Officer
| n. | 1. | One who holds an office; a person lawfully invested with an office, whether civil, military, or ecclesiastical; | |||||||||
| 2. | (U. S. Mil.) Specifically, a commissioned officer, in distinction from a warrant officer or an enlisted man.
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| v. t. | 1. | To furnish with officers; to appoint officers over. | |||||||||
| 2. | To command as an officer; | ||||||||||
| Noun | 1. |  officer - any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command; "an officer is responsible for the lives of his men"Synonyms: military officer |
| 2. | officer - someone who is appointed or elected to an office and who holds a position of trust; "he is an officer of the court"; "the club elected its officers for the coming year" Synonyms: officeholder | |
| 3. |  officer - a member of a police force; "it was an accident, officer"Synonyms: police officer, policeman | |
| 4. | officer - a person authorized to serve in a position of authority on a vessel; "he is the officer in charge of the ship's engines" Synonyms: ship's officer | |
| Verb | 1. | officer - direct or command as an officer |
OFFICER. He who is lawfully invested with an office.
2. Officers may be classed into, 1. Executive; as the president of the
United States of America, the several governors of the different states.
Their duties are pointed out in the national constitution, and the
constitutions of the several states, but they are required mainly to cause
the laws to be executed and obeyed.
3.-2. The legislative; such as members of congress; and of the
several state legislatures. These officers are confined in their duties by
the constitution, generally to make laws, though sometimes in cases of
impeachment, one of the houses of the legislature exercises judicial
functions, somewhat similar to those of a grand jury by presenting to the
other articles of impeachment; and the other house acts as a court in trying
such impeachments. The legislatures have, besides the power to inquire into
the conduct of their members, judge of their elections, and the like.
4.-3. Judicial officers; whose duties are to decide controversies
between individuals, and accusations made in the name of the public against
persons charged with a violation of the law.
5.-4. Ministerial officers, or those whose duty it is to execute the
mandates, lawfully issued, of their superiors.
6.-5. Military officers, who have commands in the army; and
7.-6. Naval officers, who are in command in the navy.
8. Officers are required to exercise the functions which belong to
their respective offices. The neglect to do so, may, in some cases, subject
the offender to an indictment; 1 Yeates, R. 519; and in others, he will be
liable to the party injured. 1 Yeates, R. 506.
9. Officers are also divided into public officers and those who are not
public. Some officers may bear both characters; for example, a clergyman is
a public officer when he acts in the performance of such a public duty as
the marriage of two individuals; 4 Conn. 209; and he is merely a private
person when he acts in his more ordinary calling of teaching his
congregation. See 4 Conn. 134; 1 Apple. 155.