aloof
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From a- + Middle English loof (="weather gage," also "windward direction"), probably from Dutch loef (="the weather side of a ship"); originally a nautical order to keep the ship's head to the wind, thus to stay clear of a lee-shore or some other quarter, hence the figurative sense of "at a distance, apart" [1]
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Adverb
aloof (comparative more aloof, superlative most aloof)
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- At or from a distance, but within view, or at a small distance; apart; away.
- (A date for this quote is being sought): Our palace stood aloof from streets. --Dryden.
- Without sympathy; unfavorably.
- (A date for this quote is being sought): To make the Bible as from the hand of God, and then to look at it aloof and with caution, is the worst of all impieties. --I. Taylor.
[edit] Translations
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[edit] Adjective
aloof (comparative more aloof, superlative most aloof)
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Positive |
Comparative |
Superlative |
[edit] Translations
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Part or all of this page has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
