Etymograph

English

office

Office comes from Middle English office, from Old French office, from Latin officium ‘duty; official position’, contracted from opificium, and ultimately from Latin opus ‘work’ (Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work’).

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-1‘to work’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃épos2‘work’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opos2reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopus2‘work’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopifex2‘doer of work, craftsman’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopificium2‘construction: the act of building or the thing built’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEofficium2‘duty; official position; function’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400office2
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500office2
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1526office2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin opifex
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English office
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “[…]in as moche as I am the apoſtle off…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-Wiktionary, Latin opifex‘to work’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃éposWiktionary, English office‘work’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oposWiktionary, English officereconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopusWiktionary, English office‘work’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopifexWiktionary, English office‘doer of work, craftsman’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopificiumWiktionary, English office‘construction: the act of building or the thing built’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEofficiumWiktionary, English office‘duty; official position; function’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400officeWiktionary, English office
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500officeWiktionary, English office
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1526officeWiktionary, English office. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “[…]in as moche as I am the apoſtle off…”

The story

In the religious sense, Displaced native Old English hād. The computing sense is a genericization of various proprietary program suites, such as Microsoft Office.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

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

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

through Latin ops ‘resources, wealth’

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

Today it means

noun A ceremonial duty or service, particularly

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “office”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin opifex. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

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

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