Added 9 October 2026
aloof
/əˈluːf/ adverb
adverb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about aloof at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
adjective
- Either physically or emotionally remote: distant, standoffish.
preposition
Origin
From Middle English loof (“weather gage, windward direction”), probably from Middle Dutch (Compare Dutch loef (“the weather side of a ship”)), originally a nautical order to keep the ship's head to the wind, thus to stay clear of a lee-shore or some other quarter, hence the figurative sense of "at a distance, apart".
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)