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Thursday - October 16, 2025

In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed... No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.
- Preface

1828 Noah Webster Dictionary
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off

OFF, a. auf. Most distant; as the off horse in a team.




Evolution (or devolution) of this word [off]

1828 Webster1844 Webster1913 Webster

OFF, a. auf. Most distant; as the off horse in a team.


OFF, prep.

  1. Not on; as, to be off one's legs. He was not off the bed the whole day.
  2. Distant from; as, about two miles off this town. [Not now used.] Addison.

OFF, a. [auf.]

Most distant; as, the off horse in a team.


OFF, adv. [auf.]

  1. From, noting distance. The house is a mile off.
  2. From, with the action of removing or separating; as, to take off the hat or cloke. So we say, to cut off, to pare off, to clip off, to peel off, to tear off, to march off, to fly off.
  3. From, noting separation; as, the match is off.
  4. From, noting departure, abatement, remission or a leaving. The fever goes off; the pain goes off.
  5. In painting, it denotes projection or relief. This comes off well and excellent. Shak.
  6. From; away; not toward; as, to look off; opposed to on or toward.
  7. On the opposite side of a question. The questions no way touch upon puritanism, either off or on. Sanderson. Off hand, without study or preparation. She plays a tune off hand. He speaks fluently off hand. Off and on, at one time applying and engaged, then absent or remiss. To be off, in colloquial language, to depart or to recede from an agreement or design. To come off, to escape, or to fare in the event. To get off, to alight; to come down. #2. To make escape. To go off, to depart; to desert. #2. To take fire; to be discharged; as a gun. Well off, ill off, badly off, having good or ill success.

OFF, exclam.

As an exclamation, is a command to depart, either with or without contempt or abhorrence.


Off
  1. Denoting distance or separation; as, the house is a mile off.
  2. Away; begone; -- a command to depart.
  3. Not on; away from; as, to be off one's legs or off the bed; two miles off the shore.

    Addison.

    Off hand. See Offhand. -- Off side (Football), out of play; -- said when a player has got in front of the ball in a scrimmage, or when the ball has been last touched by one of his own side behind him. -- To be off color, to be of a wrong color. -- To be off one's food, to have no appetite. (Colloq.)

  4. On the farther side; most distant; on the side of an animal or a team farthest from the driver when he is on foot; in the United States, the right side; as, the off horse or ox in a team, in distinction from the nigh or near horse or ox; the off leg.
  5. The side of the field that is on the right of the wicket keeper.
  6. Denoting the action of removing or separating; separation; as, to take off the hat or cloak; to cut off, to pare off, to clip off, to peel off, to tear off, to march off, to fly off, and the like.
  7. Designating a time when one is not strictly attentive to business or affairs, or is absent from his post, and, hence, a time when affairs are not urgent; as, he took an off day for fishing: an off year in politics.

    "In the off season." Thackeray.

    Off side. (a) The right hand side in driving; the farther side. See Gee. (b) (Cricket) See Off, n.

  8. Denoting a leaving, abandonment, departure, abatement, interruption, or remission; as, the fever goes off; the pain goes off; the game is off; all bets are off.
  9. Denoting a different direction; not on or towards: away; as, to look off.
  10. Denoting opposition or negation.

    [Obs.]

    The questions no way touch upon puritanism, either off or on. Bp. Sanderson.

    From off, off from; off. "A live coal . . . taken with the tongs from off the altar." Is. vi. 6. -- Off and on. (a) Not constantly; not regularly; now and then; occasionally. (b) (Naut.) On different tacks, now toward, and now away from, the land. -- To be off. (a) To depart; to escape; as, he was off without a moment's warning. (b) To be abandoned, as an agreement or purpose; as, the bet was declared to be off. [Colloq.] -- To come off, To cut off, To fall off, To go off, etc. See under Come, Cut, Fall, Go, etc. -- To get off. (a) To utter; to discharge; as, to get off a joke. (b) To go away; to escape; as, to get off easily from a trial. [Colloq.] -- To take off, to mimic or personate. -- To tell off (Mil.), to divide and practice a regiment or company in the several formations, preparatory to marching to the general parade for field exercises. Farrow. -- To be well off, to be in good condition. -- To be ill off, To be badly off, to be in poor condition.

1828 Webster1844 Webster1913 Webster

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Off

OFF, adjective auf. Most distant; as the off horse in a team.

OFF, adverb auf.

1. From, noting distance. The house is a mile off

2. From, with the action of removing or separating; as, to take off the hat or cloke. So we say, to cut off to pare off to clip off to peel off to tear off to march off to fly off

3. From, noting separation; as, the match is off

4. From, noting departure, abatement, remission or a leaving. The fever goes off; the pain goes off

5. In painting, it denotes projection or relief.

This comes off well and excellent.

6. From, a way; not towards; as, to look off; opposed to on or toward.

7. On the opposite side of a question.

The questions no way touch upon puritanism, either off or on.

OFF hand, without study or preparation. She plays a tune off hand. He speaks fluently off hand.

OFF and on, at one time applying and engaged, then absent or remiss.

To be off in colloquial language, to depart or to recede from an agreement or design.

To come off to escape, or to fare in the event.

1. To get off to alight; to come down.

2. To make escape

1. To go off to depart; to desert.

2. To take fire; to be discharged; as a gun.

Well off ill off badly off having good or ill success.

OFF, preposition

1. Not on; as, to be off one's legs. He was not off the bed the whole day.

2. Distant from; as about two miles off this town. [Not now used.]

OFF, as an exclamation, is a command to depart, either with or without contempt or abhorrence.

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Word of the Day

importance

IMPORT'ANCE, n.

1. Weight; consequence; a bearing on some interest; that quality of any thing by which it may affect a measure, interest or result. The education of youth is of great importance to a free government. A religious education is of infinite importance to every human being.

2. Weight or consequence in the scale of being.

Thy own importance know.

Nor bound thy narrow views to things below.

3. Weight or consequence in self-estimation.

He believes himself a man of importance.

4. Thing implied; matter; subject; importunity. [In these senses, obsolete.]

Random Word

force

FORCE, n. [L. fortis. All words denoting force, power, strength, are from verbs which express straining, or driving, rushing, and this word has the elements of L. vireo.]

1. Strength; active power; vigor; might; energy that may be exerted; that physical property in a body which may produce action or motion in another body, or may counteract such motion. By the force of the muscles we raise a weight, or resist an assault.

2. Momentum; the quantity of power produced by motion or the action of one body on another; as the force of a cannon ball.

3. That which causes an operation or moral effect; strength; energy; as the force of the mind, will or understanding.

4. Violence; power exerted against will or consent; compulsory power. Let conquerors consider that force alone can keep what force as obtained.

5. Strength; moral power to convince the mind. There is great force in an argument.

6. Virtue; efficacy. No presumption or hypothesis can be of force enough to overthrow constant experience.

7. Validity; power to bind or hold. If the conditions of a covenant are not fulfilled, the contract is of no force. A testament is of force after the testator is dead. Heb. 9:17.

8. Strength or power for war; armament; troops; an army or navy; as a military or naval force: sometimes in the plural; as military forces.

9. Destiny; necessity; compulsion; any extraneous power to which men are subject; as the force of fate or of divine decrees.

10. Internal power; as the force of habit.

11. In law, any unlawful violence to person or property. This is simple, when no other crime attends it, as the entering into another's possession, without committing any other unlawful act. It is compound, when some other violence or unlawful act is committed. The law also implies force, as when a person enters a house or inclosure lawfully, but afterwards does an unlawful act. In this case, the law supposes the first entrance to be for that purpose, and therefore by force.

Physical force, is the force of material bodies.

Moral force, is the power of acting on the reason in judging and determining.

Mechanical force, is the power that belongs to bodies at rest or in motion. The pressure or tension of bodies at rest is called a mechanical force, and so is the power of a body in motion. There is also the force of gravity or attraction, centrifugal and centripetal forces, expansive force, &c.

FORCE, v.t.

1. To compel; to constrain to do or to forbear, by the exertion of a power not resistible. Men are forced to submit to conquerors. Masters force their slaves to labor.

2. To overpower by strength.

I should have forced thee soon with other arms.

3. To impel; to press; to drive; to draw or push by main strength; a sense of very extensive use; as, to force along a wagon or a ship; to force away a man's arms; water forces its way through a narrow channel; a man may be forced out of his possessions.

4. To enforce; to urge; to press.

Forcing my strength, and gathering to the shore.

5. To compel by strength of evidence; as, to force conviction on the mind; to force one to acknowledge the truth of a proposition.

6. To storm; to assault and take by violence; as, to force a town or fort.

7. To ravish; to violate by force, as a female.

8. To overstrain; to distort; as a forced conceit.

9. To cause to produce ripe fruit prematurely, as a tree; or to cause to ripen prematurely, as fruit.

10. To man; to strengthen by soldiers; to garrison. Obs.

To force from, to wrest from; to extort.

To force out, to drive out; to compel to issue out or to leave; also, to extort.

To force wine, is to fine it by a short process, or in a short time.

To force plants, is to urge the growth of plants by artificial heat.

To force meat, is to stuff it.

FORCE, v.i.

1. To lay stress on. Obs.

2. To strive. Obs.

3. To use violence.

Noah's 1828 Dictionary

First dictionary of the American Language!

Noah Webster, the Father of American Christian education, wrote the first American dictionary and established a system of rules to govern spelling, grammar, and reading. This master linguist understood the power of words, their definitions, and the need for precise word usage in communication to maintain independence. Webster used the Bible as the foundation for his definitions.

This standard reference tool will greatly assist students of all ages in their studies.

No other dictionary compares with the Webster's 1828 dictionary. The English language has changed again and again and in many instances has become corrupt. The American Dictionary of the English Language is based upon God's written word, for Noah Webster used the Bible as the foundation for his definitions. This standard reference tool will greatly assist students of all ages in their studies. From American History to literature, from science to the Word of God, this dictionary is a necessity. For homeschoolers as well as avid Bible students it is easy, fast, and sophisticated.


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1828 Noah Webster Dictionary

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