Off - Officious

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Off (ŏf; 115), interj. Away; begone; -- a command to depart.
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Off, prep. Not on; away from; as, to be off one's legs or off the bed; two miles off the shore. Addison.
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Coloq. Off hand . See . -- Coloq. 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. -- Coloq. To be off color , (a) to be of a wrong color. (b) to be mildly obscene. -- Coloq. To be off one's food or Coloq. To be off one's feed , (Colloq.) to have no appetite; to be eating less than usual.
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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.
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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.
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3. Designating a time when one's performance is below normal; as, he had an off day.
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Coloq. Off side . (a) The right hand side in driving; the farther side. See . (b) (Cricket) See , n.
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Off, n. (Cricket) The side of the field that is on the right of the wicket keeper.
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offal (?), n. [Off + fall.] 1. The rejected or waste parts of any process, especially the inedible parts of a butchered animal, such as the viscera.
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2. A dead body; carrion. Shak.
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3. That which is thrown away as worthless or unfit for use; refuse; rubbish.
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The offals of other professions. South.
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off-and-on adj. discontinuous; not continuous. Opposite of continuous. [prenominal]
Syn. -- interrupted.
[WordNet 1.5]

off-base adj. (Mil.) located outside a military base; as, off-base housing.
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off-Broadway prop. a. Of or pertaining to the professional theaters in Manhattan not in the Broadway area; performed in off-Broadway{1}.
[PJC]

off-Broadway prop. n. 1. A group of low-budget theaters located outside the Broadway area in Manhattan.
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2. The professional drama presented in off-Broadway theaters.
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off-center off-centered adj. situated away from the center or axis.
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off-color adj. humorously vulgar; mildly obscene; risque; as, an off-color joke.
Syn. -- bawdy, blue, ribald.
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Offcut (?), n. 1. That which is cut off.
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2. (Bookbinding) A portion of the printed sheet, in certain sizes of books, that is cut off before folding.
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off-day n. A day when things go poorly; as, I guess this is one of my off-days.
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off-duty adj. not performing or available for duties at the given moment; as, an off-duty policeman. Oposite of on-duty, working, and on-the-job. [prenominal]
Syn. -- off duty(predicate).
[WordNet 1.5]

Offence (?), n. See .
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offenceless adj. incapable of offending or attacking; harmless.
Syn. -- offenseless.
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Offend (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Offended; p. pr. & vb. n. Offending.] [OF. offendre, L. offendere, offensum; ob (see ) + fendere (in comp.) to thrust, dash. See .] 1. To strike against; to attack; to assail. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.
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2. To displease; to make angry; to affront.
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A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city. Prov. xviii. 19.
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3. To be offensive to; to harm; to pain; to annoy; as, strong light offends the eye; to offend the conscience.
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4. To transgress; to violate; to sin against. [Obs.]
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Marry, sir, he hath offended the law. Shak.
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5. (Script.) To oppose or obstruct in duty; to cause to stumble; to cause to sin or to fall. [Obs.]
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Who hath you misboden or offended. Chaucer.
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If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out . . . And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off. Matt. v. 29, 3O.
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Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. Ps. cxix. 165.
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Offend, v. i. 1. To transgress the moral or divine law; to commit a crime; to stumble; to sin.
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Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. James ii. 10.
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If it be a sin to covet honor,
I am the most offending soul alive. Shak.
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2. To cause dislike, anger, or vexation; to displease.
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I shall offend, either to detain or give it. Shak.
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Coloq. To offend against , to do an injury or wrong to; to commit an offense against. “We have offended against the Lord already.” 2 Chron. xxviii. 13.
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Offendant (?), n. An offender. [R.] Holland.
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Offender (?), n. One who offends; one who violates any law, divine or human; a wrongdoer.
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I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders. 1 Kings i. 21.
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Offendress (?), n. A woman who offends. Shak.
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{ Offense, Offence } (?), n. [F., fr. L. offensa. See .] 1. The act of offending in any sense; esp., a crime or a sin, an affront or an injury.
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Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification. Rom. iv. 25.
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I have given my opinion against the authority of two great men, but I hope without offense to their memories. Dryden.
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2. The state of being offended or displeased; anger; displeasure; as, to cause offense.
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He was content to give them just cause of offense, when they had power to make just revenge. Sir P. Sidney.
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3. A cause or occasion of stumbling or of sin. [Obs.]
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Woe to that man by whom the offense cometh! Matt. xviii. 7.
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4. In any contest, the act or process of attacking as contrasted with the act of defending; the offensive; as, to go on the offense.
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5. (Sports) The members of a team who have the primary responsibility to score goals, in contrast to those who have the responsibility to defend, i.e. to prevent the opposing team from scoring goal.
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☞ 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.
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Coloq. To take offense , to feel, or assume to be, injured or affronted; to become angry or hostile. -- Coloq. Weapons of offense , those which are used in attack, in distinction from those of defense, which are used to repel.
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Syn. -- Displeasure; umbrage; resentment; misdeed; misdemeanor; trespass; transgression; delinquency; fault; sin; crime; affront; indignity; outrage; insult.
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Offenseful (?), a. Causing offense; displeasing; wrong; as, an offenseful act. [R.]
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Offenseless, a. Unoffending; inoffensive.
Syn. -- offenceless.
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Offensible (?), a. That may give offense. [Obs.]
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Offension (?), n. [OF., fr. L. offensio an offense.] Assault; attack. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Offensive (?), a. [Cf. F. offensif. See .]
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1. Giving offense; causing displeasure or resentment; displeasing; annoying; as, offensive words.
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2. Giving pain or unpleasant sensations; disagreeable; revolting; noxious; as, an offensive smell; offensive sounds. “Offensive to the stomach.” Bacon.
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3. Making the first attack; assailant; aggressive; hence, used in attacking; -- opposed to defensive; as, an offensive war; offensive weapons.
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Coloq. 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.
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Syn. -- Displeasing; disagreeable; distasteful; obnoxious; abhorrent; disgusting; impertinent; rude; saucy; reproachful; opprobrious; insulting; insolent; abusive; scurrilous; assailant; attacking; invading.
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-- Offensively, adv. -- Offensiveness, n.
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Offensive (?), n. The state or posture of one who offends or makes attack; aggressive attitude; the act of the attacking party; -- opposed to defensive.
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Coloq. To take the offensive , Coloq. To act on the offensive , Coloq. To go on the offensive , to be the attacking party; to initiate hostilities.
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Offer (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Offered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Offering.] [OE. offren, . offrian to sacrifice, fr. L. offerre; ob (see ) + ferre to bear, bring. The English word was influenced by F. offrir to offer, of the same origin. See 1st .] 1. To present, as an act of worship; to immolate; to sacrifice; to present in prayer or devotion; -- often with up.
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Thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement. Ex. xxix. 36.
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A holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices. 1 Pet. ii. 5.
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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.
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I offer thee three things. 2 Sam. xxiv. 12.
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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.
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4. To attempt; to undertake.
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All that offer to defend him. Shak.
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5. To bid, as a price, reward, or wages; as, to offer a guinea for a ring; to offer a salary or reward.
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6. To put in opposition to; to manifest in an offensive way; to threaten; as, to offer violence, attack, etc.
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Syn. -- To propose; propound; move; proffer; tender; sacrifice; immolate.
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Offer, v. i. 1. To present itself; to be at hand.
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The occasion offers, and the youth complies. Dryden.
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2. To make an attempt; to make an essay or a trial; -- used with at. “Without offering at any other remedy.” Swift.
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He would be offering at the shepherd's voice. L'Estrange.
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I will not offer at that I can not master. Bacon.
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Offer (?), n. [Cf. F. offre, fr. offrir to offer, fr. L. offerre. See , v. t.] 1. The act of offering, bringing forward, proposing, or bidding; a proffer; a first advance. “This offer comes from mercy.” Shak.
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2. That which is offered or brought forward; a proposal to be accepted or rejected; a sum offered; a bid.
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When offers are disdained, and love denied. Pope.
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3. Attempt; endeavor; essay; as, he made an offer to catch the ball. “Some offer and attempt.” South.
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Offerable (?), a. Capable of being offered; suitable or worthy to be offered.
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Offerer (?), n. One who offers; esp., one who offers something to God in worship. Hooker.
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Offering, n. 1. The act of an offerer; a proffering.
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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.
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They are polluted offerings more abhorred
Than spotted livers in the sacrifice. Shak.
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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.
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[None] to the offering before her should go. Chaucer.
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Coloq. Burnt offering , Coloq. Drink offering , etc. See under . etc.
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Offertory (?), n.; pl. Offertories . [L. offertorium the place to which offerings were brought, in LL. offertory: cf. F. offertoire.] 1. The act of offering, or the thing offered. [Obs. or R.] Bacon. Bp. Fell.
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2. (R. C. Ch.) (a) An anthem chanted, or a voluntary played on the organ, during the offering and first part of the Mass. (b) That part of the Mass which the priest reads before uncovering the chalice to offer up the elements for consecration. (c) The oblation of the elements.
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3. (Ch. of Eng. & Prot. Epis. Ch.) (a) The Scripture sentences said or sung during the collection of the offerings. (b) The offerings themselves.
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Offerture (?), n. [LL. offertura an offering.] Offer; proposal; overture. [Obs.]
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More offertures and advantages to his crown. Milton.
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off-guard pred. adj. not watching for possible danger; not alert; as, caught in an off-guard moment.
[WordNet 1.5]

Offhand (?), a. Instant; unprepared; ready; extemporaneous; unrehearsed; as, an offhand speech; offhand excuses; an offhand comment. -- adv. In an offhand manner; as, he replied offhand.
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offhanded adj. 1. same as and .
Syn. -- ad-lib, extemporaneous, extemporary, extempore, offhand, off-the-cuff, unpremeditated, unrehearsed.
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2. Without, or seeming to be without, plan or method; casual.
Syn. -- casual, offhand.
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Office (?), n. [F., fr. L. officium, for opificium; ops ability, wealth, help + facere to do or make. See , .] 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.
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I would I could do a good office between you. Shak.
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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.
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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.
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Inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office. Rom. xi. 13.
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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.
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They [the eyes] resign their office and their light. Shak.
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Hesperus, whose office is to bring
Twilight upon the earth. Milton.
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In this experiment the several intervals of the teeth of the comb do the office of so many prisms. Sir I. Newton.
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5. The place where any kind of business or service for others is transacted; a building, suite of rooms, or room in which public officers or workers in any organization transact business; as, the register's office; a lawyer's office; the doctor's office; the Mayor's office.
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6. The company or corporation, or persons collectively, whose place of business is in an office; as, I have notified the office.
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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.]
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As for the offices, let them stand at distance. Bacon.
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8. (Eccl.) Any service other than that of ordination and the Mass; any prescribed religious service.
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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.
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Coloq. Holy office . Same as , n., 3. -- Coloq. Houses of office . Same as def. 7 above. Chaucer. -- Coloq. Little office (R. C. Ch.), an office recited in honor of the Virgin Mary. -- Coloq. Office bearer , an officer; one who has a specific office or duty to perform. -- Coloq. Office copy (Law), an authenticated or certified copy of a record, from the proper office. See Certified copies, under . Abbott. -- Coloq. Office-found (Law), the finding of an inquest of office. See under . -- Coloq. Office holder . See in the Vocabulary -- Coloq. Office hours . the hours of the day during which business is transacted at an office{5}. -- Coloq. Office seeker . a person who is attempting to get elected to an elected office, or to get an appointment to an appointive public office.
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Office (?), v. t. To perform, as the duties of an office; to discharge. [Obs.] Shak.
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office-bearer n. A person who holds an office; an officeholder. [Chiefly British]
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Officeholder (?), n. One who holds an office; an officer, particularly one in the civil service; a placeman.
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Officer (?), n. [F. officier. See , and cf. , 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.
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2. (U. S. Mil.) Specifically, a commissioned officer, in distinction from a warrant officer or an enlisted man.
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Coloq. Field officer , Coloq. General officer , etc. See under , . etc. -- Coloq. Officer of the day (Mil.), the officer who, on a given day, has charge for that day of the guard, prisoners, and police of the post or camp; abbreviated O. D., OD, or O. O. D. -- Coloq. Officer of the deck , or Coloq. Officer of the watch (Naut.), the officer temporarily in charge on the deck of a vessel, esp. a war vessel.
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Officer, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Officered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Officering.] 1. To furnish with officers; to appoint officers over. Marshall.
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2. To command as an officer; as, veterans from old regiments officered the recruits.
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Office wire (?). (Elec.) Copper wire with a strong but light insulation, used in wiring houses, etc.
[Webster Suppl.]

Official (?), a. [L. officialis: cf. F. officiel. See , and cf. , n.] 1. Of or pertaining to an office or public trust; as, official duties, or routine.
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That, in the official marks invested, you
Anon do meet the senate. Shak.
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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.
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3. (Pharm.) Approved by authority; sanctioned by the pharmacopœia; appointed to be used in medicine; as, an official drug or preparation. Cf. .
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4. Discharging an office or function. [Obs.]
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The stomach and other parts official unto nutrition. Sir T. Browne.
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Official, n. [L. officialis a magistrate's servant or attendant: cf. F. official. See , a., and cf. .] 1. One who holds an office; esp., a subordinate executive officer or attendant.
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2. An ecclesiastical judge appointed by a bishop, chapter, archdeacon, etc., with charge of the spiritual jurisdiction. Blackstone.
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officialdom n. The body of all people elected or appointed to administer a government, taken collectively.
Syn. -- government officials.
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officialese n. the formal and often obscure style of writing characteristic of some government officials; bureaucratese; -- it is characterized by euphemisms, circumlocutions, vague abstractions, and circumlocutions.
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Officialism (?), n. The state of being official; a system of official government; also, adherence to office routine; red-tapism.
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Officialism may often drift into blunders. Smiles.
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Officiality (ŏffĭshĭălĭt�), n. See .
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officialize v. t. to render official; as, we officialized our relationship.
Syn. -- make official.
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Officially (?), adv. By the proper officer; by virtue of the proper authority; in pursuance of the special powers vested in an officer or office; as, accounts or reports officially verified or rendered; letters officially communicated; persons officially notified.
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Officialty (?), n. [Cf. F. officialité.] The charge, office, court, or jurisdiction of an official. Ayliffe.
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Officiant (?), n. [L. officians, p. pr. See .] (Eccl.) The officer who officiates or performs an office, as the burial office. Shipley.
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Officiary (?), a. Of or pertaining to an office or an officer; official. [R.] Heylin.
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Officiate (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Officiated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Officiating.] [LL. officiare. See .] To act as an officer in performing a duty; to transact the business of an office or public trust; to conduct a public ceremony or service. Bp. Stillingfleet.
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Officiate, v. t. To discharge, perform, or supply, as an official duty or function. [Obs.]
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Merely to officiate light
Round this opacous earth. Milton.
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Officiator (?), n. One who officiates. Tylor.
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Officinal (?), 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.
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2. (Pharm.) Kept in stock by apothecaries; -- said of such drugs and medicines as may be obtained without special preparation or compounding; not magistral.
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☞ This term is often interchanged with official, but in strict use officinal drugs are not necessarily official. See , a., 3.
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Officious (?), a. [L. officiosus: cf. F. officieux. See .] 1. Pertaining to, or being in accordance with, duty. [R.]
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If there were any lie in the case, it could be no more than an officious and venial one. Note on Gen. xxvii. (Douay version).
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2. Disposed to serve; kind; obliging. [Archaic]
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Yet not to earth are those bright luminaries
Officious. Milton.
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They were tolerably well bred, very officious, humane, and hospitable. Burke.
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3. Importunately interposing services; intermeddling in affairs in which one has no concern; meddlesome.
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You are too officious
In her behalf that scorns your services. Shak.
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Syn. -- Impertinent; meddling. See .
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-- Officiously, adv. -- Officiousness, n.
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