officiousadj.
/əˈfɪʃəs/, U.S. /əˈfɪʃəs/ a. Of persons or their actions, etc.: active or zealous in the exercise of an office; dutiful. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > observance > [adjective]
faithfulc1384
officiousc1487
heedful1548
heedy1548
religious1567
unhurting1581
rigid1602
observant1608
conscionable1620
strictc1660
solid1880
c1487 J. Skelton tr. Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historica v. 384 Dame Ceres..made to hym euydent exposicion how he sholde demene hym-self in thoffycyous admynystracion of thobseruauncis & sacrefyse.
1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus v. ii. 200 Come, come, be euerie one officius, To make this banket. View more context for this quotation
1598 F. Bacon Hypocrites in Ess. (1862) 117 As to these others who are so officious towards God.
1641 R. Carpenter Experience, Hist., & Divinitie i. iv. 13 To stand like officious, and dutifull servants.
1730 J. Thomson Winter in Seasons 205 In vain for him th' officious wife prepares The fire fair-blazing, and the vestment warm.
a1770 M. Akenside To Cheerfulness in Odes i. vi The officious daughters pleas'd attend.
b. Of things: performing the proper office or function; serving the required purpose; efficacious. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > efficacy > [adjective]
frameeOE
goodeOE
mightyOE
vailanta1325
sicker1338
mightful1340
suffisant1340
virtuousa1387
effectivea1398
effectuala1398
worthya1398
availingc1420
effectuous?a1425
operant?a1425
substantialc1449
virtual?a1475
substantious1483
available1502
efficacious1528
energial1528
working1532
operatory1551
operatoriousa1555
stately1567
feckful1568
efficace?1572
shifty1585
operative1590
instrumental1601
efficable1607
speeding1612
effectuating1615
officious1618
availsome1619
prevailable1624
valid1651
perficient1659
affectuous1664
implemental1676
virtual1760
efficient1787
sufficient1831
slick1833
roadworthy1837
practician1863
positive1903
performant1977
1618 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. IV. N.T. i. 329 If twise in the day we do not present God with our solemne invocations, wee make the Gospell lesse officious, then the law.
a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry V ccii, in Poems (1878) IV. 151 The Stronger Squadron of the french fell in Vpon the goreing stakes;..'mongst these officious prongs Surpriz'd; their horse entangled, plunge their way Through many wounds, to Death.
1884 Ld. Selborne in Law Times Rep. 50 314/1 That interpretation which makes [the words] more officious with respect to the..purpose of the instrument is to be preferred.
2. Doing or ready to do kind offices; eager to serve, help, or please; attentive, obliging, kind. Now rare, except as passing into sense 3.Cf. officious lie n., officious falsity n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > [adjective]
mildeOE
blitheOE
goodOE
well-willingOE
beina1200
goodfulc1275
blithefula1300
faira1300
benignc1320
gainc1330
sweetc1330
kinda1333
propicec1350
well-willeda1382
well-disposeda1393
well-hearteda1393
well-willinga1393
friendsomea1400
well-willya1400
charitablec1405
well-willed1417
good-heartedc1425
kindlyc1425
honeyed1435
propitious1440
affectuousc1441
willya1449
homelyc1450
benevolous1470
benigned1470
benevolent1482
favourousc1485
well-meaned1488
well-meaning1498
humanec1500
favourablec1503
affectionatea1516
well-mindedc1522
beneficial1526
propiciant1531
benignate1533
well-intendeda1535
beneficious1535
kind-hearted1535
well-given1535
affectioned1539
well-wishing1548
figgy?1549
good-meaning1549
affectedc1553
affectionated1561
well-natured1561
well-affected?1563
officious1565
well-inclined1569
good-natured1582
partial1587
graceful?1593
well-intentioned1598
beneficent1616
candid1633
kindlike1637
benefic1641
kindly-hearted1762
well-meant1765
benignanta1782
sweet-hearted1850
the mind > will > wish or inclination > willingness > [adjective] > willing to serve
officious1565
the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > [adjective] > studiously careful or diligent > diligent in service
officious1565
diligent1566
attentivec1570
assiduous1725
1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede Hist. Church Eng. v. iv. f. 157 She..came to the table, shewed her selfe very officious in caruinge..to the bysshope and all the hole table.
1570 Mariage Witte & Sci. ii. i. sig. Bii Shew thy selfe officious and seruisable stil.
1679 Season. Adv. Protestants 6 The Peoples aversion they took away by degrees by their officious kind behaviour.
1783 S. Johnson On Death Levet in Gentleman's Mag. Aug. 695 Officious, innocent, sincere, Of ev'ry friendless name the friend.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 202 They were tolerably well-bred; very officious, humane, and hospitable. View more context for this quotation
1827 J. Keble Christian Year II. ci. 193 Feeling more bitterly alone The friends that press officious round.
1939 N. West Day of Locust xvi. 123 She was an officious, bustling woman with a face like a baked apple, soft and blotched.
1955 S. H. Adams Grandfather Stories 119 Moreover, I was naturally of an affording and officious nature, and it was a signal honor to be selected for a post of responsibility and hazard.
3. Unduly forward in offering one's services, or in taking business upon oneself; doing, or prone to do, more than is asked or required; interfering, intrusive. In later use esp.: inclined to assert authority in a self-important or pompous way, esp. with regard to petty or trivial matters. (Now the usual sense.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > self-assertiveness > [adjective]
crousea1400
crank1499
cockish1551
forward1561
forthyc1565
forthputting?1577
perching1579
perk1579
perking?1584
officious1596
pratchant1596
putting-forth1621
obtrusive1652
petulcous1661
pushing1682
coxy1728
cocky1768
bumptious1801
furthy1808
upsetting1817
perky1820
self-asserting1821
protrusive1841
self-assertive1849
aggressive1855
self-assertory1867
perkisha1870
pushful1871
pushy1874
forritsome1894
chesty1900
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > acting in another's business or intervention > [adjective] > officious
busy1340
pragmatical1593
officious1596
polypragmatical1597
superfluous1598
pragmaticc1612
superserviceablea1616
polypragmatic1616
stickling1642
over-officious1647
polypragmonetic1693
managinga1715
busybodied1798
busybodyish1851
pantopragmatic1860
polypragmonic1866
polypragmosynic1886
1596 W. Warner Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) ix. xlv. 215 Wolsey, that slye, officious, and too Lordly Cardnall.
1676 G. Etherege Man of Mode i. i. 15 He..knows not whom, without Some officious Sot has betray'd me.
1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives (1879) I. 163/2 He would not be so officious as to interpose.
1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey III. v. vi. 127 One of those officious, noisy little men, who are always ready to give you unasked information.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola II. v. 44 He glanced suspiciously at the officious stranger.
1883 Harper's Mag. June 100/1 He would do well to disembarrass himself of his too officious advisers.
1904 W. Churchill Crossing ii. i. 384 I waited for him in two streets until an officious person chanced along and threatened to take me before the Arcade.
1930 L. W. Meynell Camouflage vi. 83 Michael began to run. ‘You can't make this train, sir,’ an officious inspector warned him, trying to bar his way.
1959 A. Christie Cat among Pigeons ix. 108 That's what made her so officious. About finding fault, you know, and enforcing rules and finding out what people were doing that they shouldn't be doing.
1986 M. Hughes Dream Catcher i. 14 She mustn't seem unsure of what she was doing, or some officious person would be bound to come up and ask if they could help.
2001 Balance (Diabetes U.K.) Mar.–Apr. 27/1 It didn't take long for the officious dragon to declare that my diet was all wrong, that I needed to lose a stone in weight.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > duties > [adjective] > official
officious1602
functional1631
the mind > emotion > pride > ostentation > ceremony or formality > [adjective] > formal as opposed to personal or private
publica1538
officious1602
functional1631
official1816
perfunctionary1838
1602 B. Jonson Poetaster iv. ix. sig. I4 Farewell, sweete Life: though thou be yet exil'd, Th'officious Court, enioy mee amply still. View more context for this quotation
1610 J. Dove Advt. Seminaries 16 He sheweth, that, as there is one adoration which is religious, belonging to God, so there is an other, onely officious, belonging to all ecclesiasticall rites and ceremonies.
1742 R. North & M. North Life F. North 225 He put off officious Talk of Government or Politicks, with Jests.
1796 C. Burney Mem. Life Metastasio II. 264 To waste his precious moments in answering letters purely officious.
1852 J. H. Newman Disc. Univ. Educ. 221 The Sermons..of Protestant Divines in the seventeenth century, how often are they mere repertories of miscellaneous and officious learning.
5. In diplomats' use (as distinguished from official): not directly bearing on official business; having the character of a friendly communication or informal action on the part of a government or its official representatives; informal, unofficial. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > [adjective] > having extraneous relation to official matters
officious1852
1852 Ld. Palmerston in Mem. Ld. Malmesbury (1885) 238 When the diplomates call, do not be too reserved, but preface your observations by stating that what you say is officious.
1852 Ld. Palmerston in Mem. Ld. Malmesbury (1885) 226 (note) Old diplomatists must know the difference between an officious and an official conversation. The first is the free interchange of opinions between the two Ministers, and compromises neither; the latter would do so, and bind their Governments.
1866 Pall Mall Gaz. 16 July 9/1 ‘Feelers’, put out in the officious press.
1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 9 Nov. 2/1 Every individual who receives [official] protection from a foreign Government becomes in his turn a centre of protection to his friends and dependants, and spreads this diluted form which is known as ‘officious’ protection at a rate of arithmetical progression.
1900 Westm. Gaz. 16 Aug. 2/1 We want the great European Powers to consent to be our guarantees with the Sultan. They would act in an officious, if not in an official capacity.
Compounds
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > [noun] > a falsehood, lie > well-intentioned
white lie1567
officious lie1577
officious falsity1676
social lie1839
1676 G. Towerson Explic. Decalogue 520 Concerning officious falsities.
officious lie n. [after post-classical Latin mendacium officiosum (a420 in Jerome); compare Italian bugia ufficiosa (a1595), French mensonge officieux (c1660)] a lie told as an act of kindness to further another's interests.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > [noun] > a falsehood, lie > well-intentioned
white lie1567
officious lie1577
officious falsity1676
social lie1839
1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. II. iii. iv. Cc.v/1 An officious lye, that is when I fitten or tell an vntruth for dueties sake, to the end that by my lye, I may keepe my neighbour harmelesse.
1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. iv. 283 Ignorantly zealous Christians, who were for Officious Lyes and Pious Frauds.
1788 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) VII. 42 Concerning officious lies, those that are spoken with a design to do good, there have been numerous controversies.
1882 Harper's Mag. Mar. 563/1 The officious lie, which is venial in principle, because it does not cause grave disorder.
1928 in J. Hagan Compend. Catechetical Instr. III. xi. 425/2 Q. What is an officious lie? A. An officious lie is a false statement to benefit oneself or another without injuring anyone else.
2003 New Catholic Encycl. (ed. 2) VIII. 900/2 Useful and harmless according to strict justice, the so-called ‘officious’ lie (mendacium officiosum) is intended to gain some good or to protect oneself or others from harm.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.c1487