Office
WordNet
noun
(1) A job in an organization
"He occupied a post in the treasury"
(2) The actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group
"The function of a teacher"
"The government must do its part"
"Play its role"
(3) A religious rite or service prescribed by ecclesiastical authorities
"The offices of the mass"
(4) Place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
"He rented an office in the new building"
(5) An administrative unit of government
"The Central Intelligence Agency"
"The Census Bureau"
"Office of Management and Budget"
"Tennessee Valley Authority"
(6) Professional or clerical workers in an office
"The whole office was late the morning of the blizzard"
(7) (of a government or government official) holding an office means being in power
"Being in office already gives a candidate a great advantage"
"During his first year in office"
"During his first year in power"
"The power of the president"
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From , etc., and , from , probably contr. from , from , from + .
Noun
- A building or room where clerical or professional duties are performed.
- A bureau, an administrative unit of government.
- A position of responsibility of some authority within an organisation.
- (‘good offices’) Mediation or help in resolving a dispute.
- The UN Secretary General uses what is termed his "good offices" (generally meaning his prestige and the weight of the world community he represents) when he meets with world leaders, either publicly or privately, in an effort to prevent international disputes from developing, escalating or spreading.
- rite, ceremonial observance of social or religious nature
- religious service, especially a liturgy officiated by a Christian priest or minister
- major administrative division, notably in certain governmental administrations, either at ministry level (e.g. the British Home Office) or within or dependent on such a department
- a task that one feels obliged to do
- 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Modern Library Edition (1995), page 144
- ...there I readily engaged in the office of pointing out to my friend the certain evils of such a choice.
- 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Modern Library Edition (1995), page 144