entry
aloof
/əˈluːf/Distant, detached, or emotionally reserved
From English a- (on) + Middle Dutch loof (the windward side of a ship).
from Dutch loef (Middle Dutch lof ) "the weather side of a ship" (see luff (n.)). Originally in nautical orders to keep...
from Middle English loof (“weather gage, windward direction”), probably
from Middle English loof (“weather gage, windward direction”), probably
from Middle English loof (“weather gage, windward direction”), probably
from Middle English loof (“weather gage, windward direction”), probably
Word Ancestry
from Dutch loef (Middle Dutch lof ) "the weather side of a ship" (see luff (n.)). Originally in nautical orders to keep...
from Middle English loof (“weather gage, windward direction”), probably
from Middle English loof (“weather gage, windward direction”), probably
from Middle English loof (“weather gage, windward direction”), probably
from Middle English loof (“weather gage, windward direction”), probably
Picture a sixteenth-century sailor hearing the order to keep the ship’s head toward the wind, safely away from a dangerous lee shore. That command involved the windward side, called loef in Middle Dutch and loof in Middle English; the little prefix a- supplied the sense “on” or “at.” By the 1530s, aloof could mean being at a distance but still visible, as though one ship were holding safely apart from another. Then the deck became a social world: someone who stood aloof was no longer merely offshore but emotionally out of the group. The word’s memorable secret is that its chilly modern personality began as good seamanship—sometimes distance is not snobbery, but survival.
The Story
Picture a sixteenth-century sailor hearing the order to keep the ship’s head toward the wind, safely away from a dangerous lee shore. That command involved the windward side, called loef in Middle Dutch and loof in Middle English; the little prefix a- supplied the sense “on” or “at.” By the 1530s, aloof could mean being at a distance but still visible, as though one ship were holding safely apart from another. Then the deck became a social world: someone who stood aloof was no longer merely offshore but emotionally out of the group. The word’s memorable secret is that its chilly modern personality began as good seamanship—sometimes distance is not snobbery, but survival.
Modern Usage
Emotionally distant or detached, sometimes perceived as laid-back, cold, or arrogant
Kin & Kindred
From 'a-'·on, at, or in a particular position
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'loof'·the windward side of a ship
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary