offer
pronunciation
How to pronounce offer in British English:
UK [ˈɒfə(r)]
How to pronounce offer in American English:
US [ˈɔːfər]
-
- Noun:
- the verbal act of offering
- something offered (as a proposal or bid)
- a usually brief attempt
-
- Verb:
- make available or accessible, provide or furnish
- present for acceptance or rejection
- agree freely
- put forward for consideration
- offer verbally
- make available for sale
- propose a payment
- produce or introduce on the stage
- present as an act of worship
- mount or put up
- make available; provide
- ask (someone) to marry you
- threaten to do something
Word Origin
- offer
- offer: [OE] Latin offerre was a compound verb formed from the prefix ob- ‘to’ and ferre ‘bring, carry’ (a distant relative of English bear), and it meant ‘present, offer’. It was borrowed into Old English from Christian Latin texts as offrian, in the specific sense ‘offer up a sacrifice’; the more general spread of modern meanings was introduced via Old French offrir in the 14th century. The past participle of offerre was oblātus, from which English gets oblation [15].=> bear, oblation
- offer (v.)
- Old English ofrian "to offer, show, exhibit, sacrifice, bring an oblation," from Latin offerre "to present, bestow, bring before" (in Late Latin "to present in worship"), from ob "to" (see ob-) + ferre "to bring, to carry" (see infer). The Latin word was borrowed elsewhere in Germanic: Old Frisian offria, Middle Dutch offeren, Old Norse offra. Non-religious sense reinforced by Old French offrir "to offer," from Latin offerre. Related: Offered; offering.
- offer (n.)
- early 15c., from Old French ofre "act of offering; offer, proposition" (12c.), verbal noun from offrir (see offer (v.)). The native noun formation is offering.
Example
- 1. What can science offer now ?
- 2. They offer three main arguments .
- 3. Most companies offer flexible working .
- 4. We made the offer subject to your needs .
- 5. All I can offer is a change of perspective .