aloof

English

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]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʌˈluːf/
• Rhymes: -uːf

Adverb

aloof (comparative more aloof, superlative most aloof)

1. At or from a distance, but within view, or at a small distance; apart; away.
   • 1697, John Dryden, “Part 13”, in Virgil's Aeneid, edition Harvard Classics, translation of original by Virgil, published 2004, page 113:

     The noise approaches, tho' our palace stood / Aloof from streets, encompass'd with a wood

2. Without sympathy; unfavorably.
   • 1832, Isaac Taylor, Saturday evening, page 363:

     But to open the Bible in this spirit — to take the Book as from the hand of God, and then to look at it aloof, and with caution, as if throughout it were illusory and enigmatical, is the worst of all impieties.

Translations

at or from a distance

• Bulgarian: настрани (bg) (nastrani), отделно (bg) (otdelno)
• Dutch: apart (nl), afstandelijk (nl)
• French: à l'écart, à distance
• Portuguese: distante (pt), alheio (pt) m

• Russian: поодаль (ru) (poódalʹ), в стороне (ru) (v storoné)
• Scottish Gaelic: fad às (gd)
• Spanish: apartado (es)

without sympathy

• Dutch: afstandelijk (nl), negatief (nl)
• French: dédaigneusement (fr)
• Italian: con distacco (it)
• Polish: z niesmakiem (pl)

• Russian: равнодушно (ru) (ravnodúšno)
• Scottish Gaelic: fad às (gd)
• Spanish: sin compasión (es)

Adjective

aloof (comparative more aloof, superlative most aloof)

1. Reserved and remote; either physically or emotionally distant

Translations

reserved and remote; either physically or emotionally distant

• Bulgarian: сдържан (bg) (sdǎržan), резервиран (bg) (rezerviran)
• Dutch: gereserveerd (nl), afstandelijk (nl), terughoudend (nl)
• Finnish: etäinen (fi), varautunut (fi)
• French: distant (fr), dédaigneux (fr), résevé (fr)
• German: distanziert (de), menschenscheu (de), zurückhaltend (de), reserviert (de)

• Italian: distaccato (it) m
• Polish: trzymający się z dala, z dystansem, z rezerwą
• Portuguese: alijado (pt) m
• Scottish Gaelic: fad às (gd)
• Spanish: alejado (es), reservado (es)

See also

• See also Wikisaurus:arrogant

Preposition

aloof

1. (obsolete) away from; clear of
   • Milton

     Rivetus […] would fain work himself aloof these rocks and quicksands.

Part or all of this entry 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.