attaché

[ a-ta-shey, at-uh-or, especially British, uh-tash-ey ]

noun

1. a diplomatic official attached to an embassy or legation, especially in a technical capacity:

   a commercial attaché;

   a cultural attaché.

2. a military officer who is assigned to a diplomatic post in a foreign country in order to gather military information:

   an air attaché;

   an army attaché;

   a naval attaché.

3. Also attache. attaché case.

attaché

/ ataʃe; əˈtæʃeɪ /

noun

1. a specialist attached to a diplomatic mission

   military attaché

2. a junior member of the staff of an embassy or legation

attaché

1. A diplomatic officer attached to an embassy or consulate. Most attachés have specialties, such as military attachés, cultural attachés, economic attachés, and so forth.

Notes

Some nations disguise spies as attachés.

Word History and Origins

Origin of attaché¹

1825–35; < French: literally, attached, past participle of attacher to attach

Word History and Origins

Origin of attaché¹

C19: from French: someone attached (to a mission), from attacher to attach

Example Sentences

Diplomatic wheels turn slowly, and not only are the countries that will receive attachés not selected, no timeline for when those officers would be dispatched into the field has been set.

From Time

The biggest decision the Space Force faces at the moment is how widespread the diplomatic corps will be and which host countries will get an attaché.

From Time

Her father, Josef, was a member of the Czechoslovak Foreign Service and served as press attaché in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and later became ambassador to Yugoslavia.

From Washington Blade

I had a very old, rather beautiful leather attaché case, which I thought was exactly the sort of thing that a spy would wander around in.

From Freakonomics

A tutor at college and a Museum attache; very jocular; given to personal witticisms, which were often aimed at Goriot.

From Project Gutenberg

On n'y apprend rien de nouveau, et cependant il attache et intresse.

From Project Gutenberg

He was no less a personage than the attache, of whom she had written to Pamela, and his name was Victor Maurien.

From Project Gutenberg

In the discussion which followed the conclusion of the story of the Naval Attache the gentleman with the pearl took no part.

From Project Gutenberg

He caught up his glass, and slapped the Naval Attache violently upon the shoulder.

From Project Gutenberg

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