off-islandn.
/ˈɒfˌʌɪlənd/, U.S. /ˈɔfˌaɪlən(d)/, /ˈɑfˌaɪlən(d)/ British.
An island off the shore of a larger, central, or main island; spec. the inhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly other than the main island of St Mary's.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > land mass > island > [noun] > other
desert island1607
holt1611
sister isle1612
atoll1625
floating island1638
sister island1659
tropical island1769
artificial island1775
home island1806
wooden island1808
fire-isle1817
coral-island1831
thrum cap1832
branch-island1834
island-continent1872
off-island1880
hover1892
phosphate island1909
1880 M. A. Courtney W. Cornwall Words in M. A. Courtney & T. Q. Couch Gloss. Words Cornwall p. x Although none of the islands are more than three miles from St. Mary's, the largest,..each ‘Off-oisland’ has a pronunciation of its own.
1969 Sunday Times 23 Feb. 63 The off-islands may seem to be just across the nautical street but the journey can still be an experience on a rough day.
1973 W. J. Burley Death in Salubrious Place i. 14 The pleasure boats were on their various ways to the off-islands.
1976 London Calling Apr. 2/1 The Isles of Scilly... The four inhabited ‘off-islands’, as they are always called, are Tresco,..St. Martin's, St Agnes and Bryher.
1986 Scilly up to Date May 7 The home of Mrs. Christine Hensleigh was the first off-island house to be connected to the mains electricity supply.
2002 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Electronic ed.) 2 Mar. An Iron Age sword and mirror, found with the remains of a skeleton in a cist-grave on an Isles of Scilly off-island two years ago, are to be returned.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
off-islandadv.adj.
/ˌɒfˈʌɪlənd/, U.S. /ˌɔfˈaɪlən(d)/, /ˌɑfˈaɪlən(d)/ Originally and chiefly North American.
A. adv.
Off or away from an island.Usually with reference to an island understood from the context (spec., in earliest use, the island of Nantucket).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > land mass > island > [adverb]
off-island1916
1916 W. F. Macy & R. B. Hussey Nantucket Scrap Basket 140 Off-island and Off-Islander—Words in constant local use, and of too obvious meaning to require definition.
1916 Dial. Notes 4 335 Off island, elsewhere than on the island (Nantucket). ‘What would I want to go off island for?’
1949 H. Wright Life Maria Mitchell 35 Unable to accept the common Nantucket view, ‘What on earth should I want to go off-island for; this town's good enough for me,’ Maria Mitchell longed to share in the stirring movements in the world outside.
1971 N.Y. Times 27 June 3 One islander was heard to remark recently that he never carried more than 30 cents in his pocket unless he planned to go off-island.
1993 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 25 Jan. a13/5 Both have..had a kind of Anne-of-Green-Gables-style upbringing: they went off-island for their higher education.
2001 Scotsman (Electronic ed.) 15 Mar. The Orkney Knitwear Trade Association..is hoping to keep its labour sources and sell more clothing off-island.
B. adj.
Not belonging to an island; done, produced, owned, etc., off an island.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabiting temporarily > [adjective] > on island
off-island1940
1940 N.Y. Times 23 June x. 5/2 This group..will have as a nucleus many native and off-island Nantucketers of British ancestry.
1965 New Yorker 13 Feb. 42 This upset afforded small comfort to off-island Republicans here..because while the Guamanians are American citizens, they cannot vote in our Presidential elections.
1978 N.Y. Times 30 Mar. d1/5 Mr. Ferre also spoke out against the entry of more off-island banks into the Puerto Rican market.
1994 Pacific Daily News (Agana, Guam) 18 Feb. (Inside Focus section) 3/1 Also built into the bill are provisions designed to encourage local business development and discourage off-island investment.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1880adv.adj.1916