off-worlder
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See also: offworlder and off worlder
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From off-world (adjective) + -er (suffix denoting a person characterized by [the adjective to which the suffix is attached]).[1]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌɒfˈwɜːldə/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɔfˈwɜɹldəɹ/, /ˈɑf-/
- Hyphenation: off-world‧er
Noun[edit]
off-worlder (plural off-worlders)
- (fantasy, science fiction) One who is not from the local world (whether a dimension, plane, planet, or universe); an alien.
- 1955, Andre Norton [pseudonym; Alice Mary Norton], “Classic move to Disaster”, in Star Guard, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC, page 58:
- So? On your world you do as custom rules. Customs are different here, off-worlder.
- 1974, Ursula K[roeber] Le Guin, chapter 3, in The Dispossessed, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, published July 1975, →ISBN, page 63:
- The distinguished scientist, winner of the Seo Oren Prize for service to all nations through science, has accepted a professorship at Ieu Eun University, an honor never before accorded to an off-worlder.
- 2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2, Redwood City, Calif.: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Korlus:
- TRAVEL ADVISORY: Korlus ranks second in murder per capita in the Terminus Systems and first in offworlder murder. Civilian traffic is encouraged to employ security professionals when visiting.
Alternative forms[edit]
- offworlder
- off worlder (rare)
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
one who is not from the local world — see also alien
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References[edit]
- ^ “off-worlder, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2022; “off-worlder, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
