functionary
官僚・役人
解説 Definition
組織内で定められた役割を遂行する役人や職員のこと。特に官僚的な立場の人。
A functionary is a person who performs official duties, especially in a government office or a large organization. The word often suggests someone with a formal role but not much independence or importance. It is usually a formal word and can sound slightly negative.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
function を見たらまず「機能」よりも「役割・職務」を連想する。functionary は、その役割を組織の中で淡々と果たす人で、自由に判断する leader というより、規則に従って動く bureaucratic な役人・職員の像で覚えるとよい。official や civil servant に近いが、やや「お役所的で形式的」な響きがある。party functionary のように組織の幹部職員にも使う。functional と形が似ているので混同注意。
Start from `function`, but think of it as "role" or "duty," not just "purpose." A `functionary` is someone whose job is to carry out an official role inside an organization, often in a formal or bureaucratic way. It is close to `official`, but with a colder, more mechanical feeling.
例文
The low-level functionary could not approve the request without authorization from above.
下級の役人は上からの許可なしにその要請を承認できなかった。
Every functionary in the organization had a clearly defined set of responsibilities.
その組織のすべての職員には、明確に定められた一連の責任があった。
He spent thirty years as a government functionary before retiring with a modest pension.
彼は30年間官僚として勤め、ささやかな年金で退職した。
functionary の類義語・関連語
functionary の語源・成り立ち Etymology
functionary は function に人を表す -ary がついた語で、function はラテン語 fungi「果たす」に由来します。funct- は『役目を果たす』なので、functionary は『機能を遂行する人』、とくに官僚的な役人を指し、defunct も同根です。
Functionary comes from function plus the ending -ary, which often marks a person connected with something. Function goes back to Latin fungi, meaning "to perform" or "carry out," with funct- as its past-participle base. So a functionary was originally a person who performs a duty, and it later gained a more official or bureaucratic sense; defunct comes from the same root.
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