off
Pronunciation: /ɒf/
The English word “off” has 20 meanings listed here.
adverb
- In a direction away from the speaker or other reference point.
- Into a state of non-operation or non-existence.
- So as to remove or separate, or be removed or separated.
- Specifying the number of some item in bills, parts lists, etc.
- Offstage.
- Used in various other ways specific to individual idiomatic phrases, e.g. bring off, show off, put off, tell off, etc. See the entry for the individual phrase.
adjective
- Inoperative, disabled.
- Cancelled; not happening.
- Not fitted; not being worn.
- Not correct; not properly formed; not logical, harmonious, etc.
- Inappropriate; untoward.
- Less than normal, in temperament or in result.
- Designating a time when one is not performing to the best of one's abilities.
- Rancid, rotten, gone bad.
- Disgusting, repulsive, abhorrent.
- Circumstanced.
- Started on the way.
- Far; off to the side.
- Temporarily not attending a usual place, such as work or school, especially owing to illness or holiday.
- Designating a time when one is not strictly attentive to business or affairs, or is absent from a post, and, hence, a time when affairs are not urgent.
Etymology
From Middle English of, from Old English of, af, æf (“from, off, away”), from Proto-West Germanic *ab, from Proto-Germanic *ab (“from”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epo (“from, off, back”). Doublet of of. Cognates Cognate with Scots aff (“away, off”), Saterland Frisian oawe, ou (“from”), West Frisian ôf (“away, off”), Dutch af (“from, off”), German ab (“from, off”), German Low German,…
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.