# officiate

> English word · Verb · IPA /əˈfiʃ.i.eɪt/ · frequency rank #44,970

## Definitions
1. To perform the functions of some office.
2. To serve as umpire or referee.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin officiātus, perfect participle of Late Latin officior (“to perform a function”) and of Medieval Latin officiō (“to officiate, say mass (9th cent.); to serve a church (13th cent.); to serve (early 13th c., 14th in British sources); to discharge an office (14th c.)”), from Latin officium (“official duty, service”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
The noun is derived from Medieval Latin officiātus (“monk in charge of a monastic office, official (start of 12th c., 14th in British sources)”), substantivized from the participle, see -ate (noun-forming suffix).

## Easily confused with
- **official** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/official-vs-officiate)
- **officials** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/officials-vs-officiate)

## Common misspellings (10)
`foficiate`, `offciiate`, `officaite`, `officciate`, `officiaet`, `officiatte`, `officitae`, `offiicate`, `oficiate`, `ofifciate`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/officiate