off-putting adj.

by c. 1200 as an emphatic form of Old English of (see of), employed in the adverbial use of that word. The prepositional meaning "away from" and the adjectival sense of "farther" were not firmly fixed in this variant until 17c., but once they were they left the original of with the transferred and weakened senses of the word. Meaning "not working" is from 1861.

Off the cuff "extemporaneously, without preparation" (1938) is from the notion of speaking from notes written in haste on one's shirt cuffs. In reference to clothing, off the rack (adj.) "not tailored, not made to individual requirements, ready-made" is by 1963, on the notion of buying it from the rack of a clothing store; off the record "not to be publicly disclosed" is from 1933; off the wall "crazy" is 1968, probably from the notion of a lunatic "bouncing off the walls" or else in reference to carom shots in squash, handball, etc.

Middle English putten, from late Old English *putian, "to thrust, push, shove" (someone or something; a sense now obsolete), also "to move or a thing physically so as to place it in some situation," implied in putung "instigation, an urging," literally "a putting;" related to pytan "put out, thrust out" (of eyes), probably from a Germanic stem that also produced Danish putte "to put," Swedish dialectal putta; Middle Dutch pote "scion, plant," Dutch poten "to plant," Old Norse pota "to poke."

Obsolete past tense form putted is attested 14c.-15c. From c. 1300 as "to hurl, cast, propel," especially "to throw with an upward and forward motion of the arm" (Will. Putstan is attested as a name from 1296). From mid-14c. in the figurative sense of "bring (someone) into some specified state or condition;" late 14c. as "subject (someone to something)," as in put to death, c. 1400; put to shame, mid-15c. From mid-14c. as "make a declaration, express in speech or writing," hence "express or state (in a particular way)," 1690s, also "propose or place before someone for consideration."

To put (something) back is from 1530s as "to hinder, delay;" 1816 as "restore to the original place or position." To put (something) down "end by force or authority" (a rebellion, etc.) is from mid-14c. To put upon (someone) "play a trick on, impose on" is from 1690s. To put up with "tolerate, accept, bear or suffer without protest or resentment" (1755) is perhaps from put up "to take up" (one's lodgings, etc.), 1727. To put (someone) up in the transitive sense of "lodge and entertain" is by 1766. To put (someone) on "deceive" is from 1958. To put upon (someone) "play a trick on, deceive, impose on" is from 1690s.