What does gazetting mean?
Gazetting is the present participle of gazette, meaning to publish official information in a gazette, government record, or comparable formal publication. Typical subjects include appointments, regulations, notices, decrees, and public announcements. The word therefore suggests making something part of the official record rather than merely mentioning it informally. For example, a government may gazette a senior appointment or announce a new rule by gazetting the required notice. Gazetting is used in British and American English, though it is particularly familiar in British legal and administrative usage. The associated noun gazette originally referred to a printed periodical providing news, before developing into a name for official publications containing notices and announcements. Historically, the word descends from French gazette and Italian gazzetta, with its ultimate source associated with the Venetian term gazeta, meaning “little sheet.” Although less common than the everyday alternatives announcing or publishing, gazetting usefully emphasizes formality, official status, and public documentation.
verb (present participle)To publish or make known an announcement, appointment, decree, or other official information in a gazette or similar official publication.
- Publishing an announcement, appointment, decree, or other official information in a gazette or comparable official publication.
"The ministry spent the morning gazetting the names of its new senior appointments."
"The council is gazetting the proposed changes before the public consultation begins."
"Several appointments were announced on Friday, with the official notices gazetted the following morning."
From a Venetian “little sheet” to modern official notices, gazetting puts public news firmly on the record.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does gazetting come from?
The word entered English in the early 17th century from French gazette, ultimately from Italian gazzetta. Its Venetian source is generally connected with Venetian gazeta, “little sheet,” probably referring to inexpensive sheets carrying news; the term soon became associated with printed periodicals and official notices. In modern English, gazette functions both as a noun for a periodical or official publication and as a verb meaning to publish information in such a source.
Related word forms
How gazetting is actually used
The word has a formal legal, governmental, or administrative register. It is especially associated with official notices and appointments, rather than ordinary or informal news.