From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Off \Off\ ([o^]f; 115), adv. [OE. of, orig. the same word as R.
of, prep., AS. of, adv. & prep. [root]194. See {Of}.]
In a general sense, denoting from or away from; as:
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1. Denoting distance or separation; as, the house is a mile
off.
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2. 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.
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3. 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.
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4. Denoting a different direction; not on or towards: away;
as, to look off.
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5. Denoting opposition or negation. [Obs.]
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The questions no way touch upon puritanism, either
off or on. --Bp.
Sanderson.
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{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 do a take-off on}, {To take off}, to mimic,
lampoon, or impersonate.
{To tell off}
(a) (Mil.), to divide and practice a regiment or company
in the several formations, preparatory to marching to
the general parade for field exercises. --Farrow.
(b) to rebuke (a person) for an improper action; to scold;
to reprimand.
{To be well off}, to be in good condition.
{To be ill off}, {To be badly off}, to be in poor condition.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
off and on
adv 1: not regularly; "they phone each other off and on" [syn:
{off and on}, {on and off}]
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