off colour

off col·our

O o

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [awf, of kuhl-er]
- /ɔf, ɒf ˈkʌl ər/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [awf, of kuhl-er]
- /ɔf, ɒf ˈkʌl ər/

Definitions of off colour words

adjective off colour not having the usual or standard color: an off-color gem. 1
adjective off colour of doubtful propriety or taste; risqué: an off-color joke. 1
adjective off colour not in one's usual health: to feel off-color. 1
adjective off colour unwell 1

See all 4 definitions of off colour

Information block about the term

Origin of off colour

First appearance:

before 1855

One of the 30% newest English words

First recorded in 1855-60

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Off colour

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Off colour

off colour popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 34% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 74% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

off colour usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer