off-worlder

See also: offworlder and off worlder

English

WOTD – 21 October 2023

Etymology

From off-world (adjective) + -er (suffix denoting a person characterized by [the adjective to which the suffix is attached]).[1]

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌɒfˈwɜːldə/
  • (file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɔfˈwɜɹldəɹ/, /ˈɑf-/
  • Hyphenation: off-world‧er

Noun

off-worlder (plural off-worlders)

  1. (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

Translations

References

  1. off-worlder, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2022; off-worlder, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
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