Standard Lemma guide

off-

prefix · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

prefix

Meaning 1

Away from; off.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: morpheme

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

prefix

Meaning 2

not quite; almost

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: morpheme

Examples

  • off-white

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English of-, from Old English of-, æf- (“off, away, down, un-”), from Proto-Germanic *aba- (“off, away”), combining form of *ab(a), from Proto-Indo-European *h2epó (“off, away”). Cognate with Dutch af- (“off, away, down”), German ab- (“off, from, down”), Latin ab- (“from, of”), Ancient Greek ἀπο- (apo-, “away from, without”). Doublet of apo- and ab-. Equivalent to off. Compare of.