*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -off

Back-formation from playoff, a deverbal, as the archetype.

2 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
suffix

A competition [of the activity denoted by the word it combines with], especially a final, tiebreaker, or repechage within a broader tournament.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Back-formation from playoff, a deverbal, as the archetype.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "back-form",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "playoff"
      },
      "expansion": "Back-formation from playoff"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "playoff",
      "playoff#English"
    ],
    [
      "deverbal",
      "deverbal#Noun"
    ],
    [
      "archetype",
      "archetype#Noun"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "A competition [of the activity denoted by the word it combines with], especially a final, tiebreaker, or repechage within a broader tournament."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
suffix

Alternative spelling of -ov.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

See -ov.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "-ov",
      "-ov#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative spelling of -ov."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "morpheme"
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -off →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LW9mZg