Houses of office

Office \Of"fice\, n. [F., fr. L. officium, for opificium; ops
   ability, wealth, help + facere to do or make. See {Opulent},
   {Fact}.]
   1. That which a person does, either voluntarily or by
      appointment, for, or with reference to, others; customary
      duty, or a duty that arises from the relations of man to
      man; as, kind offices, pious offices.
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            I would I could do a good office between you.
                                                  --Shak.
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   2. A special duty, trust, charge, or position, conferred by
      authority and for a public purpose; a position of trust or
      authority; as, an executive or judical office; a municipal
      office.
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   3. A charge or trust, of a sacred nature, conferred by God
      himself; as, the office of a priest under the old
      dispensation, and that of the apostles in the new.
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            Inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I
            magnify mine office.                  --Rom. xi. 13.
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   4. That which is performed, intended, or assigned to be done,
      by a particular thing, or that which anything is fitted to
      perform; a function; -- answering to duty in intelligent
      beings.
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            They [the eyes] resign their office and their light.
                                                  --Shak.
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            Hesperus, whose office is to bring
            Twilight upon the earth.              --Milton.
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            In this experiment the several intervals of the
            teeth of the comb do the office of so many prisms.
                                                  --Sir I.
                                                  Newton.
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   5. The place where any kind of business or service for others
      is transacted; a building, suite of rooms, or room in
      which public officers or workers in any organization
      transact business; as, the register's office; a lawyer's
      office; the doctor's office; the Mayor's office.
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   6. The company or corporation, or persons collectively, whose
      place of business is in an office; as, I have notified the
      office.
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   7. pl. The apartments or outhouses in which the domestics
      discharge the duties attached to the service of a house,
      as kitchens, pantries, stables, etc. [Eng.]
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            As for the offices, let them stand at distance.
                                                  --Bacon.
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   8. (Eccl.) Any service other than that of ordination and the
      Mass; any prescribed religious service.
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            This morning was read in the church, after the
            office was done, the declaration setting forth the
            late conspiracy against the king's person. --Evelyn.
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   {Holy office}. Same as {Inquisition}, n., 3.

   {Houses of office}. Same as def. 7 above. --Chaucer.

   {Little office} (R. C. Ch.), an office recited in honor of
      the Virgin Mary.

   {Office bearer}, an officer; one who has a specific office or
      duty to perform.

   {Office copy} (Law), an authenticated or certified copy of a
      record, from the proper office. See {Certified copies},
      under {Copy}. --Abbott.

   {Office-found} (Law), the finding of an inquest of office.
      See under {Inquest}.

   {Office holder}. See {Officeholder} in the Vocabulary

   {Office hours}. the hours of the day during which business is
      transacted at an office[5].

   {Office seeker}. a person who is attempting to get elected to
      an elected office, or to get an appointment to an
      appointive public office.
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