aloof

views updated May 21 2018

a·loof / əˈloōf/ • adj. not friendly or forthcoming; cool and distant: courteous but aloof. ∎  conspicuously uninvolved and uninterested, typically through distaste: he stayed aloof from the bickering.DERIVATIVES: a·loof·ly adv.a·loof·ness n.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

aloof

views updated May 21 2018

aloof (naut.) †order to the steersman to go to windward; to or at a distance. XVI. Early forms are a luf, aloufe, on luffe, i.e. a, ON, A-1, LUFF, prob. after Du. te loef.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

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