offside

Etymology

It is a compound from English off + side.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The OED takes the noun meaning the far side from the adjective off, and the sporting adverb and adjective from the preposition,^[2] as Etymonline and the Shorter Oxford do for the sporting use.^[3][4] The phrase off one's side was used early in the history of rugby at Rugby School, where the rule seems to have originated: Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days (1857) speaks of "the mysteries of ‘off your side’".^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In nautical use, the side of a ship farther from the shore, and hence the far side of something: 1669, in T. Allin's journal.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From 1675 the offside was the side of a horse or draught animal away from the driver or rider, and later the side of a vehicle nearest the middle of the road, in Britain the right-hand side;^[2][7][6] the OED compares the slightly earlier nearside.^[2] In cricket the off side, usually written as two words, is from 1816 the part of the field on the right of a right-handed batter.^[2] The sporting sense of a player being where only opponents may be at that moment is first found in the football rules of Rugby School of 1845;^[2] Etymonline dates the sporting senses from 1867, originally in English football,^[3] and Merriam-Webster from 1864.^[6] The adjective, relating to being offside, follows in about 1863, and the noun, an instance of being offside, in 1887.^[2] Figurative uses followed: the wrong or awkward side of something (1870), unacceptable or in poor taste, first in Australia (1910), and out of favour or on bad terms with someone, first in New Zealand (1944).^[2][8] In Australia the verb offside meant to act as an offsider, an assistant (1883).^[2][4]

Timeline

• 1669 – nautical, the side of a ship away from the shore.^[2]
• 1675 – the side of a horse away from the rider or driver; later of a vehicle.^[2]
• 1816 – cricket, the off side.^[2]
• 1845 – sport, in a position where a player may not play the ball, in the rules of Rugby School.^[2] Etymonline dates the sporting senses from 1867,^[3] Merriam-Webster from 1864.^[6]
• c. 1863 – adjective, relating to a player's being offside.^[2]
• 1870 – the wrong or awkward side of something.^[2]
• 1883 – Australian verb, to act as an offsider.^[2]
• 1887 – noun, an instance of being offside.^[2]
• 1910 – Australian, unacceptable, in poor taste.^[2]
• 1944 – New Zealand, out of favour with someone.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (sport) In football, hockey and similar games, in a position ahead of the ball or puck that the rules forbid when it is played.^[7][6][4]
2. In American football, across the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped.^[6]
3. (Australian, New Zealand and Irish, informal) Unacceptable or in poor taste.^[8][2][6]
4. (chiefly British) On the offside of a vehicle or animal: The offside back wheel was flat.^[7][2]

Adverb

1. In or into an offside position: The winger kept straying offside.^[7][4][2]

Noun

1. (chiefly British) The side of a vehicle nearest the middle of the road, in Britain the right; also the side of a horse farther from the rider.^[7][6][2]
2. An instance of being offside, or the penalty for it.^[6][4][2]

Verb

1. (Australian, informal) To act as an offsider or assistant.^[4][2]

Related words

• off
• side
• nearside
• offsider
• onside

Usage notes

In North America the form offsides is also used.^[4][3] Collins contrasts the offside of a vehicle with the nearside.^[7]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com