offer

English Online Dictionary. What means offer‎? What does offer mean?

English

Alternative forms

• offre (obsolete)
• offa (pronunciation spelling)

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɒfə(ɹ)/, /ˈɔːfə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɔfɚ/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɑfɚ/
• Rhymes: -ɒfə(ɹ), -ɔːfə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: of‧fer

Etymology 1

From Middle English offer, from Old English offrian (“offer or make a sacrifice”) rather than from Old French offre (“offer”), from offrir (“to offer”), from Latin offerō (“to present, bring before”). Compare North Frisian offer (“sacrifice, donation, fee”), Dutch offer (“offering, sacrifice”), German Opfer (“victim, sacrifice”), Danish offer (“victim, sacrifice”), Icelandic offr (“offering”). See verb below.

Noun

offer (plural offers)

1. A proposal that has been made.
2. Something put forth, bid, proffered or tendered.

3. (law) An invitation to enter into a binding contract communicated to another party which contains terms sufficiently definite to create an enforceable contract if the other party accepts the invitation.

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Tokelauan: ofo

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English offren, offrien. In the religious senses inherited from Old English offrian (“to offer, sacrifice, bring an oblation”); otherwise from Old French ofrir. Both ultimately from Latin offerō (“to present, bestow, bring before”, literally “to bring to”), from Latin ob + ferō (“bring, carry”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, bear”), later reinforced by Old French offrir (“to offer”). Cognate with Old Frisian offria (“to offer”), Old Dutch offrōn (“to offer”), German opfern (“to offer”), Old Norse offra (“to offer”). More at ob-, bear.

Verb

offer (third-person singular simple present offers, present participle offering, simple past and past participle offered)

1. (intransitive) To propose or express one's willingness (to do something).

2. (transitive) To present in words; to proffer; to make a proposal of; to suggest.

3. (transitive) To place at someone’s disposal; to present (something) to be either accepted or turned down.
   1. (transitive) To present (something) for sale.
4. (transitive) To present (something) to God or gods, as a gesture of worship or as a sacrifice.
5. (transitive, of a thing) To present (something) to the sight etc.; to provide for use, consideration etc.

   Synonyms: offer up, showcase

6. (transitive, engineering) To place (something) in a position where it can be added to an existing mechanical assembly.
7. (transitive) To bid, as a price, reward, or wages.

8. (intransitive) To happen, to present itself.
9. (obsolete) To make an attempt; typically used with at.
10. (transitive) To put in opposition to; to manifest in an offensive or defensive way; to threaten.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to-infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Derived terms

Related terms

• offering
• offertory
• oblate
• oblation

Translations

Etymology 3

From off +‎ -er.

Noun

offer (plural offers)

1. (used in combinations from phrasal verbs) agent noun of off

Derived terms

Anagrams

• offre, reffo

Danish

Noun

offer n (singular definite ofret or offeret, plural indefinite ofre)

1. sacrifice
2. victim

Inflection

Derived terms

• slagteoffer
• ofre

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔfər/
• Hyphenation: of‧fer
• Rhymes: -ɔfər

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch offere, from Old Dutch [Term?].

Noun

offer n (plural offers, diminutive offertje n)

1. sacrifice
2. victim

Derived terms

• brandoffer
• offeren
• plengoffer
• reukoffer
• slachtoffer
• zoenoffer

Descendants

• Negerhollands: offer
• → Papiamentu: offer (dated)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

offer

1. inflection of offeren:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Latin

Verb

offer

1. second-person singular present active imperative of offerō

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse offr.

Noun

offer n (definite singular offeret, indefinite plural offer or ofre, definite plural ofra or ofrene)

1. a sacrifice
2. a victim, a casualty

Derived terms

• dødsoffer
• selvmordsoffer

References

• “offer” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse offr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔfɛr/

Noun

offer n (definite singular offeret, indefinite plural offer, definite plural offera)

1. a sacrifice
2. a victim, a casualty

Derived terms

• dødsoffer
• soloffer

References

• “offer” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse offr.

Pronunciation

Noun

offer n

2. a sacrifice
3. a victim

Usage notes

A sacrifice in the sense of giving something up for some purpose, like a personal sacrifice, is more commonly an uppoffring.

Declension

Derived terms

See also

• erbjudande (“offer”)

References

• offer in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• offer in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• offer in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• offer in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)
• offer in Knut Fredrik Söderwall, Ordbok öfver svenska medeltids-språket, del 2:1: M-T

Anagrams

• Roffe

Welsh

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• (North Wales, standard, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈɔfɛr/
  • (North Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈɔfar/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈoːfɛr/, /ˈɔfɛr/
• Rhymes: -ɔfɛr

Noun

offer f (plural offerau or offeriau or offrau)

1. equipment

Derived terms

• offeryn (“instrument, tool”)

Mutation

References

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “offer”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies