Bureaucratic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌbjʊəɹəˈkɹætɪk/

Definitions

1. Relating to a system of administration characterized by rigid procedures and a hierarchy of officials, which may lead to inefficiency in decision-making and a lack of personal touch in interactions
2. Pertaining to an organizational structure that emphasizes strict rules and formalities, potentially causing delays and impersonality in governance and administrative processes
3. Connected to an administrative system controlled by rigid regulations and a formal chain of command, often resulting in slow and impersonal operations

Etymology: The word's core ingredients are French, and the first of them is an ordinary piece of furniture. "Bureau" originally meant a coarse woollen cloth, from Old French "burel", which was used to cover writing desks, and by the 1600s the desk itself had taken the name. Officials who worked at such desks gave their name to the rule of the desk: "bureaucratie" was formed by attaching the Greek "-kratia" ("rule by" or "power of") to that furniture word, so it means something like "rule by the desk." The adjective came later. French "bureaucrate" and "bureaucratie" were in circulation by the 1800s, and "bureaucratique" was made from them with the suffix "-ique", which carries the sense "-ic" in English. English borrowed the adjective from that French form, and it is recorded in the 19th century, when governments were expanding their paperwork and their clerks. Spelling and pronunciation shifted in the process, with the English form keeping the French stress pattern and the "-ic" ending of the adjective.

Synonyms: administrative, official

Antonyms: unofficial, informal