bureaucratese

noun

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ Proto-Hellenic *pāwər Ancient Greek πῦρ (pûr) Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Hellenic *-rós Ancient Greek -ρός (-rós) Ancient Greek πῠρρός (pŭrrhós)bor. Latin burrus Latin burra Old French *bure Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -ulus Latin -ellus Old French -el Old French burel French bureau Proto-Indo-European *kret- Ancient Greek κρᾰ́τος (krắtos) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek -κρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (-krătĭ́ā)lbor. French -cratie French bureaucratie French bureaucratebor. English bureaucrat Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-iskbor. Late Latin -iscus ▲ Vulgar Latin -iscus Latin -ēnsis Old French -eisbor. Middle English -eys English -ese English bureaucratese From bureaucrat + -ese.

Definitions

  1. A style of language, used by bureaucrats, that involves jargon or euphemism to the…

    A style of language, used by bureaucrats, that involves jargon or euphemism to the detriment of broader understanding.

    • Help you fill out the application for food stamps and other government programs, break down the discouraging bureaucratese.
  2. Wordy, ostentatious talk or writing that resembles bureaucratic writing.

    • The company president's annual statement was complete bureaucratese: it was utterly content-free.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for bureaucratese. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA