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officer - 6 dictionary results

of⋅fi⋅cer

  [aw-fuh-ser, of-uh-]
Use officer in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person who holds a position of rank or authority in the army, navy, air force, or any similar organization, esp. one who holds a commission.
2. a member of a police department or a constable.
3. a person licensed to take full or partial responsibility for the operation of a merchant ship or other large civilian ship; a master or mate.
4. a person appointed or elected to some position of responsibility or authority in the government, a corporation, a society, etc.
5. (in some honorary orders) a member of any rank except the lowest.
6. Obsolete. an agent.
–verb (used with object)
7. to furnish with officers.
8. to command or direct as an officer does.
9. to direct, conduct, or manage.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME < AF; MF officier < ML officiārius, equiv. to L offici(um) office + -ārius -ary; see -er 2 , -ier 2

Related forms:
of⋅fi⋅ce⋅ri⋅al  [aw-fuh-seer-ee-uhl, of-uh-] , adjective
of⋅fi⋅cer⋅less, adjective
of⋅fi⋅cer⋅ship, of⋅fi⋅cer⋅hood, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To officer
of·fi·cer   (ô'fĭ-sər, ŏf'ĭ-)   
n.  
  1. One who holds an office of authority or trust in an organization, such as a corporation or government.
  2. One who holds a commission in the armed forces.
  3. A person licensed in the merchant marine as master, mate, chief engineer, or assistant engineer.
  4. A police officer.
tr.v.   of·fi·cered, of·fi·cer·ing, of·fi·cers
  1. To furnish with officers.
  2. To command or manage as an officer.

[Middle English, from Old French officier, from Medieval Latin officārius, from Latin officium, service, duty; see office.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Officer

Of"fi*cer\, n. [F. officier. See Office, and cf. Official, n.]

1. One who holds an office; a person lawfully invested with an office, whether civil, military, or ecclesiastical; as, a church officer; a police officer; a staff officer. "I am an officer of state." --Shak.

2. (U. S. Mil.) Specifically, a commissioned officer, in distinction from a warrant officer.

Field officer, General officer, etc. See under Field, General. etc.

Officer of the day (Mil.), the officer who, on a given day, has charge for that day of the quard, prisoners, and police of the post or camp.

Officer of the deck, or Officer of the watch (Naut.), the officer temporarily in charge on the deck of a vessel, esp. a war vessel.

Officer

Of"fi*cer\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Officered; p. pr. & vb. n. Officering.]

1. To furnish with officers; to appoint officers over. --Marshall.

2. To command as an officer; as, veterans from old regiments officered the recruits.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : officer
Spanish: oficial,
German: der Offizier,
Japanese: 将校
More Translations »

officer 
c.1325, from O.Fr. officer, from M.L. officarius, from L. officium (see office). The military sense is first recorded 1565. Applied to petty officials of justice from 16c.; U.S. use in ref. to policemen is from 1880s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: of·fic·er
Function: noun
1 : one charged with administering or enforcing the law officer>
2 : one who holds an office of trust, authority, or command officers, employees, and shareholders of a corporation>
3 : one who holds a position of authority or command in the armed forces officer>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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