officially
Meaning
in a formal and public way
according to a position of authority
Structure
Usage
the new law was officially enacted last week.
she was officially appointed as the company's director.
the results have not been officially confirmed.
Etymology
the word 'officially' originates from the latin noun 'officium', which combined 'opus' (work) and 'facere' (to do), thus literally meaning 'a doing of work' or 'service'. this evolved into old french 'office', entering middle english as 'office' to denote a position of duty or function. the adjective 'official' was formed by adding the suffix '-ial', meaning 'relating to an office'. finally, the adverb-forming suffix '-ly', of germanic origin, was appended to create 'officially', describing an action performed with formal authority or in accordance with established procedure.
Analysis
offic (from latin 'officium', meaning service, duty, function); ial (latin-derived suffix forming adjectives meaning 'of or pertaining to'); ly (old english-derived suffix forming adverbs from adjectives).