_code": "sco",
      "word": "offeecial"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "official"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French official",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "officiālis"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin officiālis",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "office",
        "3": "-al"
      },
      "expansion": "office + -al",
      "name": "af"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Old French official, from Latin officiālis; equivalent to office + -al.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "officials",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "officiale",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "offycyal",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "offyciall",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "officiall",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "offecialle",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "noun",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "head": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "official",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "officials"
      },
      "expansion": "official (plural officials)",
      "name": "enm-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "An underling of a member of the clergy, often heading a clerical court."
      ],
      "id": "en-official-enm-noun-wW5dVsi0",
      "links": [
        [
          "underling",
          "underling"
        ],
        [
          "clergy",
          "clergy"
        ],
        [
          "clerical",
          "clerical"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A hireling or subordinate; one employed to serve, especially at an estate."
      ],
      "id": "en-official-enm-noun-cUKlmoAB",
      "links": [
        [
          "hireling",
          "hireling"
        ],
        [
          "subordinate",
          "subordinate"
        ],
        [
          "estate",
          "estate"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɔfisiˈal/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɔˈfisial/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "official"
}

{
  "categories": [
    {
      "_dis": "0 0 0 0",
      "kind": "other",
      "langcode": "enm",
      "name": "People",
      "orig": "enm:People",
      "parents": [],
      "source": "w+disamb"
    },
    {
      "_dis": "0 0 0 0",
      "kind": "other",
      "langcode": "enm",
      "name": "Religion",
      "orig": "enm:Religion",
      "parents": [],
      "source": "w+disamb"
    }
  ],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "English",
      "lang_code": "en",
      "word": "official"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Scots",
      "lang_code": "sco",
      "word": "offeecial"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "official"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French official",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "officiālis"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin officiālis",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "office",
        "3": "-al"
      },
      "expansion": "office + -al",
      "name": "af"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Old French official, from Latin officiālis; equivalent to office + -al.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "officiale",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "officiale",
      "tags": [
        "singular",
        "weak"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "officiale",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "offycyal",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "offyciall",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "officiall",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "offecialle",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "adjective",
        "3": "plural and weak singular",
        "4": "officiale",
        "5": "",
        "6": "{{{2}}}",
        "7": "",
        "8": "{{{3}}}",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "official (plural and weak singular officiale)",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "officiale"
      },
      "expansion": "official (plural and weak singular officiale)",
      "name": "enm-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Functional; serving a purpose."
      ],
      "id": "en-official-enm-adj--voF9khM",
      "links": [
        [
          "Functional",
          "functional"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(of body parts) Functional; serving a purpose."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of body parts"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "15 37 29 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "25 41 13 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Middle English terms suffixed with -al",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 56 9 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "enm",
          "name": "Anatomy",
          "orig": "enm:Anatomy",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Requisite or mandatory for a task."
      ],
      "id": "en-official-enm-adj-ZxxQxb7~",
      "links": [
        [
          "Requisite",
          "requisite"
        ],
        [
          "mandatory",
          "mandatory"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare) Requisite or mandatory for a task."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "rare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɔfisiˈal/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɔˈfisial/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "official"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "Middle English adjectives",
    "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
    "Middle English lemmas",
    "Middle English nouns",
    "Middle English terms borrowed from Old French",
    "Middle English terms derived from Latin",
    "Middle English terms derived from Old French",
    "Middle English terms suffixed with -al",
    "Pages with 4 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "enm:Anatomy",
    "enm:People",
    "enm:Religion"
  ],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "English",
      "lang_code": "en",
      "word": "official"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Scots",
      "lang_code": "sco",
      "word": "offeecial"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "official"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French official",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "officiālis"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin officiālis",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "office",
        "3": "-al"
      },
      "expansion": "office + -al",
      "name": "af"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Old French official, from Latin officiālis; equivalent to office + -al.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "officials",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "officiale",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "offycyal",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "offyciall",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "officiall",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "offecialle",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "noun",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "head": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "official",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "officials"
      },
      "expansion": "official (plural officials)",
      "name": "enm-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "An underling of a member of the clergy, often heading a clerical court."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "underling",
          "underling"
        ],
        [
          "clergy",
          "clergy"
        ],
        [
          "clerical",
          "clerical"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A hireling or subordinate; one employed to serve, especially at an estate."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "hireling",
          "hireling"
        ],
        [
          "subordinate",
          "subordinate"
        ],
        [
          "estate",
          "estate"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɔfisiˈal/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɔˈfisial/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "official"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "Middle English adjectives",
    "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
    "Middle English lemmas",
    "Middle English nouns",
    "Middle English terms borrowed from Old French",
    "Middle English terms derived from Latin",
    "Middle English terms derived from Old French",
    "Middle English terms suffixed with -al",
    "Pages with 4 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "enm:Anatomy",
    "enm:People",
    "enm:Religion"
  ],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "English",
      "lang_code": "en",
      "word": "official"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Scots",
      "lang_code": "sco",
      "word": "offeecial"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "official"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French official",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "officiālis"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin officiālis",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "office",
        "3": "-al"
      },
      "expansion": "office + -al",
      "name": "af"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Old French official, from Latin officiālis; equivalent to office + -al.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "officiale",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "officiale",
      "tags": [
        "singular",
        "weak"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "officiale",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "offycyal",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "offyciall",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "officiall",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "offecialle",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "adjective",
        "3": "plural and weak singular",
        "4": "officiale",
        "5": "",
        "6": "{{{2}}}",
        "7": "",
        "8": "{{{3}}}",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "official (plural and weak singular officiale)",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "officiale"
      },
      "expansion": "official (plural and weak singular officiale)",
      "name": "enm-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Functional; serving a purpose."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Functional",
          "functional"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(of body parts) Functional; serving a purpose."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of body parts"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "Middle English terms with rare senses"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Requisite or mandatory for a task."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Requisite",
          "requisite"
        ],
        [
          "mandatory",
          "mandatory"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare) Requisite or mandatory for a task."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "rare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɔfisiˈal/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɔˈfisial/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "official"
}

Download raw JSONL data for official meaning in Middle English (4.2kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable Middle English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-01-13 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-01-01 using wiktextract (96027d6 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.