Offer

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɒfə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. To propose something that can be accepted or declined by another individual or group
2. To present or put forward something for consideration or acceptance ; a proposal made with the intention of being accepted or rejected ; to willingly give or supply something without being asked
3. To make something available for others to accept or refuse ; a suggestion or bid offered to someone ; to voluntarily supply or furnish goods, services, or assistance

Etymology: The verb has a split ancestry. Its religious sense, to offer a sacrifice to a god, came into English from Old English "offrian," which was itself borrowed from Latin "offerre," meaning "to bring before." That Latin verb combines "ob," meaning "before" or "toward," with "ferre," "to carry," so the root idea is simply carrying something toward someone. Later, Old French "offrir" arrived with the everyday sense of holding something out for acceptance, and English absorbed both strands, so the modern verb carries the sacred and the commercial side by side. The noun is a different story. It is formed from the verb's base with the ending "-er," so the word for an offering and the word for the act of presenting one are historically intertwined, even though the noun did not descend from the Latin word directly. Many people sense that "offer" should be a close relative of "offering," and that intuition is correct: both come from the same Latin root through different paths.

Synonyms: present, propose, suggest, extend, provide

Antonyms: refuse, withdraw, reject, decline, take