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/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɔfˈwɝldɚ/, /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.
    • 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.

Alternative forms

Translations
one who is not from the local world — See also translations at alien

References
  1. “off-worlder, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2022.

Further reading
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