OFF'SET, noun [off and set.] 1. A shoot; a sprout from the roots of a plant. 2. In surveying, a perpendicular let fall from the stationary lines to the hedge, fence or extremity of an inclosure. 3. In accounts, a sum, account or value set off against another sum or account, as an equivalent. [This is also written set-off.] OFF'SET, verb transitive To set one account against another; to make the account of one party pay the demand of another.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI