Etymograph

English

officious

Officious comes from Latin officiōsus ‘kindly’, from officium ‘service’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work, toil’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-‘to work, toil’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-(i)-reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opisreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopsas opis‘power, ability, resources’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEofficium‘service’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEofficiōsus‘kindly’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500offycyous
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1813officious

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-‘to work, toil’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-(i)-reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opisreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopsas opis‘power, ability, resources’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEofficium‘service’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEofficiōsus‘kindly’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500offycyous
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1813officious

Earliest quotation: 1813, Jane Austen, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton: “Elizabeth's misery increased, at such unnecessary, such officious attention!”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work, toil’

operation, bus, operate, operator, opera, omnibus, opus, oeuvre, omnivore, 27 more

through Latin ops ‘power, ability, resources’

copy, optimum, opulent, opulence, copious, 14 more

Today it means

adj Obliging, attentive, eager to please.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- / officious

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