Unofficial

How to spell unofficial

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce unofficial

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unofficial mean?

1. adjectiveNot formally authorised, recognised, or sanctioned by an authority.

Unofficial in a sentence

• The unofficial results circulated online before the board confirmed them.

• Staff held an unofficial meeting in the break room to vent their concerns.

Where does unofficial come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built on the negative prefix un-, meaning 'not', attached to 'official', which entered English in the 1300s by way of Old French from the Latin officialis, meaning 'belonging to duty or office'. That in turn rests on officium, the Latin word for a duty, service, or function, formed roughly from opus 'work' and the root of facere 'to do or make'. The base 'official' first described someone holding a formal post, then broadened to mean anything sanctioned by recognised authority. The prefixed 'unofficial' is a much later English formation, appearing in the late 1700s to mark whatever lacks formal authorisation. The chief spelling trap is the doubled letters in the middle: a single f would be wrong, since the cc gives the soft 'sh' sound and the ff carries over from 'office'.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• office (from Latin officium: duty, service)
• -ial (adjective suffix)