officialdomn.
/əˈfɪʃldəm/, U.S. /əˈfɪʃəld(ə)m/, /oʊˈfɪʃəld(ə)m/ The position of an official; official routine; the domain, sphere, or ways of officials; officials collectively, esp. regarded as being inefficient or obstructive. Cf. officialism n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > [noun] > collectively
office1604
officialdom1855
1855 R. Carboni Eureka Stockade xli. 53 This man was..detested by all, because he was the Resident Commissioner—that is, all the iniquities of officialdom at the time were indiscriminately visited on his gold-lace cap.
1880 I. L. Bird Unbeaten Tracks Japan I. 57 The stage, one half of which was reserved for foreigners, the other half for Japanese officialdom.
1906 Daily Chron. 13 Aug. 2/6 Members have almost entirely lost direct touch with the schools, and substantially all the power of direction and control has passed into the hands of an all-powerful officialdom.
1961 Times 8 Feb. 13/7 Millions of deskmen from an inflated officialdom have been out in the fields helping the peasants.
1989 Harper's Mag. Sept. 4/2 The news media define reality largely in ways that are serviceable to officialdom.
2001 Financial Times 27 Jan. (Weekend Suppl.) p. xxiii/6 It is becoming unfashionable to control..feelings of anger when nitpicking officialdom gets under the skin.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1855