English

-off

A competition [of the activity denoted by the word it combines with], especially a final, tiebreaker, or repechage within a broader tournament.

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    Origin

    Back-formation from playoff, a deverbal, as the archetype.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • derivedEnglishplayoff “A final game in a series needed to break a tie.”

    Sources