the.com/officer
someone trusted with a uniform, a title, and the terrifying privilege of being obeyed.
means A person who holds a position of authority or command, typically in the military, police, government, or a company.
from From Latin 'officium,' meaning 'a service, duty, or function' — itself perhaps from 'opus' (work) plus 'facere' (to do), so literally a doer of the work. It passed through Old French 'officier' before settling into English, where the sense of 'one who performs a duty' hardened into 'one who holds office,' and then into the badged, ranked figure we picture today.
- latin roots
- From officium, meaning duty or service
- naval rank
- Originally meant any holder of a formal office
- two paychecks
- Police and corporations both claim the title
- saluting logic
- Salutes evolved from raising visors to show faces
- the gamble
- Officers can legally order others into death