Dec 11 2019 28
Officious is an adjective that means meddlesome or overly eager to offer unwanted advice.
Our word of the day comes almost directly from the Latin word ‘officiosus (oh fish ee OH soos) meaning ‘obliging’ or ‘eager to serve.’ But in more recent centuries, officious has also come to mean ‘doing more than is asked or expected’ or ‘meddlesome.’
An example of the second meaning is: Larry is a great assistant, but he can get a little officious at times. For example, a few weeks ago, he not only delivered flowers to my wife when we had an argument, but he also apologized on my behalf.
