offing
Pronunciation: /ˈɒfɪŋ/
The English word “offing” has 3 meanings listed here.
noun
- The area of the sea in which a ship can be seen in the distance from land, excluding the parts nearest the shore, and beyond the anchoring ground.
- The distance that a ship at sea keeps away from land, often because of navigational dangers, fog and other hazards; a position at a distance from shore.
- The foreseeable future. Chiefly in the phrase in the offing.
Etymology
From off + -ing. Attested since before 1600. Early texts also spell the term offin and offen.
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.