offing 
little eh me I 
Cuts "It the tlcry highway of the BUM. 
And islus u light in tin- t'li'tn^r. 
Tcnni/miit, I'mii'h \rtlrn. 
To get a good offing I"""/.}, to get well rleur (if the land, 
offish (of'iuh), . [< off + -i.vfcl.] Inclined to 
l-rp aluiif; ilislanl in manner; reserved. 
A few days Inter he called on her, expecting to patch 
up thi-ir Hi tic njmndentandlng, as on previous occasions. 
She was rather offish, but really would have been glad to 
make up. The Century, XXXVI. 35. 
offlet (of let), w. [< off + tei. Cf. inlet, out- 
let.] A pipe laid at the level of the bottom of 
a canal for letting off the water. 
offprint (of 'print), . [< off + in-hit; equiv. to 
G. abtlntck.] A reprint of a separate urticlo 
contained in a periodical or other publication. 
See the quotations. 
Various terms, such as "deprint," "exprlnt," &c., have 
been proposed to denote u separately printed eopy of a 
pamphlet distributed to friends. Neither conveys any 
Intelligible idea. But by comparison with "offsnot" I 
think we might use offurint with some hope of expressing 
what is meant. IK. W. Skeat, The Academy, XXVIII. 121. 
Reprints of the separate articles ("offprints " is the last 
coinage, we believe) would be very welcome for conve- 
nience of use in classes. Amer. Jour, of Phitol., VII. 275. 
off-reckoning (df'rek'niug), . Formerly, in 
the British army, an allowance given to cap- 
tains and commanding officers of regiments 
from the money set apart annually for the 
men's clothing. 
offrendet, See offering. 
offsaddle (of'sad'l), v. t.\ pret. and pp. offnad- 
illnl, ppr. offsaddUny. [< off + saddle.']' To 
unsaddle; remove the saddle from. [South 
Africa.] 
The Jli-Ht halt was called about ten miles from the camp, 
but the horses were not off-saddled at this spot. 
The Cape Argus, June 7, 1879. 
At midday they o/saddled the horses for an hour by 
some water. U . R. Haggard, Jess, xxx. 
offscouring (of'skour'ing), n. [< off + scour- 
ing.'] That which is scoured off; hence, re- 
jected matter; refuse; that which is vile or 
despised. 
Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse In the 
midst of the people. Lam. iii. 45. 
The common sort of strangers, and the off-skowring of 
mariners (here I do except them of better iudgement, as 
well mariners as others). Uakluyt's Voyages, I. 559. 
They were contented to be the off-scouring of the world, 
and to expose themselves willingly to all afflictions. 
Milton, On Def. of llumb. Remonst. 
The offscourings of the gaols which were formerly poured 
into the British army. Fortnightly Rea., N. 8., X'l.l 1 1 . 22. 
offscum(6f'skum),M.anda. I. n. Refuse; scum. 
But now this off-scum of that cursed fry 
Dare to renew the like bald enterprize. 
Spenser, F. Q., VII. vi. 30. 
I see the Drift. These off scums, all at once 
Too idlely pampered, plot Rebellions. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartos's Weeks, ii., The Lawe. 
II. t " Vile; outcast. 
The o/scum rascals of men. 
Trans, of Boccalini (1626), p. 207. 
offset (6f'set), v. t.; pret. and pp. offset, ppr. 
offsetting. [< off + seft.] To set off; balance ; 
countervail ; especially, to cancel by a contrary 
claim or sum: as, to offset one account against 
another. 
We may offset the too great heaviness of the corner pin- 
nacles of the towers by noting the beauty of their parapets. 
The Century, XXXVI. 389. 
offset (df'set), . [< offset, v.] 1. An offshoot; 
specifically, in bot., a short lateral shoot, either 
a stolon or a sucker, by which certain plants 
are propagated. The houseleek, Sempervivum 
teetorum, is propagated in this manner. See 
cut under bulb. 
They produce such a number of off-sets that many times 
one single cluster has contain'd above a hundred roots. 
Miller, Gardener's Diet, Lilio-Narcissiis. 
2. A scion; a child; offspring. [Rare.] 
His man-minded offset rose 
To chase the deer at five. 
Tennyson, Talking Oak. 
3. A spur or minor branch from a principal 
range of hills or mountains. 4. In surv., a per- 
pendicular distance, measured from one of the 
main lines, as to points in the extremities of 
an inclosure, in order to take in an irregular 
section, and thus determine accurately the 
total area. 5. In com., a sum, value, or ac- 
count set off against another sum or account 
as an equivalent, countervail, or requital sum; 
hence, generally, any counterbalancing or coun- 
tervailing tiling or circumstance; a set-off. 
If the wants, tlic passions, the vices, are allowed a full 
vote through the hands of a half-brutal 1 ntempenite popu- 
lation, I think it but fair that the virtues, the aspirations 
should be allowed a full vote, as an offset, through the 
purest part of the people. man, Woman. 
Thanksgiving was an anti-Christ HUM festival, established 
as a kind of off-set to that. 5. Judd, Margaret, 1. 10. 
6. In arch., a horizontal break in a wall or other 
member, marking a diminution of its thickness. 
See set-off. 
Beautiful stone masonry, ornamented by buttresses and 
offsets. J. Fergutson, Hist. Arch,, 1. 186. 
7. A terrace : as, grounds laid out in offsets. [Lo- 
cal, New England.] 8. In a vehicle, a branch 
or fork of metal used to unite parts of the gear, 
as the backstay to the rear axle. 9. Jnpriiitiiiii. 
a faulty transfer of superabundant or undried 
ink on a printed sheet to any opposed surface, 
as the opposite page. Also known as set-off. 
1 0. A branch pipe ; also, a more or less abrupt 
bend in a pipe, made to bring the axis of one 
part of the pipe out of line with the axis of 
another part. 
offset-glass (6f 'set-glas), n. An oil-cup or jour- 
nal-oiler with a glass globe flattened on one side 
so as to allow it to stand close to the side of an 
object. 
offset-pipe (6f'set-pip), n. A pipe having a 
bend or offset to carry it past an obstruction 
and bring it back to the original direction. 
offset-sheet (6f'set-shet), n. In printing, a 
sheet of oiled paper laid on the impression-sur- 
face of a press, or a sheet of white paper put 
between newly printed sheets, to prevent the 
offset of ink. 
offset-staff (of'set-staf), n. In surv., a light 
rod, generally measuring ten links, used for 
taking offsets. 
offsetting (of'set-ing). . [Verbal n. of offset, 
v.] The act of providing with a bend or offset. 
Bending and offsetting of the pipe is a matter of economy 
or taste with the pipe-Utters. Set. Amer., N. S., l.\ 1. 107. 
offsetting (of 'set-ing), p. a. 1. Setting off; 
tending away. 
Made the offsetting streams of the pack, and bore up to 
the northward and eastward. 
Kane, Sec. Orinn. Exp., I. 33. 
2. Counterbalancing; equivalent. 
The greatest amount of heat received from the sun and 
offsetting radiation from the earth, other things being 
equal, is, of course, as we have seen, at the equator. 
Pop. Sci. Mo., XXV. 78. 
offsetting-blanket (6f'set-ing-blang'ket). n. 
A blanket or sheet of thick soft paper attached 
to a special cylinder on a printing-press for 
the purpose of receiving the offset, or excess 
of ink, on freshly printed sheets of paper, 
offshoot (df'sh8t),. [< off + shoot."] A branch 
from a main stem, street, stream, or the like. 
Offshoots from Friar Street. 
Mayhew, London Labour and London Poor, II. 423. 
The offshoots of the Gulf-stream. J. D. Forbes. 
It [the palace] shows how late the genuine tradition lin- 
gered on, and what vigorous offshoots the old style could 
throw off, even when it might be thought to be dead. 
E. A. Freeman, Venice, p. 261. 
offshore (df'shor'), adv. [Orig. a phrase, off 
shore.] 1. Prom the shore; away from the 
shore : as, the wind was blowing offshore. 
Winds there [on the western side of the Atlantic] are 
more offshore, and are drier, in general. 
Fitz Roy, Weather Book, p. 135. 
2. At a distance from the shore. 
The best months for whaling offshore are from Septem- 
ber to May. Fisheries of U. S., V. H. 16. 
offshore (df'shor), a. [< offshore, adv."] 1. Lead- 
ing off or away from the shore. 
An offshore guide for supporting or guiding the cable, 
whereby the seine may be both cast and hauled from the 
shore. Sci. Amer., N. S., LV1I. 283. 
2. Belonging to or carrying on operations in 
that part of the sea which is off or at a distance 
from the shore, especially at a distance-of more 
than three miles from the shore : opposed to in- 
shore. 
The nationality of the crews of the offshore fisherman. 
Science, IV. tea. 
off-side (df'sid), arfc. On the wrong side; spe- 
cifically, in foot-ball and hockey, between the 
ball and the opponents' goal during the play. 
A player off-side is prohibited from touching 
the ball or an opponent. 
offskipt (of 'skip), n. In a picture, the distance. 
"As in painting," he [Charles Avison] writes [in 17521, 
"there are three various degrees of distances established, 
viz. the foreground, the intermediate part, and the off- 
skip, so in music." S. and Q., 7th ser., III. 427. 
off-smitet (of'smit). r. t. [ME. ofsnriten; <off + 
To strike off; cutoff. 
Hir fader with ful sorweful herte and wil, 
Hir heed of-smoot. Chaucer, Doctor's Tale, 1. 255. 
ofsee 
offspring (of'spring), w. [< ME. ofxjiriiii/, nf- 
x/iri/iiii. ns/H-i/iit/, < AS. ofspring ( = Icel. af- 
"ir), offspring, progeny, descendants, < of. 
from, T /</(</, spring, arise: see off and 
</" "'.'/] If. Origin; descent; family. 
Certainly the prime antiquity of off-spring U always given 
' tin- Scythians. Raleigh, Hist. World, I. v. 7. 
t- Hi 
Nor was her princely off-ipring damnified, 
sparaged by those labours bae. 
Or aught disparage 
'Fairfax, tr. of Tuao, rli. 18. 
2f. Propagation; generation. Hooker. 3. Pro- 
geny; descendants, however remote from the 
stock ; issue : a collective term, applied to sev- 
eral or all descendants (sometimes, exception- 
ally, to collateral branches), or to one child if 
the sole descendant. 
I wolde that Bradmonde the kyng 
Were here with all his ospryng. 
MS. Cantab. Ff. II. 38, f. 109. (llaUiweU.) 
The male children, with all the whole male offspring, con- 
tinue ... In their own family, and be governed of the 
eldest and ancientest father, unless he dote for age. 
Sir T. More, Utopia (tr. by Robinson), II. 6. 
God shall forgive you Cxeur-de-llon's death 
The rather that you give his offspring life. 
5Aat.,K. John, ii. 1.13. 
Qenlns is often, like the pearl, the offspring or the accom- 
paniment of disease. Lecky, Eng. in 18th Cent., xi. 
=8yTL 3. Offspring, Issue, Progeny, Posterity, Descendants. 
Offspring and progeny apply to the young of man or beast ; 
the rest usually only to the human race. Offspring and issue 
usually imply more than one, but may refer to one only ; 
progeny and posterity refer to more than one, and gener- 
ally to many : offspring and issue refer generally to the first 
generation, the rest to as many generations as there may 
be in the c&se, posterity and descendants necessarily cover- 
ing more than one. Issue is almost always a legal or ge- 
nealogical term, referring to a child or children of one who 
has died. Posterity implies an indefinite future of descent. 
A bird each fond endearment tries 
To tempt its new fledged offspring to the skies. 
Goldsmith, Des. Vil., 1. 168. 
This good king shortly without issew dide, 
Whereof great trouble in the kingdome grew. 
Spenser, . Q., II. x. 54. 
Denounce 
To them and to their progeny from thence 
Perpetual banishment. Milton, P. I... xl. 107. 
He with his whole posterity must die. 
Milton, P. L., Hi. 209. 
As we would have our descendants judge us, so ought we 
to judge our fathers. Macaulay, Sir J. Mackintosh. 
offtake (of 'tak), n. [< off + take.] 1. In mining, 
a subsidiary drainage-level, used where, from 
the form of the country, the water may be run 
off level-free. 
From 20 to 30 fathoms off-take is an object of consider- 
able economy in pumping; but even less is often had re- 
course to. Ure, Diet., III. 320. 
2. A point or channel of drainage or off-flow. 
The third of the Hugli headwaters has Its principal off- 
take from the Ganges again about forty miles further down. 
Nineteenth Century, XXIII. 44. 
offtaket (of 'tak), v. t. [< ME.o/tafce; <..off + 
take.] To take off ; take away. 
Til fro my tonge of-taken is the greyn. 
Chaucer, Prioress's Tale, 1. 213. 
offuscate, otfuscation. Same as obfuscate, ob- 
fuscation. 
offusquet, r. t. Same as obfunque. 
offward (df'ward), adr. [< off + -ward.] To- 
ward the sea ; away from the land ; leaning or 
inclined away from the land or toward the sea, 
as a ship when aground. [Rare.] 
Offward [is] the situation of a ship which lies aground 
ana leans from the shore. Thus they say " The ship heels 
offward " when, being aground, she heels toward the wa- 
ter side. Falconer, Nautical Diet. (Latham.) 
ofhungeredt, a. A Middle English form of 
ahungered. 
of-newt, adv. Same as of new. See new and 
uni'ic. 
ofreacht, . t. [ME. ofrechen (pret. ofraugte, 
ofrahte, etc.), a var. of arechen, areach: see 
areach.] To reach ; obtain ; recover : same as 
areach. 
That lond iachal ofreche. 
King Horn (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1283. 
Longe tyme I slepte ; 
And of Crystes passioun and penannce the peple that of- 
raufte. Piers Plowman (B), xviii. 6. 
ofsaket, . /. [ME. ofsaken, < AS. ofsacan (= 
Icel. afsaka), deny, < of- + sacan, strive, con- 
tend, deny: see gate. Cf. forsake.] To deny. 
ofsawt. Preterit of ofsee. 
ofschamedt, . A Middle English form of 
axhamed. 
ofseet, < t. [ME. often, < AS. ofseon, observe, 
<of- + seon, see: see see 1 .] To see; observe; 
notice. 
Thanne of-taw he full sone that semliche child, 
That so loneliche lay A wep in that lothli cone. 
William of Paler ne (E. E. T. S.> L 49. 
