the.com/offer
A promise with a price tag, waiting for someone to say yes.
means To put something forward for someone else to accept or refuse — a job, a deal, a hand of help.
from From Old English 'offrian,' meaning to offer a sacrifice to a god, borrowed from Latin 'offerre' — 'ob-' (toward) plus 'ferre' (to carry or bring). So the word's oldest job was carrying something to an altar; only later did it slide down to earth, covering job offers, low prices, and polite gestures of help.
- legal twist
- an offer can be revoked anytime before acceptance, usually
- contract law
- needs acceptance plus consideration to become binding
- ad trap
- advertisements are rarely offers, just invitations to negotiate
- word kinship
- shares a root with oblation, a religious sacrifice