Afrikaans beampte | ||
Albanian oficer | ||
Amharic መኮንን | ||
Arabic ضابط | ||
Armenian սպա | ||
Assamese বিষয়া | ||
Aymara oficial ukhamawa | ||
Azerbaijani zabit | ||
Bambara sɔrɔdasi ɲɛmɔgɔ | ||
Basque ofiziala | ||
Belarusian афіцэр | ||
Bengali অফিসার | ||
Bhojpuri अधिकारी के ह | ||
Bosnian oficir | ||
Bulgarian офицер | ||
Catalan oficial | ||
Cebuano opisyal | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 官 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 官 | ||
Corsican ufficiale | ||
Croatian časnik | ||
Czech důstojník | ||
Danish officer | ||
Dhivehi އޮފިސަރެވެ | ||
Dogri अफसर जी | ||
Dutch officier | ||
English officer | ||
Esperanto oficiro | ||
Estonian ohvitser | ||
Ewe asrafomegã | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) opisyal | ||
Finnish upseeri | ||
French officier | ||
Frisian offisier | ||
Galician oficial | ||
Georgian ოფიცერი | ||
German offizier | ||
Greek αξιωματικός | ||
Guarani oficial rehegua | ||
Gujarati અધિકારી | ||
Haitian Creole ofisye | ||
Hausa hafsa | ||
Hawaiian luna | ||
Hebrew קָצִין | ||
Hindi अफ़सर | ||
Hmong tub ceev xwm | ||
Hungarian tiszt | ||
Icelandic yfirmaður | ||
Igbo onye isi | ||
Ilocano opisial | ||
Indonesian petugas | ||
Irish oifigeach | ||
Italian ufficiale | ||
Japanese 役員 | ||
Javanese petugas | ||
Kannada ಅಧಿಕಾರಿ | ||
Kazakh офицер | ||
Khmer មន្រ្តី | ||
Kinyarwanda ofisiye | ||
Konkani अधिकारी म्हणून काम करता | ||
Korean 장교 | ||
Krio ɔfisa we de wok fɔ di kɔmni | ||
Kurdish serbaz | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) ئەفسەر | ||
Kyrgyz офицер | ||
Lao ເຈົ້າ ໜ້າ ທີ່ | ||
Latin officer | ||
Latvian virsnieks | ||
Lingala mosali ya basoda | ||
Lithuanian pareigūnas | ||
Luganda omuserikale | ||
Luxembourgish offizéier | ||
Macedonian офицер | ||
Maithili अधिकारी | ||
Malagasy manamboninahitra | ||
Malay pegawai | ||
Malayalam ഓഫീസർ | ||
Maltese uffiċjal | ||
Maori āpiha | ||
Marathi अधिकारी | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯑꯣꯐꯤꯁꯥꯔ ꯑꯃꯥ ꯑꯣꯏꯅꯥ ꯊꯕꯛ ꯇꯧꯈꯤ꯫ | ||
Mizo officer a ni | ||
Mongolian офицер | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အရာရှိ | ||
Nepali अधिकारी | ||
Norwegian offiser | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mkulu | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଅଧିକାରୀ | ||
Oromo qondaala | ||
Pashto افسر | ||
Persian افسر | ||
Polish oficer | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) policial | ||
Punjabi ਅਧਿਕਾਰੀ | ||
Quechua oficial | ||
Romanian ofiţer | ||
Russian офицер | ||
Samoan tagata ofisa | ||
Sanskrit अधिकारी | ||
Scots Gaelic oifigear | ||
Sepedi mohlankedi wa mohlankedi | ||
Serbian официр | ||
Sesotho ofisiri | ||
Shona mukuru | ||
Sindhi آفيسر | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) නිලධාරී | ||
Slovak dôstojník | ||
Slovenian častnik | ||
Somali sarkaal | ||
Spanish oficial | ||
Sundanese patugas | ||
Swahili afisa | ||
Swedish officer | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) opisyal | ||
Tajik афсар | ||
Tamil அதிகாரி | ||
Tatar офицер | ||
Telugu అధికారి | ||
Thai เจ้าหน้าที่ | ||
Tigrinya ሓላፊ | ||
Tsonga muofisiri | ||
Turkish subay | ||
Turkmen ofiser | ||
Twi (Akan) ɔsraani panyin | ||
Ukrainian офіцер | ||
Urdu افسر | ||
Uyghur ئەمەلدار | ||
Uzbek ofitser | ||
Vietnamese nhân viên văn phòng | ||
Welsh swyddog | ||
Xhosa igosa | ||
Yiddish אָפיציר | ||
Yoruba oṣiṣẹ | ||
Zulu isikhulu |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Beampte, Afrikaans for "officer," derives from the Dutch "beambte" or "ambtenaar," officials within a government or other organization. |
| Albanian | The term "ofiscer" is used both in formal (official) and slangy (officer, cop) Albanian, and derives in the latter usage (and possibly originally in both) through a loan translation from Turkish "mübaşir" |
| Arabic | The Arabic word "ضابط" also has the meanings of controlling, adjusting, and regulating. |
| Armenian | The word "սպա" (officer) in Armenian is derived from the Persian word "ispa" (army), which shares the same root with the word "asp" (horse). |
| Azerbaijani | Zabit originates from the Arabic word meaning "control" or "restraint" |
| Basque | In Basque, the word “ofiziala” can also refer to a member of the clergy. |
| Belarusian | The word "афіцэр" ultimately derives from the Latin "officium" meaning "duty" or "obligation". |
| Bengali | The word "অফিসার" in Bengali is derived from the French word "officier" and can also refer to a public official or a person holding a position of authority. |
| Bosnian | In Bosnian, oficir (officer) originates from Ottoman Turkish "subaşı," "officer commanding a military unit" |
| Bulgarian | The word "офицер" derives from the German word "Offizier" which itself comes from the Latin word "officium" meaning "duty". |
| Catalan | "Oficial" in Catalan can also refer to a non-commissioned officer, a government clerk, or a member of a guild or corporation. |
| Cebuano | "Opisyal" is derived from the Spanish word "oficial" which is used in the Philippines to refer to government or military officials. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The term 官 (officer) also can refer to a government office, like the office of the President. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 官 can refer to a government or public position, an official in such a position, or an official in general |
| Corsican | The word "ufficiale" originates from the Latin "officialis" but can refer to both civil and military officials depending on the context. |
| Croatian | In addition to its main meaning of "officer", "časnik" can also mean "newspaper" or "magazine" in Croatian, derived from the Slavic root "čas" meaning "time". |
| Czech | The word "důstojník" originates from the Old Czech word "důstoj" meaning "dignity" or "honour". |
| Danish | Den danske betydning af ordet "officer" stammer fra middelalderlatin, hvor "officiare" betød pligt eller tjeneste udført for en hersker. |
| Dutch | In Dutch, "officier" can also refer to a public prosecutor or a person who carries out official duties, such as a bailiff. |
| Esperanto | The word "oficiro" is derived from the Latin word "officiarius", meaning "office worker" or "duty holder." |
| Estonian | Originally a title of foreign mercenaries serving in Estonia, "ohvitser" eventually became the word for an officer of any kind in Estonian. |
| Finnish | The word "upseeri" is ultimately derived from the German word "Offizier" and originally referred to a junior officer with limited command power. |
| French | The word "officier" also means "functionary" or "minister" in the context of a religious service. |
| Frisian | "Offisier" means "leader of the law" in Saterland Frisian. |
| Galician | "Oficial" derives from late Latin "officialis", meaning "pertaining to a duty". |
| Georgian | The term "ოფიცერი" originated from medieval Latin "officiarius," meaning "person in charge of a public office." |
| German | The German word "Offizier" derives from the French "officier" and Latin "officium" (duty, service). |
| Greek | The word "αξιωματικός" derives from the ancient Greek word "αξίωμα," meaning "worth" or "value." |
| Gujarati | The word "અધિકારી" can also refer to a person who has the authority to act on behalf of another person or organization. |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, "ofisye" also refers to a high-ranking official in the government or a member of the military. |
| Hausa | The word "hafsa" also means "chief" or "leader" in Hausa. |
| Hawaiian | The Hawaiian word "luna" can also mean "above" or "on top". |
| Hebrew | The term קָצִין (officer) comes from the root קצץ (to cut), implying a person who makes decisions or has authority to decide. |
| Hindi | The term "अफ़सर" ultimately derives from the Arabic word "wasif" meaning "one who describes". |
| Hmong | Tub ceev xwm, a word for |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "tiszt" (officer) originates from the Proto-Indo-European root "*teḱs-", meaning "to weave" or "to create." |
| Icelandic | The word 'yfirmaður' also means 'commander' or 'foreman', and is derived from the Old Norse word 'yfirmann', which means 'superior' or 'overseer'. |
| Igbo | The term "onye isi" in Igbo, meaning "officer," derives from the phrase "onye na-ebu isi," literally translating to "one who carries the head," referring to those entrusted with authority or leadership roles. |
| Indonesian | "Petugas" is derived from the Sanskrit word "petra" which means "protector". |
| Irish | Oifigeach, meaning "officer," is derived from the noun "oifig," meaning "office" or "place of duty." |
| Italian | "Ufficiale" can refer to a military rank as well as a public servant with certain authority |
| Japanese | The Japanese word 役員, meaning "officer," is also used in a more general sense to refer to any member of an organization's leadership, such as a board member or committee chair. |
| Javanese | The word "petugas" in Javanese also means "someone who works" or "employee". |
| Kannada | The Kannada word "ಅಧಿಕಾರಿ" is derived from the Sanskrit word "adhikarinah", meaning person possessing authority or responsibility. |
| Kazakh | В казахском языке слово «офицер» имеет значение «военный чиновник», а также может использоваться для обозначения лица, занимающего руководящую должность в армии. |
| Khmer | The word មន្រ្តី (mnɔntrəj) is derived from the Sanskrit word mantra, which means 'to advise' or 'to consult'. |
| Korean | Originally referred to "a person with a staff," and later to "military officers." |
| Kurdish | The Kurdish word "serbaz" also means "soldier". |
| Kyrgyz | Officer is also a term used in Kyrgyzstan to refer to someone of high rank or position. |
| Latin | The Latin word "officer" originally referred to a person who provided assistance or performed a service, not exclusively to a military or law enforcement officer. |
| Latvian | The Latvian word "virsnieks" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *wiros-, meaning "man, adult male." |
| Lithuanian | The Lithuanian word "pareigūnas" derives from the Old High German word "barūno", meaning "man" or "official with the right to carry a weapon". |
| Macedonian | The word "офицер" in Macedonian originates from the German word "Offizier" and the French word "officier", both meaning "officer". |
| Malagasy | The word "manamboninahitra" is derived from the Malagasy words "manambo" (to take care of) and "hina" (to protect), and also refers to a guardian or caretaker. |
| Malay | The term "pegawai" derives from the Sanskrit word "bhogi", meaning "master" or "enjoyer", and later evolved to mean "official" or "officer" in Malay and Indonesian. |
| Malayalam | The Malayalam word ഓഫീസർ (officer) is derived from the English word "officer" via Portuguese, and can also refer to a commissioned military officer. |
| Maltese | "Uffiċjal" is derived from "uffiċċju" (office) through the suffix "-al" and is used for a person holding an official position. |
| Maori | The word "āpiha" is derived from the Proto-Polynesian "*tapatipa", meaning "to strike with open hand" or "to slap". |
| Marathi | "अधिकारी" is derived from Sanskrit "अधिकृति," meaning power, authority, and responsibility. |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word "офицер" also means "leader" or "commander" and is derived from the Russian word "офицер". |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | အရာရှိ derives from Burmese "အရာ" (position, role) + "ရှိ" (to have, to exist), thus literally meaning something like "a holder of a position," which can refer to a government official, an army officer, a police officer, or any person with an official position. |
| Nepali | The word “अधिकारी” (officer) is derived from the Sanskrit word “अधिकार” (authority), which also means “right, power, or jurisdiction.” |
| Norwegian | The word "offiser" in Norwegian has roots in the Latin word "officium", meaning "duty" or "service". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "mkulu" can also refer to a chief, leader, or elder, highlighting its connection to authority and respect within Nyanja society. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "افسر" ("officer") is derived from the Persian word "افسر" ("crown") and also refers to a person of high rank or authority. |
| Persian | Derived from the French 'officier', the word 'افسر' in Persian can also refer to a 'clerk' or 'employee'. |
| Polish | The Polish word "oficer" comes from the German word "Offizier" and originally meant "official" before acquiring its current military meaning. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, the word "Policial" is derived from the Greek "polis" meaning "city" and ultimately refers to a person responsible for maintaining order within a city. |
| Punjabi | The word "अधिकारी" can also refer to a person with authority, a dignitary, or an official. |
| Romanian | "Ofiţer" is the Romanian term for a military or law enforcement officer, derived from the French "officier". |
| Russian | The word "офицер" ("officer") comes from the Latin word "officium," which means "duty" or "obligation." |
| Samoan | Samoan "tagata ofisa" also refers to police officers, judges, doctors, government officials in general, and even airline pilots and flight attendants. |
| Scots Gaelic | In Gaelic, oifigear can also refer to a person employed in a specific role, such as a forester or a constable. |
| Serbian | "Официр" (officer) comes from the French word "officier" and is used in the context of the army and the police. |
| Sesotho | The word 'ofisiri' is related to the word 'ofisi' (office), suggesting a connection between office positions and officer ranks. |
| Shona | "Mukuru" also means "chief", "ruler", or "master" in Shona |
| Sindhi | "آفيسر" (officer) likely derives from the English word "officer" or the word "afsar" common in Indian languages. |
| Slovak | The origin of "dôstojník" traces back to Old Church Slavonic word "dostoin" which means "worthy". |
| Slovenian | The word "častnik" comes from the Old Slavic word "častь", meaning "honor" or "respect". |
| Somali | The word "sarkaal" is derived from the Arabic word "sahib" meaning "lord" or "owner". |
| Spanish | The Spanish word "oficial" originates from the Latin "officialis", meaning one who holds office. |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese term 'patugas' also has the alternate meaning of 'guard' or 'sentry'. |
| Swahili | While the Swahili word 'afisa' is commonly translated as 'officer', it originally meant 'foreman or overseer'. |
| Swedish | The word "officer" derives from the Latin word "officium", meaning "duty" or "service." |
| Tajik | In Persian, 'афсар' translates to 'a person with a crown', while in Arabic, it means 'the highest point'. |
| Telugu | The word 'అధికారి' (adhikari) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'अधिकार' (adhikar), meaning 'right', 'authority', or 'power'. |
| Thai | The word เจ้าหน้าที่ derives from the Sanskrit chāṭa (छाट) and patti (पति), meaning 'chief of staff'. It is also used to refer to a senior official, such as a general or minister. |
| Turkish | The word 'subay' is derived from the Arabic word 'subu' meaning 'army' and was originally used to refer to cavalry officers. |
| Ukrainian | The word "офіцер" is derived from the Latin word "officium", meaning "duty" or "service", and is cognate with the English word "officer". |
| Urdu | The word “افسر” in Urdu is originally Persian, and is used in other languages such as Turkish and Hindi. |
| Uzbek | The word "ofitser" comes from the Russian word "офицер" which comes from the German word "Offizier". It is also cognate with the English word "officer". In addition to its military meaning, it can also refer to a person in a position of authority in a civil organization. |
| Vietnamese | The word "nhân viên văn phòng" in Vietnamese can also refer to "clerk" or "employee" in English. |
| Welsh | "Swyddog" can also refer to any person holding a public office, such as a magistrate or a member of the clergy. |
| Xhosa | Although the word 'igosa' is used to refer to a police officer, it also means 'a person who is a leader' or 'a person who is in charge of others'. |
| Yiddish | The word "אָפיציר" also has the alternate meaning of "official" in Yiddish. |
| Yoruba | In some contexts, oṣiṣẹ can be used in reference to a worker, employee, or operative. |
| Zulu | In Zulu, the term 'isikhulu' not only denotes an officer but also carries the connotation of seniority and importance, alluding to the individual's position of authority. |
| English | The word "officer" originates from the Latin word "officium," meaning "duty" or "service." |