offering 
purpose : as, offerings for the poor. [The term offering! In 
the Church of KliKlund includes payments niadi- in siccnr- 
dance with custom to the vicar of the parish, either occa- 
sionally, asatsacriiiMrnts inarriiiKes, christenings, church- 
Lug of women, buriaU, etc., or at (Caster or Christmas.] 
And ache bijriiri to l>i<lde and prey 
Upon tho bare gniundu knelende, 
And aftir that in;ide hir uffrende. 
dower. (HaUiwell.) 
Easter offerings. See Hauler duet, under Easter*. Of- 
fering day, In the Ch. of Kng., a day on which it wan 
formerly and is slill in some places customary to make 
1. <-i:iI alms and offerings for the poor. These days are 
Christmas day, Easter day, Whitsunday, and the feast of 
the dedication of the parish church, or, instead of the lat- 
ter two, Midsummer and Michaelmas. 
offering-sheet (of'rr-iiiK-shet), . In the ll't st- 
ern Church, during early and medieval times, a 
white linen cloth or fanon in which the bread 
intended for eucharistic use was presented by 
the people. Hock, Church of our Fathers, III. 
ii. 33. 
offertoire (of-er-twor'), . [P. : see offertory.'} 
Same as offertory. 
offertorium (ot'-cr-to'ri-um), .; pi. offertoria 
(-ii). [LL.] Same as offertory. 
offertory (of'er-to-ri), . : pi. offertories (-riz). 
[< ME. offertoru', offeratori/ (also offertoire, < 
OF.) = OF. (and P. ) offertoire = Sp. ofertorio = 
Pg. It. offertorio, < LL. offertorium, a place to 
which offerings were brought, < offertor, an of- 
ferer, < L. offerre, offer: see offer.'] If. The 
act of offering, or the thing offered. 
He |St. Paul| gave his will, made an offertory of that, as 
well as ut his goods, choosing the act which was enjoined. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 18S&X I. 56. 
2. Eccles.: (a) In medieval usage (1) A cloth 
of fine linen or richer material used to receive 
the bread offered by the people. (2) A cloth 
with which the deacon or assistant at mass 
lifted the chalice. (3) A strip of silk worn like 
a scarf, with which the acolyte, or afterward the 
subdeacou, held the empty paten from the time 
of the lesser oblation till the end of the canon. 
Also called the offertory veil, (b) In the mass 
of the Roman Catholic and in the communion 
office of the Anglican and Protestant Episcopal 
churches (1) The verses or the anthem said 
or sung while the gifts of the people are re- 
ceived and the celebrant is placing the uncon- 
secrated elements on the altar; also, the music- 
al setting of such verses or anthem. (2) The 
money (or, as formerly, other gifts) then re- 
ceived from the people. (3) The oblation of 
the unconsecrated elements then made by the 
celebrant. Also called the lesser oblation. See 
oblation, 3. (4) The part of the service begin- 
ning with the offertory verses or anthem and 
ending before the Sursum Corda Offertory dish. 
Same as alms-basin. 
offerturet (of'er-tur), . [< OF. offerture, an 
offer, proposal, < ML. offertura, an offering, (. L. 
offerre, offer : see offer. J An offer ; an overture ; 
a proposal. 
Bought by inches with the bribe of more offertures and 
advantages to his crown. Milton, Eikouoklastes. 
off-fall+, H. See offal. 
off-flow (6f'flo), . A channel or way by which 
surplus water may be discharged or allowed to 
flow off. 
offhand (df'hand'), adv. 1. At once; without 
deliberation or premeditation; without pre- 
vious preparation or practice. 
But then she reads so my stars ! how she will read "/ 
/mm/ .' Sheridan, The Rivals, Ii. 2. 
We cannot say, without looking carefully to the scale 
on the map, how many miles Corfu lies from the coast of 
Thessaly, any more than we can say offhand how many 
miles Anglesey lies from the coast of Norfolk. 
E. A. Freeman, Venice, p, 337. 
2. From the hand; without the support of a rest. 
Ritles were, however, always permitted to compete with 
them, under equitable restrictions. These were, that they 
should be fired off-hand, while the shot-guns were allowed 
a rest, the distance being equal. 
A. B. Lonffstreet, Georgia Scenes, p. 203. 
offhand (of'hand), a. [< offhand, ailr.] 1. 
Without study or premeditation ; impromptu : 
as, an offliniiit remark; an offhand speech. 
One searches in vain [in Matthew Arnold's works] for a 
blithe, musical, iray, or serious off-hand poem. 
Stedman, Viet. Poets, p. 92. 
2. Free and easy; unstudied or unctnvention- 
al: as, an offhaml manner. 
He [Gray] has the knack of saying droll things in an off- 
hand way, and as if they cost him nothing. 
LmetU. New Princeton Rev., I. 167. 
offhanded (i'it"lian j 'ded),arf(i. [< offhand + -ed 2 .] 
Offhand ; without hesitation. [Colloq.] 
Nor, I'll venture to any, without scrutiny conld he 
Pronounce her, off-handed, a Punch or a Judy. 
llarham, lugoldsby Legends, I. 52. 
4091 
offhandedly (6f'han*ded-li), adv. Offhand: in 
an offhand manner. Nineteenth Century, XX. 
541. [Colloq.] 
office (nl'ixj, n. [< ME. office, offyce, < OF. of- 
fice, offy:, F. office = 8p. o/icto = Pg. nffieio = 
It. ojjuio, uffizio, ufizio, tificio, < L. officium, a 
service, an obligatory service, duty, official 
duty, office, court, etc., prob. contr. from opi- 
jicium, the doing of a work, a working, < o/rifex, 
one who does a work, < opus, work, + facere, 
do: seeoHiisand/oc*. Cf. officinal.] 1. Service; 
duty or duties to the performance of which a 
person is appointed; fuuction assigned by a 
superior authority ; hence, employment; busi- 
ness ; that which one undertakes or is expected 
to do. 
Let no preacher be negligent in doing his office. 
Latiiner, Sermon of the i'lough. 
The way to increase spiritual comforts Is to be strict In 
the offices of humble obedience. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1886), I. 02. 
So, Jack Tapster, do me thine office. 
Scott, Kenilworth, xix. 
2. That which is performed or is intended or 
assigned to be done by a particular thing, or 
which anything is fitted to perform or custom- 
arily performs; function. 
My voice had lost his office & was dead. 
Times' Whistle (E, E. T. 8.), p. 138. 
In this experiment, the several intervals of the teeth of 
the comb do the office of so many prisms. 
Newton, Optlcks. 
The office of geometry, he [Plato) said, was to discipline 
the mind, not to minister to the base wants of the body. 
Maeaulay, Lord Bacon. 
3. A position or situation to which certain 
duties are attached; a post the possession of 
which imposes certain duties upon the possess- 
or and confers authority for their perform- 
ance ; a post or place held by an officer, an of- 
ficial, or a functionary. 
Inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I mag- 
nify mine office. Rom. xl. 13. 
An office is a right to exercise an employment, public or 
private, as in the case of bailiffs, receivers, and the like. 
S. Dowell, Taxes in England, 1. 123, note. 
4. Specifically, a position of authority under a 
government : as, a man in office ; to accept office. 
In law: (a) The right and duty conferred on an individual 
to perform any part of the functions of government, and 
receive such compensation, If any, as the law may affix to 
the service : more specifically called public office. It im- 
plies authority to exercise some part of the power of 
the state, a tenure of right therein, some continuous du- 
ration, and usually emoluments. It is often denned sim- 
ply as a public charge or employment ; but there are many 
instances of public charge or employment which are not 
in law deemed offices, such as the service of a janitor, or 
that of a person designated by special act to buy goods for 
public use. In early English law office was regarded as a 
right, and could be conferred on a man and his heirs. In 
United States law it is a duty or agency conferred for pub- 
lic benefit; and, although the tenure is to some extent 
matter of right, the compensation is subject to change by 
the legislature, unless constitutionally fixed, (b) In a 
more general sense, the word office includes continuous 
powers or functions to act under direct sanction of law In 
the affairs of others without their appointment or consent : 
as, the office of an executor or of a trustee, (c) In a private 
corporation : (1) A continuous power or function the exis- 
tence of which forms part of the organization of the body, 
as distinguished from the service of agents and servants. 
(2) Executive or administrative powers and functions, as 
distinguished from membership in the governing body, as 
those of the directors and officers of a bank. 
5. In old ng. law, jurisdiction; bailiwick: as, 
a constable sworn "to prevent all bloodshed, 
outcries, affrays, and reseouses [rescues] done 
within his office." 6. Inquest of office (which 
see, under inquest). 7. A building or room in 
which one transacts business or discharges his 
professional duties: as, a lawyer's or doctor's 
office; the office of a factory or lumber-yard ; es- 
pecially, a place where public business is trans- 
acted: as, the county clerk's office; the post- 
office; the wax-office: also (in the plural), the 
apartments wherein domestics discharge the 
several duties attached to a house, as kitchens, 
pantries, brew-houses, and the like, along with 
outhouses, such as the stables, etc., of a man- 
sion or palace, or the barns, cow-houses, etc., 
of a farm. 
Alack, and what shall good old York there see 
But empty lodgings and unfurnish'd walls, 
Unpeopled offices, untrodden stones? 
5Ao*., Rich. II., I. 2. 69. 
As for officet, let them stand at a distance, with some low 
galleries to pass from them to the palace itself. 
Bacon, Building (ed. 1887). 
8. The persons collectively who transact busi- 
ness in an office : often applied specifically to an 
insurance company: as, a fire-office. 9. An act 
of good or ill voluntarily tendered (usually in 
a good sense); service: usually in the plural. 
officer 
Wolves and bears, . . . 
Casting their savagenesi aside, hare done 
Like office* of pity. Shot., W. T., IL 3. 189. 
I am a man that hath not done your lore 
All the wont office*. B. Joiuon, Volpone, L 1. 
My Lord of Leicester hath done some good Office* to ac- 
commodate Matters. Uowcll. Letters, L vt. 4. 
10. En-li-H.: (n) The prescribed order orform for 
a service of the church, or for devotional use, 
or the service so proscribed; especially, the 
forms for the canonical hours collectively (tin- 
dicine office) : as, the communion office, the con- 
firmation office, the office of prime, etc. ; to recite 
office, (b) In the Mozarabic and in some old 
Gallican and monastic liturgies, in the Uses of 
Sarum and York, and in the Anglican Prayer- 
book of 1549, the iutroit. Also officium. (c) In 
canon law, a benefice which carries no jurisdic- 
tion with it. llf. Mark of authority; badge of 
office. 
The anmenere a rod scballe haue In honde, 
As office for alines, y vndurstonde. 
Babeei Book (E. E. T. s.\ p. 324. 
Ambroslan office. See AmtrromanV. Arms Of office, 
In her. See arm*. 7. Circumlocution Office. See cir- 
cumlocution Color of office, see color. Cook's office, 
the galley. [Xaut. slang.) Crown Office. See crown. 
Dead-letter office. See dead. Divine office, see dcf. 
10 and divine. Foreign office. See/oreiffn. Holy Of- 
fice, the Inquisition : this title, however, properly belongs 
to the Congregation " established at Rome by Pope Paul 
III. in 1542, to which the direction of the tribunal of the 
Inquisition Is subject. Home Office. See home. House 
of officet. See /u/iuwi. Hydrographic, imprest, in- 
telligence, land, etc., office. See the qualifying words. 
-Jack in office, Jack out of office. See Jack*. Lit- 
tle office of the Blessed Virgin, a collection of psalms, 
lessons, and hymns in honor of the Virgin Mary, arranged 
in imitation of the breviary, and formerly appointed in 
the Roman Catholic Church to be read by certain religious 
in addition to the divine office. Military office. See 
military, 2. Ministerial offices, Mozarabic office, 
naval office. See the adjectives. Oath of office. See 
oath. Occasional office, the form for a religious service 
which does not recur at stated intervals, but is limited to 
certain occasions or relates to certain individuals only ; a 
service other than the holy communion or dally prayers. 
Such occasional offices in the Book of Common Prayer 
are those for baptism, confirmation, matrimony, visitation 
of the sick, burial of the dead, institution of a minister, 
etc. Office copy, In law. See copy. Office found, in 
law, the finding of a jury in an inquest of office by which 
the crown becomes entitled to take ^possession of real or 
personal property. See inquest. Office hours, the hours 
during which offices are open for the transaction of busi- 
ness. Office of detail. See detail. To give the office, 
to suggest as a job ; furnish a hint ; supply information. 
[Slang, Eng. ] = SjTO. Business, Pursuit, etc. (see occupation), 
post, situation, place, capacity. 
officet (of 'is), r. t. [< OF. offieier, F. officier = 
Sp. oficiar = Pg. officiar = It. officiare, uffiziare, 
< ML. officiare, perform an office, < L. officium, 
office: see office, n. Cf. officiate.'] 1. To per- 
form in the way of office or service ; serve ; per- 
form; transact. 
Shall I stay here to do 't? no, no, although 
The air of paradise did fan the house, 
And angels officed all. Shall., All's Well, Hi. 2. 128. 
2. To intrust with an office ; place in an office. 
So stands this squire 
OJiced with me. Shale., W. T., L 2. 172. 
3. To move by means of office or by exercise 
of official authority. [Rare.] 
A Jack-guardant cannot office me from my son Coriolanus. 
Shot., Cor., v. 2. 68. 
office-bearer (of'is-bar < 'er), . One who has 
been intrusted with the discharge of some offi- 
cial duty, as in directing the affairs of a corpo- 
ration, company, society, etc. 
office-book (of'is-buk), . A service-book; a 
book containing religious offices or services. 
office-holder (of 'is-hol'der), . One who is in 
possession of an office under government; in 
general, any official. 
officer (of'i-ser), n. [< ME. officer,< OF. officier, 
F. officier = Pr. officier = It. officiere, < ML. offi- 
ciarius, an officer,< L. officium, office : see office.] 
1. One who holds an office, or to whom has been 
intrusted a share in the management or direc- 
tion of some business or undertaking, such as a 
society, corporation, company, etc., or who fills 
some position involving responsibility, to which 
he has been formally appointed. 2. Specifi- 
cally, a person holding a public office, under a 
national, state, or municipal government, and 
authorized thereby to exercise some specific 
function : as, an officer of the Treasury Depart- 
ment; a custom-house or excise officer; law 
officers ; a court officer. In constitutional provisions 
"judicial officers," ''legislative officers," "administrative 
officers," and the like commonly have in American law 
peculiar meanings dependent on the connection in which 
the phrases are used, and on other provisions of law neces- 
sary to be considered with them. 
