functionary
official who performs a role, often routinely
Root
- funct: perform, carry out, or discharge a duty
Other words with the funct root
- function: purpose, role, or performance
- functional: working or serving a purpose
- perfunctory: done with little care or merely as routine
Functionary turns function into a person: an official defined by the role they perform.
The form had to be stamped by a minor functionary before anyone would read it.
Functionary often feels deliberately small. The person may have authority, but the word makes them sound like a moving part in a machine.