[PW] "Officer"

[swguardian-wombat at yahoo.com]

Officer used in the title police, sheriff, or corrections refers to the lowest rank. dates back to the 1880s. 
  ---------------------------------
   
  O.Fr. officer, from M.L. officarius, from L. officium (see office). The military sense is first recorded 1565. Applied to petty officials of justice from 16c.; U.S. use in ref. to policemen is from 1880s. 
   
  Online Etymology Dictionary 
  http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=officer 
  
JMGreen <jmgreen at sisna.com> wrote:
  
Often a law enforcement person is referred to as "Officer" 
-- sometimes even insists or this reference.

Is "officer" a title or a job description? Does it reflect on 
his/her rank ? Why should s/he be referred to as officer rather then 
say Mr/Miss? Especially since s/he usually refers to someone by the given name?

Just a reflection of too much TV.



J M Green
Email: MailTo:JMGreen at sisna.com
WWW: HTTP://users.sisna.com/JMGreen

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