functionary

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an official, especially one in a government or large organization, who performs prescribed duties

   A minor functionary stamped the form and directed us to another office.

2. 2
   noun

   often disapproving: an official with little authority or independent judgment

   The novel portrays him as a faceless functionary who never questions an order.

Modelled on French fonctionnaire, 'official,' and analysable in English as function + -ary. Function comes through French from Latin functio, 'performance or execution,' from fungi, 'to perform.' The word often carries the implication that the officeholder merely performs an assigned function.

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