functionary
UK /ˈfʌŋ(k).ʃn̩.(ə)ri/ · US /ˈfʌŋ(k).ʃəˌnɛ.ri/ noun
Forms functionaries
- noun A person employed as an official in a bureaucracy (usually corporate or governmental) who holds limited authority and primarily serves to carry out a simple function for which discretion is minimal or not required.
- noun Such a person who is petty, pedantic, short-sighted, uncaring, or counterproductive; sometimes also with implication of being amoral or corrupt.
Synonyms
bureaucrat official officer administrator apparatchik paper-pusher bean counter
Etymology
From French fonctionnaire; by surface analysis, function + -ary.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One charged with the performance of a function or office; as, a public functionary; secular functionaries.
Etymology [Cf. F. fonctionnaire.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “functionary”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details