Where does “offing” come from?
Offing comes from English off, which derives from Middle English of and Middle English yong, tracing back through Old English oþ to Proto-Indo-European h₂epo and h₂yuh₁en-.
offing (English): The area of the sea in which a ship can be seen...
Definitions
- The area of the sea in which a ship can be seen...
Ancestry of “offing”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | -ing | Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action,... |
| 2 | Old English | -tūn | — |
| 3 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 6 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 7 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |