Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Office \Of"fice\, n. [F., fr. L. officium, for opificium; ops
ability, wealth, holp + facere to do or make. See {Opulent},
{Fact}.]
1. That which a person does, either voluntarily or by
appointment, for, or with reference to, others; customary
duty, or a duty that arises from the relations of man to
man; as, kind offices, pious offices.
I would I could do a good office between you.
--Shak.
2. A special duty, trust, charge, or position, conferred by
authority and for a public purpose; a position of trust or
authority; as, an executive or judical office; a municipal
office.
3. A charge or trust, of a sacred nature, conferred by God
himself; as, the office of a priest under the old
dispensation, and that of the apostles in the new.
Inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I
magnify mine office. --Rom. xi. 13.
4. That which is performed, intended, or assigned to be done,
by a particular thing, or that which anything is fitted to
perform; a function; -- answering to duty in intelligent
beings.
They [the eyes] resign their office and their light.
--Shak.
Hesperus, whose office is to bring Twilight upon the
earth. --Milton.
In this experiment the several intervals of the
teeth of the comb do the office of so many prisms.
--Sir I.
Newton.
5. The place where a particular kind of business or service
for others is transacted; a house or apartment in which
public officers and others transact business; as, the
register's office; a lawyer's office.
6. The company or corporation, or persons collectively, whose
place of business is in an office; as, I have notified the
office.
7. pl. The apartments or outhouses in which the domestics
discharge the duties attached to the service of a house,
as kitchens, pantries, stables, etc. [Eng.]
As for the offices, let them stand at distance.
--Bacon.
8. (Eccl.) Any service other than that of ordination and the
Mass; any prescribed religious service.
This morning was read in the church, after the
office was done, the declaration setting forth the
late conspiracy against the king's person. --Evelyn.
{Holy office}. Same as {Inquisition}, n., 3.
{Houses of office}. Same as def. 7 above. --Chaucer.
{Little office} (R.C.Ch.), an office recited in honor of the
Virgin Mary.
{Office bearer}, an officer; one who has a specific office or
duty to perform.
{Office copy} (Law), an authenticated or certified copy of a
record, from the proper office. See {Certified copies},
under {Copy}. --Abbott.
{Office-found} (Law), the finding of an inquest of office.
See under {Inquest}.
{Office holder}. See {Officeholder} in the Vocabulary
Office \Of`fice\, v. t.
To perform, as the duties of an office; to discharge. [Obs.]
--Shak.
Source : WordNet®
office
n 1: place of business where professional or clerical duties are
performed; "he rented an office in the new building"
[syn: {business office}]
2: an administrative unit of government; "the Central
Intelligence Agency"; "the Census Bureau"; "Office of
Management and Budget"; "Tennessee Valley Authority" [syn:
{agency}, {federal agency}, {government agency}, {bureau},
{authority}]
3: the actions and activities assigned to or required or
expected of a person or group; "the function of a
teacher"; "the government must do its part"; "play its
role" [syn: {function}, {part}, {role}]
4: (of a government or government official) holding an office
means being in power; "being in office already gives a
candidate a great advantage"; "during his first year in
office"; "during his first year in power"; "the power of
the president" [syn: {power}]
5: professional or clerical workers in an office; "the whole
office was late the morning of the blizzard" [syn: {office
staff}]
6: a religious rite or service prescribed by ecclesiastical
authorities; "the offices of the mass"
7: a job in an organization; "he occupied a post in the
treasury" [syn: {position}, {post}, {berth}, {spot}, {billet},
{place}, {situation}]
Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing
Office
{Microsoft Office}