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.
双语例句
1. One of the office girls was down with the flu.
一位女职员得了流感。
来自柯林斯例句
2. His office was in keeping with his station and experience.
他的办公室与其身份和阅历相称。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Powell's unusual journey to high office is an inspiration to millions.
鲍威尔升任高官的不寻常历程对数以百万计的人都是一个激励。
来自柯林斯例句
4. He called me to his office for a man-to-man talk.
他把我叫到他的办公室私下谈了谈。
来自柯林斯例句
5. The Foreign Office in London has expressed surprise at these allegations.