1 aarchaic:outset, startb:cessation 2 a (1): a short prostrate lateral shoot arising from the base of a plant (2): a small bulb arising from the base of another bulb b: a lateral or collateral branch (as of a family or race) :offshootc: a spur from a range of hills 3 a: a horizontal ledge on the face of a wall formed by a diminution of its thickness above b:displacementc: an abrupt change in the dimension or profile of an object or the part set off by such change 4: something that sets off to advantage or embellishes something else :foil 5: an abrupt bend in an object by which one part is turned aside out of line 6: something that serves to counterbalance or to compensate for something else; especially: either of two balancing ledger items 7 a: unintentional transfer of ink (as from a freshly printed sheet) b: a printing process in which an inked impression from a plate is first made on a rubber-blanketed cylinder and then transferred to the paper being printed