office: [13] Office comes from a Latin source that originally meant ‘do work’. This was officium, a reduced form of an earlier *opificium, which was compounded from opus ‘work’ (source of English opera, operate, etc) and -ficium, a derivative of facere ‘do’ (source of English fact, faction, etc). That original literal sense has now disappeared from English (which got the word via Old French office), but it has left its mark in ‘position, post, job’ and ‘place where work is done’, both of which existed in Latin.
English has a small cluster of derivatives, including officer [14], official [14], officiate [17], and officious [16]. => fact, factory, fashion, opera, operate
office (n.)
mid-13c., "a post, an employment to which certain duties are attached," from Anglo-French and Old French ofice "place or function; divine service" (12c. in Old French) or directly from Latin officium "service, kindness, favor; official duty, function, business; ceremonial observance," (in Church Latin, "church service"), literally "work-doing," from ops (genitive opis) "power, might, abundance, means" (related to opus "work;" see opus) + stem of facere "do, perform" (see factitious). Meaning "place for conducting business" first recorded 1560s. Office hours attested from 1841.
雙語例句
1. One of the office girls was down with the flu.
一位女職員得了流感。
來自柯林斯例句
2. His office was in keeping with his station and experience.
他的辦公室與其身份和閱歷相稱。
來自柯林斯例句
3. Powell's unusual journey to high office is an inspiration to millions.
鮑威爾升任高官的不尋常歷程對數以百萬計的人都是一個激勵。
來自柯林斯例句
4. He called me to his office for a man-to-man talk.
他把我叫到他的辦公室私下談了談。
來自柯林斯例句
5. The Foreign Office in London has expressed surprise at these allegations.