Both Uses of
officiate
in
Middlemarch
- There was something funereal in the whole affair, and Mr. Casaubon seemed to be the officiating clergyman, about whom it would be indecent to make remarks.†
Chpt 1 *officiating = acting in an official capacity
- Mr. Thesiger, a moderate evangelical, wished for the appointment of his friend Mr. Tyke, a zealous able man, who, officiating at a chapel of ease, had not a cure of souls too extensive to leave him ample time for the new duty.†
Chpt 2
Definition:
act in an official capacity -- such as when enforcing rules at a sports event or presiding over a wedding ceremony