First published 2004 More entries for "off guard"

off guardadverb & adjective

Etymology
Meaning & use
Pronunciation
Frequency

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Factsheet

What does the word off guard mean?

There are three meanings listed in OED's entry for the word off guard. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

See meaning & use

How common is the word off guard?

About 0.7occurrences per million words in modern written English

1750	0.0087
1760	0.011
1770	0.013
1780	0.014
1790	0.012
1800	0.013
1810	0.012
1820	0.011
1830	0.01
1840	0.015
1850	0.02
1860	0.026
1870	0.035
1880	0.045
1890	0.057
1900	0.071
1910	0.09
1920	0.14
1930	0.18
1940	0.21
1950	0.25
1960	0.32
1970	0.41
1980	0.58
1990	0.76
2000	0.87
2010	0.99

See frequency

How is the word off guard pronounced?

British English

/ˌɒf ˈɡɑːd/

off-GARD

U.S. English

/ˌɔf ˈɡɑrd/

awff-GARD

/ˌɑf ˈɡɑrd/

ahff-GARD

See pronunciation

Where does the word off guard come from?

Earliest known use

mid 1700s

The earliest known use of the word off guard is in the mid 1700s.

OED's earliest evidence for off guard is from 1748, in the writing of Samuel Richardson, printer and author.

off guard is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: off prep., guard n.

See etymology

Nearby entries

off-glide, n.1877–
off-glide, v.c1450
off-gliding, adj.1954–
off-go, n.1886–
off-going, n.1727–1885
off-going, adj.1770–
off-gold, adj.1935–
off-grain, adv. & adj.1964–
off-grid, adj. & adv.1963–
off-guard, n.1985–
off guard, adv. & adj.1748–
offhand, adj. & adv.a1668–
off-handed, adj.1750–
off-handedly, adv.1876–
off-handedness, n.1823–
offhandish, adj.1886–
offhandishly, adv.1926–
off-haul, n.1900–
off-hew, v.c1540
off-highway, adj.1961–
off-hurl, v.c1540–1634

Browse more nearby entries

Etymology

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Meaning & use

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Pronunciation

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Frequency

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Entry history for off guard, adv. & adj.

off guard, adv. & adj. was first published in March 2004.

off guard, adv. & adj. was last modified in September 2023.

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into off guard, adv. & adj. in September 2023.

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Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “,” , .

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Citation details

Factsheet for off guard, adv. & adj.

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Nearby entries

off-glide, n.1877–
off-glide, v.c1450
off-gliding, adj.1954–
off-go, n.1886–
off-going, n.1727–1885
off-going, adj.1770–
off-gold, adj.1935–
off-grain, adv. & adj.1964–
off-grid, adj. & adv.1963–
off-guard, n.1985–
off guard, adv. & adj.1748–
offhand, adj. & adv.a1668–
off-handed, adj.1750–
off-handedly, adv.1876–
off-handedness, n.1823–
offhandish, adj.1886–
offhandishly, adv.1926–
off-haul, n.1900–
off-hew, v.c1540
off-highway, adj.1961–
off-hurl, v.c1540–1634

Browse more nearby entries