'off-centeredness' is formed from the particle 'off' and the adjective 'centered' plus the suffix '-ness'. 'off' originates from Old English 'of', meaning 'away' or 'from'; 'centered' derives from 'center' (see below) with the adjectival '-ed'; the suffix '-ness' comes from Old English and marks a state or quality.

'center' originates from Greek 'kentron' via Latin 'centrum' and Old French 'centre'; Greek 'kentron' meant 'sharp point' and developed into the sense 'middle point' in Latin/Old French, then Middle English 'centre', and modern English 'center'. The compound 'off-centered' is a modern English formation combining 'off' + 'centered', and adding '-ness' produced the noun 'off-centeredness'.

Initially 'kentron' referred to a 'sharp point'; over time it shifted to mean the 'middle point' or 'focus'. 'Off' originally meant 'away/from' and when combined with 'center' the meaning evolved into 'away from the middle'; the noun now means the state or quality of being away from the center.