offhand

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌɔfˈhænd/ See IPA manual

Freq #31571

Meanings

1

adj
Not friendly or polite; treating someone in a careless way.

His offhand reply made her feel unwelcome.
2

adj
Said or done without thinking or preparing in advance.

It was just an offhand remark; he didn't really mean it.
3

adv
Without preparation or time to think.

I can't tell you the exact figures offhand.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not friendly or polite;... offhanded

2 adj · said or done without... impromptu

3 adv · without preparation or time... offhanded

More extemporaneousoff-the-cuff

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

offhand manner
A casual way of behaving that can seem thoughtless or dismissive.

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English *ofhande, *ofhende, from Old English ofhende (“absent, lost”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *abahandijaz. Equivalent to (and re-formed as) off- + hand. Cognate with Icelandic afhendur. Compare onhand.

ofhende Old English *abahandijaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# offhand

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj, adv
**IPA (US):** /ˌɔfˈhænd/
**Frequency rank:** 31571

## Meanings
1. Not friendly or polite; treating someone in a careless way.
2. Said or done without thinking or preparing in advance.
3. Without preparation or time to think.

## Examples
- His offhand reply made her feel unwelcome.
- It was just an offhand remark; he didn't really mean it.
- I can't tell you the exact figures offhand.

## Synonyms
- extemporaneous
- impromptu
- off-the-cuff

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ofhende
- Root: *abahandijaz

## Etymology
From Middle English *ofhande, *ofhende, from Old English ofhende (“absent, lost”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *abahandijaz. Equivalent to (and re-formed as) off- + hand. Cognate with Icelandic afhendur. Compare onhand.

## AI Etymology
Offhand comes from Middle English *ofhande, *ofhende, from Old English ofhende (“absent, lost”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *abahandijaz. Equivalent to (and re-formed as) off- + hand. Cognate with Icelandic afhendur. Compare onhand. The historical chain includes Old English ofhende and Proto-Germanic *abahandijaz. Modern senses include not friendly or polite; treating someone in a careless way and said or done without thinking or preparing in advance.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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