II.off [美 ɔf, ɑf, 英 ɒf]副off often appears as the second element of certain verb structures in English (break off, pay off, take off, etc). For translations, see the relevant verb entry (break, pay, take, etc).
I.on [美 ɑn, ɔn, 英 ɒn]介词on often appears as the second element of certain verb structures in English (count on, lay on, sign on, etc). For translations, see the relevant verb entry (count, lay, sign, etc).
But earlier encounters had been largely with poorly armed merchant ships, scrawny pirates and isolated squads, targets a single, well-armed fighting caravel could see off without much difficulty.
