off-load, verb

Origin:
Calque formed on Dutch afladen.
Note:
Now also in general English usage.
1.
a. intransitive. To unload.
1850 R.G.G. Cumming Hunter’s Life I. 5No, no, mynheer, you must not off-load.
1871 E.J. Dugmore Diary. 7At the McKay’s where I am staying while Henry offloads at the New Rush the heat is almost unbearable.
1892 R.H.S. Churchill Men, Mines & Animals 221There was nothing for it but to ‘off-load,’ a most tedious and tiring business.
1912 W. Westrup Land of To-Morrow 235In at the open gate..came a string of ponies..loaded with wool and grain. The natives...proceeded to off-load.
1968 Post 4 Feb. 15A family offloads soon after the lorry had arrived.
b. transitive. To unload (something or someone) from a wagon; to unload (a vehicle).
1877 Sel. Comm. Report on Mission to Damaraland p.xivI gave orders to my men to off-load the waggon.
1902 D. Van Warmelo On Commando 148A wagon was being inspanned...An old man...threatened to off-load all the women on the first available place, as he had never in his life had so much trouble.
1931 G. Beet Grand Old Days 13About 10,000 pounds of weight of goods and impedimenta had to be off-loaded by the wayside.
1940 F.B. Young City of Gold 99The wagon, even off loaded, tilted so dangerously that it seemed as if the least jerk would sent it crashing to splinters.
1967 J.A. Broster Red Blanket Valley 75On her head she was carrying a heavy load of firewood which she off-loaded.
1979 M. Matshoba Call Me Not a Man 98Stand in the passage and watch the guys offloading mailbags out of a mail coach onto a Railway truck.
1988 E. Keyter in S. Afr. Panorama Mar. 16At the mill the sugar-cane is off-loaded directly onto conveyor belts.
2. transitive. Transferred and figurative senses. To dispose of or discard (a person or thing).
1900 B. Mitford Aletta 130One would think..Government would have plenty to do without off-loading all these insane circulars upon us.
1924 L. Cohen Reminisc. of Jhb. 82Espying a man who had some belief in philanthropy, I — without the least compunction and to my intense relief — off-loaded the whole five hundred at fifteen and six.
1961 T.V. Bulpin White Whirlwind 186What they are really looking at is their bank balance...If they look an inch beyond that it’s only to find a dupe on whom they can offload dud shares.
1972 Sunday Times 12 Mar. 4For two years I have been trying to offload my clay deposits on to the Government.
1973 Farmer’s Weekly 11 July 76The indifferent quality which they off-load on to local markets would not even fetch a return as pig swill on the competitive and discriminating markets of Europe.
To unload.
To unload (something or someone) from a wagon; to unload (a vehicle).
To dispose of or discard (a person or thing).
Derivatives:
Hence off-loading  verbal noun, unloading.
1971 Grocott’s Mail 12 Feb.Engineers were summonsed to assist in the manual off-loading of the oven from the truck.
1973 Farmer’s Weekly 13 June 12Off-loading can be controlled for dumping or spreading.
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off-loading

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Dutch
off-colour, adjectiveadj. & nounn.off-saddle, nounn.
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