Dictionary

officious en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /əˈfɪʃəs/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

15th century, from Middle English offycyous, from Latin officiōsus (“kindly”), from officium (“service”).

Meanings

1. (obsolete) Obliging, attentive, eager to please.
   • ‘It is essential that the nation become accustomed to managing its own affairs, so that it will emerge from this state of infancy in which an anxious and officious government attempts to keep the people’. 1998 [1807 December], Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein, letter to Karl August von Hardenberg, in History of Political Thought, volume 19, Exeter: Imprint Academic, page 249:
   • Elizabeth's misery increased, at such unnecessary, such officious attention! 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter XI, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume III, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 206:
2. Offensively intrusive or interfering in offering advice and services.
   • The help tended to be officious, the rules, if heeded, restrictive, and the management meddlesome. 1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 168:

Forms

Deriveds

unofficious · overofficious · officiousness · officiously · officious intermeddler · inofficious · superofficious · ultraofficious

Translations (29)

ga anchúramach (offensively intrusive or interfering) · de aufdringlich (offensively intrusive or interfering) · de beflissen ((obsolete in English) eager to please) · bg досаден (offensively intrusive or interfering) · de bemüht ((obsolete in English) eager to please) · sv fjäskig ((obsolete in English) eager to please) · nl opdringerig (offensively intrusive or interfering) · de übereifrig ((obsolete in English) eager to please) · fi tungetteleva (offensively intrusive or interfering) · cmn 多管闲事的 (offensively intrusive or interfering) · ru навя́зчивый (offensively intrusive or interfering) · fi virkaintoinen (offensively intrusive or interfering) · no offisiøs (offensively intrusive or interfering) · pl nadgorliwy (offensively intrusive or interfering) · mi whakapōrearea (offensively intrusive or interfering) · de dienstfertig ((obsolete in English) eager to please) · ru назо́йливый (offensively intrusive or interfering) · mi whawhewhawhe (offensively intrusive or interfering) · de wichtigmacherisch (offensively intrusive or interfering) · de dienstgeflissen ((obsolete in English) eager to please) · de dienstbeflissen ((obsolete in English) eager to please) · bg натрапчив (offensively intrusive or interfering) · sv beskäftig (offensively intrusive or interfering) · nl bereidwillig ((obsolete in English) eager to please) · ru уго́дливый (offensively intrusive or interfering) · es oficioso (offensively intrusive or interfering) · es oficioso ((obsolete in English) eager to please) · nl overijverig ((obsolete in English) eager to please) · grc πολυπρᾱ́γμων (offensively intrusive or interfering)