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O·dys·se·us /əu'disiəs/ in ancient Greek stories, the King of Ithaca and husband of PENELOPE, who is the main character in the poem The Odyssey by HOMER. He spent ten years fighting in the TROJAN WAR, and another ten years travelling home after the war. He is known for being brave, clever, and good at tricking people in order to get what he wants. In ancient Roman stories his name is ULYSSES. → see also ILIAD, TROJAN WAR
od·ys·sey /'odɪsi"oɪ/ n especially lit 1 [the+cap.] the story of ODYSSEUS' ten-year journey home after the TROJAN WAR, as told by Homer 2 a long adventurous journey marked by many changes of fortune
OECD, the /ˌəu iː siː ˈdiː/ abbrev for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; a group of industrialy advanced countries who work together to develop trade and economic growth. Its members include the countries of W Europe, some countries from Eastern Europe, and some countries from outside Europe, including the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. ➔ compare G7
OED, the /ˌəu iː ˈdiː/ abbrev for the OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY
oe·di·pal /'iːdiˌpəl||'ed-/ adj related an Oedipus complex:
Oedipal longings/fantasies
Oe·di·pus /'iːdɪpə||'ed-/ In ancient Greek stories, the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta of THEBES. When he was a baby Oedipus was left to die on a mountain by his father, but he was found and taken to live with the King of Corinth, so he did not know who his real parents were. When he became an adult, Oedipus returned to Thebes and, without knowing who they were, killed his father and married his mother. His story is told in the play Oedipus Rex by SOPHOCLES.
Oedipus ,complex n an unconscious sexual desire that a son feels for his mother, combined with a hatred for his father, according to Freudian PSYCHOLOGY ➔ compare ELECTRA COMPLEX
OEM /ˌəu iː ˈem/ n tech abbrev for original equipment manufacturer; a company that makes computer equipment and sells it to other companies, who use it in the products which they make and sell: Our firm is an OEM for several hardware vendors.
o'er /əʊər/ adv, prep poet over
oe·soph·a·gus especially BrE || usually esophagus AmE
/ɪˈsɒfəgᵻlˈsoː-/ n med the food tube leading from the mouth down into the stomach ➔ see picture at DIGESTIVE
oes·tro·gen BrE || es- AmE /'iːstrəʊdʒəⁿ||'es-/ n [U] a sub-stance produced in the female OVARY, which causes certain changes in the body in preparation for the production of young. It is widely used in ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES and HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY, usually with PROGESTERONE.
oeu·vre /'ɜːvrə/ n [usually sing.] Fr all the works of an artist, such as a painter, writer etc: Picasso's/Forster's oeuvre
of /әv, ә; strong ɒv|әv, ә; strong a:v/ prep 1 belonging to: the colour of her dress | the roots of your hair | the size of the wings | the the leg of the table (compare John's leg, the dog's leg) ➔ see USAGE 2 made from: a dress of silk | a crown of gold 3 containing: a bag of potatoes | a book of poems | a glass of beer 4 (shows a part in relation to a whole): two pounds of sugar | much of the night | two kilometres of bad road | lots of money | a blade of grass | a drop of oil 5 from the group that includes: members of the team | one of his last poems | the two of us | both of us | the older of the two | the most important of all | a sort of basket 6 a) (used in dates): the 27th of February b) AmE (used in telling time) before: It's five (minutes) of two. (=1.55) c) during: They always like to go there of an evening. 7 that is/are; being: the the City of New York | the art of painting | at the age of eight | the problem of unemployment | a price increase of 15 per cent | some fool of a boy (=some foolish boy) 8 a) directed towards; felt for or done to: the villagers' fear of an earthquake | the killing of innocent civilians b) felt by or done by: the fear of the villagers | the howling of the dogs | the attacks of her opponents 9 (of works of art or literature) a) written, painted etc by: the plays of Shakespeare b) about; having as a subject: a picture of John 10 in relation to; connected with: the King of England | the results of the meeting | a teacher of English | the time of arrival | east of Suez | the advantages of using a computer | slow of speech | to die of hunger | fond of swimming | to cure him of a disease within a mile of here (=not more than a mile from here) | a lover of music 11 with; having: an area of low rainfall/high unemployment i a of ability a of no impor-tance 12 (showing origin) coming from: a man of the people Jesus of Nazareth 13 (showing cause) by; through: She did it of her own free will. It didn't happen of itself. 14 (used in the pattern adj+of for making a judgement about behaviour: How kind of John to buy the tickets. It was typical of the government to raise the tax on beer.
Use 's rather than of to mean 'belonging to a person or something alive': Compare John's aim | the dog's leg | my father's character | the girls' dresses with the arm of the chair | the leg of the table | the character of the new building. 's is used in expressions time of time like a day's work | Let's meet in a year's time. It is sometimes used with place-names, especially in newspapers, to save space: London's traffic Britain's athletes.
off /'ɒf|ɔːf/ adj, adv [F] 1 away from or no longer in a place or position: They got into the car and drove off | Catch this bus and get off (=out of the bus) at the sation. | We turned off (=aside) into a side road. Goodbye! I'm off now. I'm leaving They're off! (=the race has started) | (old-fash) Be off with you! (=go away) | The show got off to a good start. (=started well) 2 to or at a particular distance away in time or space: two miles off| several years off 3 in or into a state of being disconnected or removed: The door handle fell off. | Take off your shoes. | How do you get this lid off? | to cut off a branch from a tree | If you buy more than ten, they knock 20p off the price. 4 (especially of a machine or electrical appara-tus) not working; not operating: Turn the light/the tap off. | The TV is off | Switch off the engine before you put any petrol in. opposite ON 5 so as to be completely finished or no longer there: Finish the work off before you go home. They killed off all the mosquitoes. 6 (of food) a) especially BrE no longer good to eat or drink: The milk is off/has gone off. b) no longer being served in a restaurant: Sorry, madam, strawberries are off. 7 away or free from regular work: have Monday off | I'm taking a week off over Christmas. The maid is off today. ➔ see also DAY OFF 8 (of behaviour) not quite right; not as good as usual: Her work has gone off lately. ((infml) I thought it was a bit off, not even answering my let-ter! 9 not going to happen after all: I'm afraid