offset English · revision 10618

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1555|origins=en off|origins=en set}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈɒf.set/, US /ˈɑːf.set/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound of [[off]] and [[set]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) formed after the verb phrase set off.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The act of setting off on a journey or course of action: before 1555 in the OED, about 1555 in Merriam-Webster.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A short side shoot of a plant, as from a bulb, is from 1629,^(OED 1989) and something that springs from another, a branch or offshoot, from 1756;^(OED 1989) a spur of a mountain range is from 1833.^(OED 1989) The sense of a counterbalance, something set off against another, is from 1769,^(Etymonline) and the verb in this sense from 1792;^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster dates the verb from 1673.^(MWU 2024) Offset printing, in which the inked image is transferred to a rubber surface and then to paper, is recorded from 1906.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1555 – a setting off.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1629 – a side shoot of a plant.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1769 – a counterbalance.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1792 – to offset (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1906 – offset printing.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Something that [[counterbalance|alt=counterbalances]] or compensates for something else.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A printing method in which the inked image is transferred to a rubber surface and then to paper.^(Collins 2023)^(Etymonline)

+ # Something that branches off from another; an [[offshoot]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To counterbalance or [[compensate]] for: ''gains offset the losses''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To print by offset.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[photo-offset]]

+ * [[offset lithography]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[set]]

+ * [[off]]

+ * [[offshoot]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}