functionary
Americannoun
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of functionary
Explanation
A functionary is someone who fills a specific role in a political party or some other organization. We tend to picture them as people in gray suits who follow the boss's orders and don't think for themselves. The origins of this word go back to the French Revolution, and specifically Napoleon. After conquering most of Europe, Napoleon needed lots of people to help carry out all the functions, or duties, of his huge, centralized state. To build an empire you need soldiers; to run an empire you need office workers. These desk knights, if you will, were called fonctionnaires.
Vocabulary lists containing functionary
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Left Hand of Darkness
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Around the World in Eighty Days
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When Southerners in Washington got the word, they rushed to the Old Public Functionary, who crushed out his cigar in the palm of his hand.
From Time Magazine Archive
Out in the potato country, Central Committee Functionary Bruno Wagner was told flatly by a farmer: "One ought to listen more to the West."
From Time Magazine Archive
And immediately official confidence was restored, for to the Lord Functionary Max as a reformer was still unknown, while his taste for frivolous diversion was more easily assumed.
From King John of Jingalo The Story of a Monarch in Difficulties by Housman, Laurence
The Lord High Functionary had put it bluntly to the Prime Minister.
From King John of Jingalo The Story of a Monarch in Difficulties by Housman, Laurence
The Lord Functionary seemed not so sure,—his assurance went, in fact, in quite an opposite direction.
From King John of Jingalo The Story of a Monarch in Difficulties by Housman, Laurence
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
