Közhivatalos

Közhivatalos is a Hungarian adjective meaning relating to a public office or public authority, or issued by a public administration. The term is formed from közhivatal, meaning a public office or civil service, combined with the suffix -os to create an adjective describing something as pertaining to that public institution or its actions.

In usage, közhivatalos appears mainly in formal, legal, or archival language. It can describe documents, notices, or statements originating from a government body rather than from private entities. For example, közhivatalos közlemény denotes an official communiqué issued by a public authority, and közhivatalos irat can refer to an official government document. The nuance emphasized by the word is the public, state, or administrative source rather than a private one.

In contemporary everyday Hungarian, közhivatalos is relatively rare and often overlapped with the more common hivatalos, especially when the public origin is implied. The distinction tends to matter in historical or bureaucratic texts where the emphasis is on the authority behind a document or action.

Etymology-wise, közhivatalos derives from közhivatal (public office) with the adjectival suffix -os, reinforcing its association with state or municipal administration and public service.

See also: hivatalos, közigazgatás, közhivatal.