At or to a distance; aloof or at a remove from something, both physically and emotionally.
From Dutch 'af loof' (literally 'off the luff'), a nautical term describing a ship's position away from the wind. Entered English in the 16th century, eventually softening to mean general distance or emotional detachment.
'Affloof' is a nautical word that perfectly shows how maritime vocabulary shaped English—sailors needed precise terms for positions and winds, and landlubbers gradually borrowed these metaphors for emotional and social distance.
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