Online Etymology Dictionary

office: mid-13c., "a post, an employment to which certain duties are attached," from L. officium "service, duty, function, business" (in M.L., "church service"), lit. "work-doing," from ops (gen. opis) "power, might, abundance, means" (related to opus "work") + stem of facere "do, perform" (see factitious). Meaning "place for conducting business" first recorded 1560s. Office hours attested from 1841.
officer: early 14c., from O.Fr. officer, from M.L. officarius, from L. officium (see office). The military sense is first recorded 1560s. Applied to petty officials of justice from 16c.; U.S. use in ref. to policemen is from 1880s.
unseat: 1590s, "to throw down from a seat" (especially on horseback), from un- (2) + seat (v.). Meaning "to deprive of rank or office" is attested from 1610s; especially of elected office in a representative body from 1834.
factory: 1560, "estate manager's office," from M.Fr. factorie, from L.L. factorium "office for agents (factors)," also "oil press, mill," from L. factor "doer, maker." Sense of "building for making goods" is first attested 1618.
post office: 1650s, "public department in charge of letter-carrying," from post (3) + office. Meaning "building where postal business is carried on" is from 1650s. In slang or euphemistic sense of "sexual game" it refers to a parlor game first attested early 1850s in which pretend "letters" were paid for by kisses.
candidate: c.1600s, from L. candidatus "one aspiring to office," originally "white-robed," pp. of candidare "to make white or bright," from candidus (see candid). Office-seekers in ancient Rome wore white togas.
consulate: late 14c., "government of Rome by the consuls," from L. consulatus "office of a consul," from consul (see consul). Also used in reference to the consular government of France from 1799-1804. In reference to the office of a modern consul, from 1702.
disappoint: early 15c., "dispossess of appointed office," from M.Fr. desappointer (14c.) "undo the appointment, remove from office," from des- (see dis-) + appointer "appoint" (see appoint). Modern sense of "to frustrate expectations" (late 15c.) is from secondary meaning of "fail to keep an appointment." Related: Disappointing.
abdicate: 1540s, "to disown, disinherit (children)," from L. abdicatus, pp. of abdicare "to disown, disavow, reject" (specifically abdicare magistratu "renounce office"), from ab- "away" + dicare "proclaim," from stem of dicere "to speak, to say" (see diction). Meaning "divest oneself of office" first recorded 1610s. Related: Abdicated; abdicating.
official (n.): early 14c., from O.Fr. official (12c.), from L. officialis "attendant to a magistrate, public official," noun use of officialis (adj.) "of or belonging to duty, service, or office," from officium (see office). Meaning "person in charge of some public work or duty" first recorded 1550s. The adj. is first attested 1530s, from O.Fr. oficial, from L. officialis.
quondam: 1530s, from L., lit. "formerly," used in English as a noun meaning "former holder of some office or position."
warrant (n.): early 13c., "protector, defender," from O.N.Fr. warant (O.Fr. guarant), from Frankish *warand (cf. O.H.G. weren "to authorize, warrant," Ger. gewähren "to grant"), from P.Gmc. *war- "to warn, guard, protect," perhaps from PIE base *wer- "to cover" (cf. L. vereri "to observe with awe, revere, respect, fear;" Gk. ouros "watchman," horan "to see;" Hitt. werite- "to see;" see weir). Sense evolved via notion of "permission from a superior which protects one from blame or responsibility" (c.1300) to "document conveying authority" (1510s). A warrant office in the military is one who holds office by warrant, rather than by commission.
embassy: 1570s, "position of an ambassador," from M.Fr. embassee "mission, charge, office of ambassador," O.Fr. ambassee, from It. ambasciata, from O.Prov. ambaisada "office of ambassador," from Gaul. *ambactos "dependant, vassal," lit. "one going around," from PIE *amb(i)-ag-to, from *ambi- (see ambi-) + *ambi- "around" (see ambi-) + *ag- "to drive, move" (see act). Meaning "official residence and retinue of an ambassador" is from 1764. In earlier use were embassade (late 15c.), ambassade (early 15c.).
verge (n.): "edge, rim," mid-15c., from M.Fr. verge "rod or wand of office," hence "scope, territory dominated," from L. virga "shoot, rod stick," of unknown origin. Earliest attested sense in Eng. is now-obsolete meaning "male member, penis" (c.1400). Modern sense is from the notion of within the verge (c.1500, also as Anglo-Fr. dedeinz la verge), i.e. "subject to the Lord High Steward's authority" (as symbolized by the rod of office), originally a 12-mile radius round the king's court. Sense shifted to "the outermost edge of an expanse or area." Meaning "point at which something happens" (as in on the verge of) is first attested c.1600. "A very curious sense development." [Weekley]
deep-freeze: registered trademark (U.S. Patent Office, 1941) of a type of refrigerator; used generically for "cold storage" since 1949.
Eames: 1946, type of modern office chair, named for U.S. architect and designer Charles Eames (1907-1978).
Dacron: 1951, proprietary name (reg. U.S. Patent Office) by E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.; an invented word, on the model of nylon, etc.
CIA: U.S. civilian espionage agency, abbreviation of Central Intelligence Agency, founded 1947 as successor to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
hallmark: 1721, official stamp of purity in gold and silver articles, from Goldsmiths' Hall in London, site of the assay office. General sense of "mark of quality" first recorded 1864.
Reuters: news service begun in London 1851 by Baron Paul Julius von Reuter (1816-1899), founder of a telegraph office and pigeon post bureau in Aachen in 1849.
avoidance: late 14c., "action of emptying," from avoid (q.v.). Sense of "action of dodging" is recorded from c.1600; it also meant "action of making legally invalid," 1620s; "becoming vacant" (of an office, etc.), mid-15c.
Hooverville: 1933, Amer.Eng., from U.S. president Herbert C. Hoover, who was in office when the Depression began, + common place-name ending -ville.
readership: 1719, "office of a re4ader," from reader + -ship. Meaning "total number of readers of a publication" is from 1923.
displacement: 1610s, “removal from office;” see displace + -ment. Physics sense is from c.1810.
receptionist: "person hired to receive clients in an office," 1901, from reception + -ist.
air conditioner: from air (1) + agent n. from condition; along with air-conditioning, first attested 1909, originally an industrial process; main modern use in residences and office buildings is from 1930s.
staff: O.E. stæf "walking stick, strong pole used for carrying, rod used as a weapon" (also, in plural, "letter, character, writing," cf. stæfcræft "grammar"), from P.Gmc. *stabaz (cf. O.S. staf, O.N. stafr, O.Fris. stef, M.L.G., M.Du. staf, O.H.G. stab, Ger. Stab, Goth. *stafs "element;" M.Du. stapel "pillar, foundation"), from PIE base *stebh- "post, stem, to support, place firmly on, fasten" (cf. O.Lith. stabas "idol," Lith. stebas "staff, pillar;" O.C.S. stoboru "pillar;" Skt. stabhnati "supports;" Gk. stephein "to tie around, encircle, wreathe," staphyle "grapevine, bunch of grapes;" O.E. stapol "post, pillar"). Sense of "group of military officers that assists a commander" is attested from 1702, apparently from German, from the notion of the "baton" that is a badge of office or authority (a sense attested in English from 1530s). Meaning "group of employees (as at an office or hospital)" is first found 1837. The verb meaning "to provide with a staff of assistants" is from 1859. Staff of life "bread" is from the Biblical phrase "to break the staff of bread" (Lev. xxvi.26), transl. Heb. matteh lekhem.
tipstaff: 1540s, "tipped staff" (truncheon with a tip or cap of metal) carried as an emblem of office, from tip (n.) + staff. As the name of an official who carries one (esp. a sheriff's officer, bailiff, constable, court crier, etc.) it is recorded from 1560s.
nocturn: a division of the office of matins, early 13c., from M.L. nocturna, "group of Psalms used in the nocturns," from L. nocturnus (see nocturnal).
censorship: 1590s, "office of a censor," from censor + -ship. Meaning "action of censoring" is from 1856.
seniority: "priority on office or service," mid-15c.; see senior + -ity.
IRS: acronym of Internal Revenue Service, U.S. federal government tax collection agency, attested by 1954. The office dates to 1862; name changed 1953 from Bureau of Internal Revenue.
appointment: early 15c., "a pointing out," from O.Fr. apointment, from apointer (see appoint). Meaning "an arrangement to meet" is recorded from 1520s. Meaning "act of placing in office" is attested from 1650s.
ambitious: late 14c., from L. ambitiosus "going around to canvass for office," from ambitio (see ambition).
ministry: late 14c., "function of a priest," from L. ministerium "office, service," from minister (see minister). Began to be used 1916 as name of certain departments in British government.
interoffice: by 1934, from inter- + office.
actuary: 1550s, "registrar, clerk," from L. actuarius "copyist, account-keeper," from actus "public business" (see act). Modern insurance office meaning first recorded 1849. Related: Actuarial (1869).
officiant: 1844, from M.L. officiantem, prp. of officiare "perform religious services," from L. officium (see office).
papacy: late 14c., from M.L. papatia "papal office," from L.L. papa "pope" (see pope).
scullery: early 14c., "household department concerned with the care of kitchen utensils," from O.Fr. escuelerie "office of the servant in charge of plates, etc.," from escuelier "keeper of the dishes," from escuelle "dish," from L. scutella "serving platter, silver" (see scuttle (n.)).
bench: O.E. benc "long seat," from P.Gmc. *bankiz (cf. Da. bænk, M.Du. banc, O.H.G. banch). Used for "office of a judge" since late 13c. Sporting sense (in baseball, N.Amer. football, etc.) is from 1909; the verb meaning "to take out of the game" is from 1902.
resignation: late 14c., "act of resigning" (an office, etc.), from Fr. résignation (14c.), from M.L. resignationem, from L. resignare (see resign). Meaning "submission, acquiescence" is from 1640s.
coroner: late 12c., from Anglo-Fr. curuner, from L. custos placitorum coronae, originally the title of the officer with the duty of protecting the property of the royal family, from L. corona, lit. "crown" (see crown). The duties of the office gradually narrowed and by 17c. the chief function was to determine the cause of death in cases not obviously natural.
legacy: late 14c., "body of persons sent on a mission," from O.Fr. legacie "legate's office," from M.L. legatia, from L. legatus "ambassador, envoy," noun use of pp. of legare "appoint by a last will, send as a legate" (see legate). Sense of "property left by will" appeared in Scottish mid-15c.
placebo: early 13c., name given to the rite of Vespers of the Office of the Dead, so called from the opening of the first antiphon, "I will please the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm cxiv:9), from L. placebo "I shall please," future indic. of placere "to please" (see please). Medical sense is first recorded 1785, "a medicine given more to please than to benefit the patient." Placebo effect attested from 1950.
cleavage: 1816, in geology, "action of splitting (rocks or gems) along natural fissures," from cleave (1) + -age. General meaning "action or state of cleaving or being cleft" is from 1867. The sense of "cleft between a woman's breasts in low-cut clothing" is first recorded 1946, when it was defined in a "Time" magazine article [Aug. 5] as the "Johnston Office trade term for the shadowed depression dividing an actress' bosom into two distinct sections."
desk: mid-14c., from M.L. desca "table to write on" (mid-13c.), from L. discus "quoit, platter, dish," from Gk. diskos. The M.L. is perhaps via It. desco. Used figuratively of office or clerical work since 1797; desk job is first attested 1965.
magisterial: 1630s, from L. magisterialis "of or pertaining to the office of magistrate, director, or teacher," from magisterius "having authority of a magistrate," from magister "chief, director" (see master).
prorogue: early 15c., "to prolong, extend," from O.Fr. proroger (14c.), from L. prorogare, lit. "to ask publicly," from pro "before" (see pro-) + rogare "to ask" (see rogation). Perhaps the original sense in L. was "to ask for public assent to extending someone's term in office." Meaning "to discontinue temporarily" is attested from mid-15c.
predecessor: late 14c., "one who has held an office or position before the present holder," from L.L. prædecessorem (nom. prædecessor), c.420, from L. præ "before" + decessor "retiring official," from decess-, pp. stem of decedere "go away," also "die" (see decease). Meaning "ancestor, forefather" is recorded from c.1400.