off-, prefix
The adv. off occurs in combination with verbs, ppl. adjs., vbl. ns., and other ns. In earlier times, it was written of-, as explained under of- prefix 2; but such of the ME. compounds as survived into modern Eng. were then written off-, which is the only form found in recent compounds. In verbs, generally, the combination is very loose (see 1 below); in participles used as adjs. the union is closer, and in vbl. and other ns. it becomes permanent, though combinations of this kind can be formed at pleasure whenever the sense requires. In a few cases, the combination is so specialized in sense, or otherwise important, as to require treatment as a main word. In verbs, the stress is now usually upon the root; in the other classes (2–4) on ˈoff-.
1. With verbs, off- (ME. of-) enters into quasi-combination, chiefly as a separable particle, like Ger. ab- in ab-reisen, ab-schreiben, etc., in which the particle stands before the vb. only in certain syntactical conditions. In ME. of was frequently put before the vb. in the infinitive, as in of glide, of hew, and in this position (though usually written as a separate word in the MSS.) is often hyphened by modern editors (of-glide, of-hew); modern prose usage prefers the order glide off, hew off; but in the pples. the adv. is still sometimes put first, and is then sometimes hyphened to the vb. (as is regularly done in 2). ME. examples are the obsolete of-cwell, of-quell (to kill off), of-, off-drive, of-glide, of-hew, of-hurl, of-race (to pluck or tear off), of-rive, of-shear, of-shred, of-smite, of-swipe (to cut off with a sweep of the sword), of-tear, of-turn, of-twitch, of-weve (to twist off), of-wip (to whip off). Later examples are off-chop, of- off-shake, off-stand, off-trench, etc., but these are exemplified chiefly in the pa. pple., where the hyphen may be regarded as simply syntactical as in 2. See also off-drive, off-load, etc.
| a 1618 Sylvester Mem. Mortalitie xli, Her head shee felt with whiffing steel *off-chopt. |
| c 1200 Ormin 8104 Forr þatt teȝȝ sholldenn att hiss dæþ Þa riche menn *offcwellenn. |
| c 1275 Luue Ron 23 in O.E. Misc. 93 Pyne and deþ him wile *of-dryue. 1555–8 T. Phaer æneid. i. C ij b, With the light of torches great the darke ofdriue atones. |
| c 1400 Rowland & O. 475 The Nasell of his helme *of-glade. |
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 6474 Hondes [he] *ofhew heturly fast. |
| Ibid. 6722 His helme *of hurlit, & his hed bare. |
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 6704 þe strenthe of hungre sal þam swa chace Þat þair awen flesshe þai sal *of-race. |
| Ibid. 7379 And thair awen flessch *of-ryve and race. |
| 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 219 They not their sinnes..*of shake. a 1618 Sylvester Job Triumph. ii. 76 His fruit, yer ripe, shall be off-shaken all. 1892 Zangwill Childr. Ghetto II. 20 We rest not, but stand, Off-shaken our sloth. |
| c 1320 Sir Beues 816 (MS. A) A spanne of þe groin be-forn Wiþ is swerd he haþ *of schoren. 1533 Gau Richt Vay 58 Thay ar heretikis offchorne fra ye kirk of Christ. |
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 138 The leves let defoule in haste..And let *of schreden euery braunche. |
| c 1205 Lay. 26071 Arður..of-toc þene eotend..And þat þih him *of-smat [1275 of-smot]. |
| Ibid. 28721 Þe king mid his sweorde þat hefd him *of swipte. |
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 346 That he hire Pappes sholde *of tere Out of hire brest. |
| 1515 Barclay Egloges (1570) B v b, His nose and eares *off trenched were also. |
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 2590 William hent hastili þe hert, and meliors þe hinde, And as smartli as þei couþe þe skinnes *of turned. |
| c 1320 Sir Beues 3882 (MS. A) His sclauin ech palmer *of twiȝte. |
| c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 6883 Ther was mani heued *of weued. |
| a 1400 Sir Beues (MS. S) 868 Her heued *of wypt at a drauȝte. |
2. with
pres. and
pa. participles, forming
adjs. (stress on
off), as
ˈoff-bitten (
= bitten off),
off-shed,
off-sloping,
off-standing,
off-thrown, etc. (Such combinations are possible with any
pple. of suitable sense.) See also
off-lying.
| 1568 Turner Herbal iii. 43 It maye be called also Ofbiten, because a pece of the roote is biten of. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 47 The worlds whole throng of hard, wide, and off-standing bodies. 1813 Coleridge Remorse ii. i. 171 A small green dell Built all around with high off-sloping hills. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xlix. (1856) 466 It has surrounded us with the off-shed fragments of the floes. 1888 Leland Pract. Educ. i. 27 An offshooting twig. |
3. with
vbl. ns. and nouns of action, forming
ns., sometimes concrete (stress on
off):
ˈoff-cutting,
off-setting,
off-shaving,
off-standing,
off-taking,
off-turning;
off-fall,
off flow,
off-look, etc. See also
off-break,
off-falling,
offscouring, off-cut,
off-go, off-print,
offset, etc.
| 1565 Jewel Repl. Harding (1611) 182 The ofshauing of the World, and the vilest of all people. 1591 R. Bruce Serm. (1843) 223, I have..woven my web of life to the off-cutting. 1612 Woodall Surg. Mate Wks. (1653) 185 As it were off-scouring, or off-shavings of the intestines. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 87 Two such worlds would touch without any more ado; there being no off-standing betwixt them. 1796 Pegge Anonym. (1809) 352 Not imagining he could want any assistance on the off-setting. |
| 1724 R. Smith in Coll. Dying Testim. (1806) 214 Not⁓withstanding of Mr. Kid's..off-fall from us. 1881 Atlantic Monthly XLVIII. 520 The superb outlooks and offlooks from its windows and porch. |
4. a. with other
ns., usually with the sense, ‘lying or leading off from the main trunk, etc.’: as in
ˈoff-branch,
off-drain,
off-spur,
off-stream. By omission of the hyphen,
off comes to function as an
adj.: see
off a. Other compounds of
off- with
ns. appear in their alphabetical places.
| 1793 W. Chapman (title) Report..on the means of working Woodford River,..as an off-branch from the Lough-Erne and Ballyshannon Navigation. 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour II. 27 (Hoppe) The many off-streets and alleys which may be called the tributaries to those great second-hand marts. 1854 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XV. i. 67 Crooked off-spurs of flat land. 1876 Gladstone Homeric Synchr. 224 An off-stream from the river Styx. 1884 Kendal Merc. 8 Feb. 4/7 These smaller off-drains should be flushed into the main street drain. 1890 Antiquary XXII. 9 In an off-room is exhibited the Hermaphrodite statue. 1896 Westm. Gaz. 4 Mar. 7/2 A very significant announcement is hid away in an off-corner of the Daily Telegraph. |
b. With
ns. used
attrib. or as adj., as
off-course, situated or taking place away from a race-course;
off-design, that is not allowed for or expected; of or pertaining to such circumstances;
off-farm, produced or sold away from a farm;
off-gold, of a nation: not using the gold standard;
off-highway, of or pertaining to travel that is not on highways;
off-ice, of or pertaining to ice-hockey players when they are not engaged in a game;
off-pitch Mus., of a note: not of the correct pitch;
off-road, used or taking place away from roads;
off-site, occurring away from a site; removed from a site;
off-track, (
a) that is off one's intended route; (
b) done away from a race-track (
spec. of betting). See also main entries:
off-air, off-colour, etc.
| 1963 Times 7 Mar. 3/2 Those who bet on racecourses and have off-course businesses as well must include the net profit of the racecourse business when determining their category. 1964 A. Wykes Gambling viii. 195 In France, bookmaking is illegal; and the law against off⁓course, non-totalizator gambling is strictly enforced. 1977 Times 2 Apr. 14/2 If it [sc. the Tote] had a monopoly of off-course betting..it could provide..{pstlg}35m a year for racing. |
| 1962 S. L. Bragg Rocket Engines ii. 34 Its performance at off-design pressure ratios is better than that of a conventional nozzle. 1972 Lebende Sprachen XVII. 134/1 Motors designed for high altitude use are frequently tested under off-design conditions. |
| 1962 Economist 24 Mar. 1098/2 Target prices for off-farm dairy products..are pitched at a much lower level. 1963 Times 11 Jan. 9/3 In agriculture the slow progress of both total output and off-farm sales has meant that the income of the collective farm economy has not risen fast enough. |
| 1935 Economist 20 Apr. 900/2 The bulk of their trade is done with off-gold countries, and in commodities whose prices are determined by conditions in those off-gold countries. 1961 Engineering 10 Nov. 626 The problem of off-highway mobility. 1968 Globe Mag. (Toronto) 17 Feb. 5 There are now lucrative possibilities in many parts of North America for Leafs who once sold their off-ice services, personal appearances and so on very cheap. |
| 1945 Off-pitch [see blue a. 3 d]. 1961 Engineering 10 Nov. 628 Spheres of off-road and industrial haulage. 1968 Economist 21 Sept. 82/2 The new engine..is more suited..to off-road vehicles (dump trucks and earth movers of all sorts). 1973 Observer (Colour Suppl.) 2 Sept. 51/3 Off-road racing started in California about seven years ago with the development of beach buggies and other fun cars. 1975 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 11 Apr. 16/2 Off-road and recreational vehicles are becoming more and more popular. |
| 1969 Ibid. 22 Feb. 14/2 Anybody involved in a fight is automatically ‘off site’ on the next plane. In other words all parties involved lose not only their jobs but their accommodation and have to find a new town. 1970 Guardian 22 Aug. 2/4 Underground nuclear explosions in Nevada..would have negligible off-site effects. |
| 1956 Wallis & Blair Thunder Above (1959) i. 7 He could have deviated up into Scotland for an off-track landing at Prestwick. 1964 A. Wykes Gambling 340 Whereas the on-track betting turnover was the equivalent of $64,680,000, off-track betting brought in $65,240,000. The only legal way to make an off-track bet is through the Totalization Agency Board. 1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 26 Sept. B1/1 Very little of the money bet through off-track messenger betting shops reaches the pari-mutuel machines. 1976 Times 20 Mar. 14/6 Many off-track activities including a concours d'elegance of classic road cars. |
5. Prefixed to the names of colours to denote colours that are almost the same as the colour specified, as
off-black,
off-green,
off-yellow; also
off-white n. and a.
| 1927, etc. [see off-white n. and a.]. 1930 Daily Express 8 Sept. 5 One of the new off-black shades.., a sort of unripe blackberry colour, is used for the third model. 1958 J. Betjeman Coll. Poems 250 The walls are alternately painted Off-yellow and festival mauve. 1960 Guardian 9 Dec. 8/5 A feeling for the gentler blues and off-greens. 1978 Detroit Free Press 2 Apr. 10D (Advt.), Colors included..nocturne (off-black). |