BUREAU, a writing-table or desk (from Fr. burel or bureau, a coarse cloth) . From the meaning of "desk," the word is applied to an office or place of business, and particularly a government de partment ; in the United States the term is used of certain subdi visions of the executive departments; e.g., the bureau of statistics, a division of the treasury department. The term "bureaucracy" signifies the concentration of administrative power in bureaux or departments, and the undue interference by officials in matters outside the scope of state interference.