official is used to describe a person enforcing playing rules in the capacity of a assistant referee, referee and umpire; also specified by the discipline, e.g. American football official, ice hockey official. An official competition is created or recognized as valid by the competent body, is agreed to or arranged by people in positions of authority. It is synonymous, among others, with approved, certified, recognized, endorsed, and legitimate. Other The term officer is close to being a synonym (but has more military connotations). A functionary is someone who carries out a particular role within an organization; this again is quite a close synonym for official, as a noun, but with connotations closer to bureaucrat. Any such person acts in their official capacity, in carrying out the duties of their office; they are also said to officiate, for example, in a ceremony. A public official is an official of central or local government. Max Weber on bureaucratic officials Max Weber gave as definition of a bureaucratic official: they are personally free and appointed to their position on the basis of conduct he exercises the authority delegated to them in accordance with impersonal rules, and their loyalty is enlisted on behalf of the faithful execution of their official duties their appointment and job placement are dependent upon their technical qualifications their administrative work is a full-time occupation their work is rewarded by a regular salary and prospects of advancement in a lifetime career. An official must exercise their judgment and their skills, but their duty is to place these at the service of a higher authority; ultimately they are responsible only for the impartial execution of assigned tasks and must sacrifice their personal judgment if it runs counter to their official duties. Adjective As an adjective, "official" often, but not always, means pertaining to the government, as state employee or having state recognition, or analogous to governance or to a formal (especially legally regulated) proceeding as opposed to informal business. In summary, that has authenticity emanates from an authority. Some examples: An official holiday is a public holiday, having national (or regional) recognition. An official language is a language recognised by a government, for its own use in administration, or for delivering services to its citizens (for example, on signposts). An official spokesperson is an individual empowered to speak for the government, or some part of it such as a ministry, on