- Today's Word
Officious
uh-FISH-uhs
Definition
- (adjective) Excessively eager to offer help or advice, often where it is not wanted; meddlesome.
Example
The officious receptionist constantly interrupted conversations to provide unsolicited opinions.
Fun Fact
“Officious” comes from the Latin officiosus, meaning “obliging” or “dutiful.” While its original sense was positive, the word’s modern meaning shifted toward unwanted or intrusive behavior. Its evolution mirrors how well-meaning actions can sometimes cross into annoyance.
(adjective) Deliberately untrustworthy and deceitful; guilty of betraying trust or breaking faith.
The perfidious advisor had been leaking confidential strategy to competitors for years, all while accepting promotions and praise from the company he was quietly destroying.
Perfidious derives from the Latin perfidiosus, meaning “treacherous,” rooted in perfidia — “faithlessness” — built from per- (“through” or “away”) and fides (“faith” or “trust”). The same root fides gives us fidelity, confide, and fiduciary — making perfidious the dark twin of an entire family of words built on trust and loyalty. It entered English in the 16th century and has carried its sense of calculated, deliberate betrayal ever since.