Of, prep. [AS. of of, from, off; akin to D. & OS. a. , G. a. off, OHG. aba from, away, Icel., Dan., Sw., & Goth. a. , L. a. , Gr., Skr. apa. Cf. Off, A- (2), Ab-, After, Epi-.] In a general sense, from, or out from; proceeding from; belonging to; relating to; concerning; — used in a variety of applications; as:
1. Denoting that from which anything proceeds; indicating origin, source, descent, and the like; as he is of a race of kings; he is of noble blood.
"That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Luke i. 35.
"I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you." 1 Cor. xi. 23.
2. Denoting possession or ownership, or the relation of subject to attribute; as the apartment of the consul: the power of the king; a man of courage; the gate of heaven. "Poor of spirit." Macaulay.
3. Denoting the material of which anything is composed, or that which it contains; as a throne of gold; a sword of steel; a wreath of mist; a cup of water.
4. Denoting part of an aggregate or whole; belonging to a number or quantity mentioned; out of; from amongst; as of this little he had some to spare; some of the mines were unproductive; most of the company.
"It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed." Lam. iii. 22.
"It is a duty to communicate of those blessings we have received." Franklin.
5. Denoting that by which a person or thing is actuated or impelled; also the source of a purpose or action; as they went of their own will; no body can move of itself; he did it of necessity.
"For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts." Josh. xi. 20.
6. Denoting reference to a thing; about; concerning; relating to; as to boast of one’s achievements.
"Knew you of this fair work?" Shak.
7. Denoting nearness or distance, either in space or time; from; as within a league of the town; within an hour of the appointed time.
8. Denoting identity or equivalence; — used with a name or appellation, and equivalent to the relation of apposition; as the continent of America; the city of Rome; the Island of Cuba.
9. Denoting the agent, or person by whom, or thing by which, anything is, or is done; by.
"And told to her of [by] some." Chaucer.
"He taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all." Luke iv. 15.
"[Jesus] being forty days tempted of the devil." Luke iv. 1, 2. The use of the word in this sense, as applied to persons, is nearly obsolete.
10. Denoting relation to place or time; belonging to, or connected with; as men of Athens; the people of the Middle Ages; in the days of Herod.
11. Denoting passage from one state to another; from. [Obs.] "O miserable of happy." Milton.
12. During; in the course of.
"Not be seen to wink of all the day." Shak.
"My custom always of the afternoon." Shak. Of may be used in a subjective or an objective sense. "The love of God" may mean, our love for God, or God’s love for us. From is the primary sense of this preposition; a sense retained in off, the same word differently written for distinction. But this radical sense disappears in most of its application; as a man of genius; a man of rare endowments; a fossil of a red color, or of an hexagonal figure; he lost all hope of relief; an affair of the cabinet; he is a man of decayed fortune; what is the price of corn? In these and similar phrases, of denotes property or possession, or a relation of some sort involving connection. These applications, however all proceeded from the same primary sense. That which proceeds from, or is produced by, a person or thing, either has had, or still has a close connection with the same; and hence the word was applied to cases of mere connection, not involving at all the idea of separation. Of consequence, of importance, value, or influence. — Of late, recently; in time not long past. — Of old, formerly; in time long past. — Of one’s self, by one’s self; without help or prompting; spontaneously.
"Why, knows not Montague, that of itself
England is safe, if true within itself?" Shak.
Off, adv. [OE. of, orig. the same word as R. of, prep., AS. of, adv. & prep. rad.194. See Of.] In a general sense, denoting from or away from; as:
1. Denoting distance or separation; as the house is a mile off.
2. Denoting the action of removing or separating; separation; as to take off the hat or cloak; to cut off, to pare off, to clip off, to peel off, to tear off, to march off, to fly off, and the like.
3. Denoting a leaving, abandonment, departure, abatement, interruption, or remission; as the fever goes off; the pain goes off; the game is off; all bets are off.
4. Denoting a different direction; not on or towards: away; as to look off.
5. Denoting opposition or negation. [Obs.]
"The questions no way touch upon puritanism, either off or on." Bp. Sanderson.From off, off from; off. "A live coal … taken with the tongs from off the altar." Is. vi. 6. — Off and on. (a) Not constantly; not regularly; now and then; occasionally. (b) (Naut.) On different tacks, now toward, and now away from, the land. — To be off. (a) To depart; to escape; as he was off without a moment’s warning. (b) To be abandoned, as an agreement or purpose; as the bet was declared to be off. [Colloq.] — To come off, To cut off, To fall off, To go off, etc. See under Come, Cut, Fall, Go, etc. — To get off. (a) To utter; to discharge; as to get off a joke. (b) To go away; to escape; as to get off easily from a trial. [Colloq.] — To take off, to mimic or personate. — To tell off (Mil.), to divide and practice a regiment or company in the several formations, preparatory to marching to the general parade for field exercises. Farrow. — To be well off, to be in good condition. — To be ill off, To be badly off, to be in poor condition.
Off, interj. Away; begone; — a command to depart.
Off, prep. Not on; away from; as to be off one’s legs or off the bed; two miles off the shore. Addison. Off hand. See Offhand. — Off side (Football), out of play; — said when a player has got in front of the ball in a scrimmage, or when the ball has been last touched by one of his own side behind him. — To be off color, to be of a wrong color. — To be off one’s food, to have no appetite. (Colloq.)
Off, a.
1. On the farther side; most distant; on the side of an animal or a team farthest from the driver when he is on foot; in the United States, the right side; as the off horse or ox in a team, in distinction from the nigh or near horse or ox; the off leg.
2. Designating a time when one is not strictly attentive to business or affairs, or is absent from his post, and, hence, a time when affairs are not urgent; as he took an off day for fishing: an off year in politics. "In the off season." Thackeray. Off side. (a) The right hand side in driving; the farther side. See Gee. (b) (Cricket) See Off, n.
Off, n. (Cricket) The side of the field that is on the right of the wicket keeper.
Offend
Of•fend, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Offended; p. pr. & vb. n. Offending.] [OF. offendre, L. offendere, offensum; ob (see Ob-) + fendere (in comp.) to thrust, dash. See Defend.]
1. To strike against; to attack; to assail. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.
2. To displease; to make angry; to affront.
"A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city." Prov. xviii. 19.
3. To be offensive to; to harm; to pain; to annoy; as strong light offends the eye; to offend the conscience.
4. To transgress; to violate; to sin against. [Obs.]
"Marry, sir, he hath offended the law." Shak.
5. (Script.) To oppose or obstruct in duty; to cause to stumble; to cause to sin or to fall. [Obs.]
"Who hath you misboden or offended." Chaucer.
"If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out … And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off." Matt. v. 29, 3O.
"Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them." Ps. cxix. 165.
Offendress
Of•fend´ress, n. A woman who offends. Shak. { Of•fense´, Of•fence´ }, n. [F., fr. L. offensa. See Offend.]
1. The act of offending in any sense; esp., a crime or a sin, an affront or an injury.
"Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification." Rom. iv. 25.
"I have given my opinion against the authority of two great men, but I hope without offense to their memories." Dryden.
2. The state of being offended or displeased; anger; displeasure.
"He was content to give them just cause of offense, when they had power to make just revenge." Sir P. Sidney.
3. A cause or occasion of stumbling or of sin. [Obs.]
"Woe to that man by whom the offense cometh!" Matt. xviii. 7. This word, like expense, is often spelled with a c. It ought, however, to undergo the same change with expense, the reasons being the same, namely, that s must be used in offensive as in expensive, and is found in the Latin offensio, and the French offense. To take offense, to feel, or assume to be, injured or affronted; to become angry or hostile. — Weapons of offense, those which are used in attack, in distinction from those of defense, which are used to repel.
Syn. — Displeasure; umbrage; resentment; misdeed; misdemeanor; trespass; transgression; delinquency; fault; sin; crime; affront; indignity; outrage; insult.
Offenseful
Of•fense´ful, a. Causing offense; displeasing; wrong; as an offenseful act. [R.]
Offension
Of•fen´sion, n. [OF., fr. L. offensio an offense.] Assault; attack. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Offensive
Of•fen´sive, a. [Cf.F. offensif. See Offend.]
1. Giving offense; causing displeasure or resentment; displeasing; annoying; as offensive words.
2. Giving pain or unpleasant sensations; disagreeable; revolting; noxious; as an offensive smell; offensive sounds. "Offensive to the stomach." Bacon.
3. Making the first attack; assailant; aggressive; hence, used in attacking; — opposed to defensive; as an offensive war; offensive weapons. League offensive and defensive, a leaque that requires all the parties to it to make war together against any foe, and to defend one another if attacked.
Syn. — Displeasing; disagreeable; distasteful; obnoxious; abhorrent; disgusting; impertinent; rude; saucy; reproachful; opprobrious; insulting; insolent; abusive; scurrilous; assailant; attacking; invading. — Of•fen´sive•ly, adv. — Of•fen´sive•ness, n.
Offer
Of´fer, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Offered p. pr. & vb. n. Offering.] [OE. offren, AS. offrian to sacrifice, fr. L. offerre; ob (see OB-) + ferre to bear, bring. The English word was influenced by F. offrir to offer, of the same origin. See 1st Bear.]
1. To present, as an act of worship; to immolate; to sacrifice; to present in prayer or devotion; — often with up.
"Thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement." Ex. xxix. 36.
"A holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices." 1 Pet. ii. 5.
2. To bring to or before; to hold out to; to present for acceptance or rejection; as to offer a present, or a bribe; to offer one’s self in marriage.
"I offer thee three things." 2 Sam. xxiv. 12.
3. To present in words; to proffer; to make a proposal of; to suggest; as to offer an opinion. With the infinitive as an objective: To make an offer; to declare one’s willingness; as he offered to help me.
4. To attempt; to undertake.
"All that offer to defend him." Shak.
5. To bid, as a price, reward, or wages; as to offer a guinea for a ring; to offer a salary or reward.
6. To put in opposition to; to manifest in an offensive way; to threaten; as to offer violence, attack, etc.
Syn. — To propose; propound; move; proffer; tender; sacrifice; immolate.
Offer
Of´fer, n. [Cf. F. offre, fr. offrir to offer, fr. L. offerre. See Offer, v. t.]
1. The act of offering, bringing forward, proposing, or bidding; a proffer; a first advance. "This offer comes from mercy." Shak.
2. That which is offered or brought forward; a proposal to be accepted or rejected; a sum offered; a bid.
"When offers are disdained, and love denied." Pope.
3. Attempt; endeavor; essay; as he made an offer to catch the ball. "Some offer and attempt." South.
Offerable
Of´fer•a•ble, a. Capable of being offered; suitable or worthy to be offered.
Offerer
Of´fer•er, n. One who offers; esp., one who offers something to God in worship. Hooker.
Offering
Of´fer•ing, n.
1. The act of an offerer; a proffering.
2. That which is offered, esp. in divine service; that which is presented as an expiation or atonement for sin, or as a free gift; a sacrifice; an oblation; as sin offering.
"They are polluted offerings more abhorred
Than spotted livers in the sacrifice." Shak.
3. A sum of money offered, as in church service; as a missionary offering. Specif.: (Ch. of Eng.) Personal tithes payable according to custom, either at certain seasons as Christmas or Easter, or on certain occasions as marriages or christenings.
"[None] to the offering before her should go." Chaucer. Burnt offering, Drink offering, etc. See under Burnt. etc.
Office
Of´fice, n. [F., fr. L. officium, for opificium; ops ability, wealth, holp + facere to do or make. See Opulent, Fact.]
1. That which a person does, either voluntarily or by appointment, for, or with reference to, others; customary duty, or a duty that arises from the relations of man to man; as kind offices, pious offices.
"I would I could do a good office between you." Shak.
2. A special duty, trust, charge, or position, conferred by authority and for a public purpose; a position of trust or authority; as an executive or judical office; a municipal office.
3. A charge or trust, of a sacred nature, conferred by God himself; as the office of a priest under the old dispensation, and that of the apostles in the new.
"Inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office." Rom. xi. 13.
4. That which is performed, intended, or assigned to be done, by a particular thing, or that which anything is fitted to perform; a function; — answering to duty in intelligent beings.
"They [the eyes] resign their office and their light." Shak.
"Hesperus, whose office is to bring
Twilight upon the earth." Milton.
"In this experiment the several intervals of the teeth of the comb do the office of so many prisms." Sir I. Newton.
5. The place where a particular kind of business or service for others is transacted; a house or apartment in which public officers and others transact business; as the register’s office; a lawyer’s office.
6. The company or corporation, or persons collectively, whose place of business is in an office; as I have notified the office.
7. pl. The apartments or outhouses in which the domestics discharge the duties attached to the service of a house, as kitchens, pantries, stables, etc. [Eng.]
"As for the offices, let them stand at distance." Bacon.
8. (Eccl.) Any service other than that of ordination and the Mass; any prescribed religious service.
"This morning was read in the church, after the office was done, the declaration setting forth the late conspiracy against the king’s person." Evelyn. Holy office. Same as Inquisition, n. , 3. — Houses of office. Same as def. 7 above. Chaucer. — Little office (R.C.Ch.), an office recited in honor of the Virgin Mary. — Office bearer, an officer; one who has a specific office or duty to perform. — Office copy (Law), an authenticated or certified copy of a record, from the proper office. See Certified copies, under Copy. Abbott. — Office- found (Law), the finding of an inquest of office. See under Inquest. — Office holder. See Officeholder in the Vocabulary
Office
Of•fice, v. t. To perform, as the duties of an office; to discharge. [Obs.] Shak.
Officeholder
Of´fice•hold´er, n. An officer, particularly one in the civil service; a placeman.
Officer
Of´fi•cer, n. [F. officier. See Office, and cf. Official, n. ]
1. One who holds an office; a person lawfully invested with an office, whether civil, military, or ecclesiastical; as a church officer; a police officer; a staff officer. "I am an officer of state." Shak.
2. (U. S. Mil.) Specifically, a commissioned officer, in distinction from a warrant officer. Field officer, General officer, etc. See under Field, General. etc. — Officer of the day (Mil.), the officer who, on a given day, has charge for that day of the quard, prisoners, and police of the post or camp. — Officer of the deck, or Officer of the watch (Naut.), the officer temporarily in charge on the deck of a vessel, esp. a war vessel.
Officer
Of´fi•cer, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Officered p. pr. & vb. n. Officering.]
1. To furnish with officers; to appoint officers over. Marshall.
2. To command as an officer; as veterans from old regiments officered the recruits.
Official
Of•fi´cial, a. [L. officialis: cf. F. officiel. See Office, and cf. Official, n. ]
1. Of or pertaining to an office or public trust; as official duties, or routine.
"That, in the official marks invested, you
Anon do meet the senate." Shak.
2. Derived from the proper office or officer, or from the proper authority; made or communicated by virtue of authority; as an official statement or report.
3. (Pharm.) Approved by authority; sanctioned by the pharmacopœia; appointed to be used in medicine; as an official drug or preparation. Cf. Officinal.
4. Discharging an office or function. [Obs.]
"The stomach and other parts official unto nutrition." Sir T. Browne.
Official
Of•fi´cial, n. [L. officialis a magistrate’s servant or attendant: cf.F. official. See Official, a. , and cf. Officer.]
1. One who holds an office; esp., a subordinate executive officer or attendant.
2. An ecclesiastical judge appointed by a bishop, chapter, archdeacon, etc., with charge of the spiritual jurisdiction. Blackstone.
Officiality
Of•fi•ci•al´i•ty (of•fish•i•al"i•ty), n. See Officialty.
Officiant
Of•fi´ciant, n. [L. officians, p. pr. See Officiate.] (Eccl.) The officer who officiates or performs an office, as the burial office. Shipley.
Officiary
Of•fi´ci•a•ry, a. Of or pertaining to an office or an officer; official. [R.] Heylin.
Officiate
Of•fi´ci•ate, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Officiated p. pr. & vb. n. Officiating.] [LL. officiare. See Office.] To act as an officer in performing a duty; to transact the business of an office or public trust; to conduct a public service. Bp. Stillingfleet.
Officinal
Of•fic´i•nal, a. [F., fr. L. officina a workshop, contr.fr. opificina, fr. opifex a workman; opus work + facere to make or do.]
1. Used in a shop, or belonging to it. [Obs. or R.] Johnson.
2. (Pharm.) Kept in stock by apothecaries; — said of such drugs and medicines as may be obtained without special preparation or compounding; not magistral. This term is often interchanged with official, but in strict use officinal drugs are not necessarily official. See Official, a. , 3.
Officious
Of•fi´cious, a. [L. officiosus: cf.F. officieux. See Office.]
1. Pertaining to, or being in accordance with, duty. [R.]
"If there were any lie in the case, it could be no more than as officious and venial one." Note on Gen. xxvii. (Douay version).
2. Disposed to serve; kind; obliging. [Archaic]
"Yet not to earth are those bright luminaries Officious." Milton.
"They were tolerably well bred, very officious, humane, and hospitable." Burke.
3. Importunately interposing services; intermeddling in affairs in which one has no concern; meddlesome.
"You are too officious
In her behalf that scorns your services." Shak.
Syn. — Impertinent; meddling. See Impertinent. — Of•fi´cious•ly, adv. — Of•fi´cious•ness, n.
Offing
Off´ing, n. [From Off.] That part of the sea at a good distance from the shore, or where there is deep water and no need of a pilot; also distance from the shore; as the ship had ten miles offing; we saw a ship in the offing.
Offscum
Off´scum, n. [ Off + scum.] Removed scum; refuse; dross.
Offset
Off´set, n. [ Off + set. Cf. Set-off.] In general, that which is set off, from, before, or against, something; as: —
1. (Bot.) A short prostrate shoot, which takes root and produces a tuft of leaves, etc. See Illust. of Houseleek.
2. A sum, account, or value set off against another sum or account, as an equivalent; hence, anything which is given in exchange or retaliation; a set-off.
3. A spur from a range of hills or mountains.
4. (Arch.) A horizontal ledge on the face of a wall, formed by a diminution of its thickness, or by the weathering or upper surface of a part built out from it; — called also set-off.
5. (Surv.) A short distance measured at right angles from a line actually run to some point in an irregular boundary, or to some object.
6. (Mech.) An abrupt bend in an object, as a rod, by which one part is turned aside out of line, but nearly parallel, with the rest; the part thus bent aside.
7. (Print.) A more or less distinct transfer of a printed page or picture to the opposite page, when the pages are pressed together before the ink is dry or when it is poor. Offset staff (Surv.), a rod, usually ten links long, used in measuring offsets.
Offset
Off•set´, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Offset; p. pr. & vb. n. Offsetting.]
1. To set off; to place over against; to balance; as to offset one account or charge against another.
2. To form an offset in, as in a wall, rod, pipe, etc.
Offshore
Off´shore´, a. From the shore; as an offshore wind; an offshore signal.
Offspring
Off´spring, n.sing. & pl. [ Off + spring.]
1. The act of production; generation. [Obs.]
2. That which is produced; a child or children; a descendant or descendants, however remote from the stock.
"To the gods alone
Our future offspring and our wives are known." Dryden.
3. Origin; lineage; family. [Obs.] Fairfax. { Of•fus´cate, Of•fus•ca•tion }. See Obfuscate, Obfuscation. [Obs.]
Oft (oft; 115), adv. [AS. oft; akin to OS. & G. oft, OHG. ofto, Sw. ofta, Dan. ofte, Icel. opt, Goth. ufta; of uncertain origin. Cf. Often.] Often; frequently; not rarely; many times. [Poetic] Chaucer.
"Oft she rejects, but never once offends." Pope.
Often
Of•ten, adv. [ Compar. Oftener superl. Oftenest.] [Formerly also ofte, fr. oft. See Oft., adv. ] Frequently; many times; not seldom.
Oftentide
Of´ten•tide´, adv. [ Often + tide time.] Frequently; often. [Obs.] Robert of Brunne.
Oftentimes
Of´ten•times, adv. [ Often + time. Cf. -wards.] Frequently; often; many times. Wordsworth.
Ofter
Oft´er, adv. Compar. of Oft. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Ofttimes
Oft´times, adv. [ Oft + time. Cf. -wards.] Frequently; often. Milton.