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Officious

Pertaining to, or being in accordance with, duty.

Offing

That part of the sea at a good distance from the shore, or where there is deep water and no need of a pilot; also, distance from the shore; as, the ship had ten miles offing; we saw a ship in the offing.

Offish

Shy or distant in manner; aloof; stand-offish.

Offlet

A pipe to let off water.

Offscouring

That which is scoured off; hence, refuse; rejected matter; that which is vile or despised.

Offscum

Removed scum; refuse; dross.

offset printing

A printing technique in which a lithographic image on an inked metal or stone plate is transferred first to a rubber sheet (usually on a cylinder) before transfer to the paper. Called also offset lithography.

Offshoot

That which shoots off or separates from a main stem, channel, family, race, etc.; as, the offshoots of a tree.

Offshore

From the shore; as, an offshore wind; an offshore signal.

offsides offside

Illegally beyond a prescribed line or area or ahead of the ball or puck; -- in sports such as football or hockey; as, the touchdown was nullified because the left tackle was offside.

Offskip

That part of a landscape which recedes from the spectator into the distance.

Offtake

Act of taking off; specif., the taking off or purchase of goods.

Oft

Frequent; often; repeated.

Often

Frequent; common; repeated.

ogdoad

A thing made up of eight parts.

Ogham

A particular kind of writing practiced by the ancient Irish, and found in inscriptions on stones, metals, etc.

Ogive

The arch or rib which crosses a Gothic vault diagonally.

Ogle

An amorous side glance or look.

Ogre

An imaginary monster, or hideous giant of fairy tales, who lived on human beings; hence, any frightful giant; a cruel monster.

Ogreish

Resembling an ogre; having the character or appearance of an ogre; suitable for an ogre.

Ogygian

Of or pertaining to Ogyges, a mythical king of ancient Attica, or to a great deluge in Attica in his days; hence, primeval; of obscure antiquity.

Oh

An exclamation expressing various emotions, according to the tone and manner, especially surprise, pain, sorrow, anxiety, or a wish. See the Note under O.

Ohm

The standard unit in the measure of electrical resistance, being the resistance of a circuit in which a potential difference of one volt produces a current of one amp/re. As defined by the International Electrical Congress in 1893, and by United States Statute, it is a resistance substantially equal to 109 units of resistance of the C. G. S. system of electro-magnetic units, and is represented by the resistance offered to an unvarying electric current by a column of mercury at the temperature of melting ice 14.4521 grams in mass, of a constant cross-sectional area, and of the length of 106.3 centimeters. As thus defined it is called the international ohm.

Ohmmeter

An instrument for indicating directly the electrical resistance of a circuit in ohms.

Oho

An exclamation of surprise, etc.

Oidium

A genus of minute fungi which form a floccose mass of filaments on decaying fruit, etc. Many forms once referred to this genus are now believed to be temporary conditions of fungi of other genera, among them the vine mildew (O/dium Tuckeri), which has caused much injury to grapes.

Oil

To smear or rub over with oil; to lubricate with oil; to anoint with oil.

oil patch

A geographical region from which petroleum is extracted.

oil slick

A layer of oil floating on water; -- usually petroleum or fuel oil which has leaked from a ship.

oil spill

A layer of oil floating on water or covering the shoreline of a body of water; -- usually petroleum which has leaked from an oil tanker.

oil tanker

A ship having large compartments, designed to transport crude oil over the ocean.

oil well

A well{3} from which petroleum is or has been extracted; a well{3} drilled deeply into an oil-bearing geological formation specifically for the purpose of obtaining petroleum.

oil-bearing

containing oils; -- of geological formations; as, oil-bearing shale.

oil-fired

Using oil as a fuel; as, an oil-fired furnace.

oil-silk

Silk treated with oil to make it water-tight; -- it is used to make raincoats.

oilcan

A small can with a long spout used to apply oil to machinery, for purposes of lubrication.

oilcloth

Cloth rendered waterproof by treatment with oil or paint, and used for marking garments, covering tables, shelves, floors, etc.

oiled

Covered or treated with oil; dressed with, or soaked in, oil.

Oiler

One who deals in oils.

Oilery

The business, the place of business, or the goods, of a maker of, or dealer in, oils.

oilfish

A very large deep-water snake mackerel (Ruvettus pretiosus).

Oillet

A small opening or loophole, sometimes circular, used in mediaeval fortifications. A small circular opening, and ring of moldings surrounding it, used in window tracery in Gothic architecture.

Oilman

One who deals in oils; formerly, one who dealt in oils and pickles.

Oilnut

The buffalo nut. See Buffalo nut, under Buffalo.

oilrig oil rig

A structure and associated machinery used in drilling for oil or gas; it is usually in the form of a tower. Called also drilling rig.

Oilseed

Seed from which oil is expressed, as the castor bean; also, the plant yielding such seed. See Castor bean. A cruciferous herb (Camelina sativa). The sesame.

Oilskin

Cloth made waterproof by oil.

Oilstone

A variety of hone slate, or whetstone, used for whetting tools when lubricated with oil.

oilstove

A stove that burns oil (such as kerosine) for heating or cooking.

Oily

Consisting of oil; containing oil; having the nature or qualities of oil; unctuous; oleaginous; as, oily matter or substance.

Ointment

That which serves to anoint; any soft unctuous substance used for smearing or anointing; an unguent.

ojo

A spring, surrounded by rushes or rank grass; an oasis.

okapi

A peculiar mammal (Okapia johnstoni) closely related to the giraffe, discovered in the deep forests of Belgian Congo in 1900. It is smaller than an ox, and somewhat like a giraffe, except that the neck is much shorter. Like the giraffe, it has no dewclaws. There is a small prominence on each frontal bone of the male. The color of the body is chiefly reddish chestnut, the cheeks are yellowish white, and the fore and hind legs above the knees and the haunches are striped with purplish black and cream color.

Okapia

A genus of mammals comprising the okapis.

okay

to approve; as, the boss okayed my proposal.

Oke

A Turkish and Egyptian weight, equal to about 2/ pounds.

Okenite

A massive and fibrous mineral of a whitish color, chiefly hydrous silicate of lime.

Okinawa

the largest island of the central Ryukyu Islands.

Okra

An annual plant (Abelmoschus esculentus syn. Hibiscus esculentus), whose green pods, abounding in nutritious mucilage, are much used for soups, stews, or pickles; gumbo.

Olay

Palm leaves, prepared for being written upon with a style pointed with steel.

Old

Open country.

Old Line State

Maryland; a nickname, alluding to the fact that its northern boundary is Mason and Dixon's line.

Old World

The combined territories of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The Eastern Hemisphere, as distinguished from The Americas, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.

Old-fashioned

Formed according to old or obsolete fashion or pattern; belonging to or characteristic of times past; adhering to old customs, styles, or ideas; as, an old-fashioned dress, girl; old-fashioned wire-rimmed glasses.

old-hat

same as old-fashioned, a., 2.

old-maidish

Like an old maid; prim; precise; particular; overly fastidious.

Old-maidism

The condition or characteristics of an old maid.

old-man-of-the-woods

An edible mild-tasting mushroom (Strobilomyces floccopus) found in coniferous woodlands of eastern North America.

old-womanish

Like an old woman; anile; primly fastidious; old-maidish.

old-world

Characteristic of former times especially in Europe; as, an old-world cottage.

Olden

To grow old; to age.

Oldness

The state or quality of being old; old age.

oldwife

The local name of various fishes, as the European black sea bream (Cantharus lineatus), the American alewife, etc.

Olea

A genus of trees including the olive.

Oleaceae

A natural family of trees and shrubs having berries or drupes or capsules as fruits; the olive family; sometimes placed in the order Oleales; it includes the olive; ash; jasmine; privet; and lilac.

Oleaceous

Of, pertaining to, or resembling, a natural family of plants (Oleaceae), mostly trees and shrubs, of which the olive is the type. It includes also the ash, the lilac, the true jasmine, and fringe tree.

Oleaginous

Having the nature or qualities of oil; oily; unctuous.

Oleamen

A soft ointment prepared from oil.

Oleander

A beautiful evergreen shrub (Nerium oleander) of the Dogbane family, having clusters of fragrant red, white, or pink flowers. It is a native of the East Indies, but the red variety has become common in the south of Europe. Called also rosebay, rose laurel, and South-sea rose.

Oleandra

A genus of tropical epiphytic or terrestrial ferns; also classed as the family Polypodiaceae.

Oleandraceae

One of a number of families into which Polypodiaceae has been subdivided in some classification systems.

Oleandrin

One of several cardiac glycosides (C32H48O9) found in oleander (Nerium oleander).

Oleandrine

One of several alkaloids found in the leaves of the oleander (Nerium oleander).

Olearia

A large genus of Australian evergreen shrubs or small trees with large daisylike flowers.

Oleaster

The wild olive tree (Olea Europea, var. sylvestris). Any species of the genus Elaeagus. See Eleagnus. The small silvery berries of the common species (Elaeagnus hortensis) are called Trebizond dates, and are made into cakes by the Arabs.

Oleate

A salt of oleic acid. Some oleates, as the oleate of mercury, are used in medicine by way of inunction.

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