offing

1. The area of the sea in which a ship can be seen in the distance from land, excluding the parts nearest the shore, and beyond the anchoring ground.
2. The distance that a ship at sea keeps away from land, often because of navigational dangers, fog and other hazards; a position at a distance from shore.
3. The foreseeable future. Chiefly in the phrase in the offing.

From off + ing. Attested since the 1620s. Early texts also spell the term offin and offen.

Nouveau

1. In a direction away from the speaker or other reference point.
2. Into a state of non-operation or non-existence.
3. So as to remove or separate, or be removed or separated.
4. Offstage.
5. Used in various other ways specific to individual idiomatic phrases, e.g. bring off, show off, put off, tell off, etc. See the entry for the individual phrase.