The spelling of the word "were offing" follows the conventions of English orthography. The IPA phonetic transcription of this phrase would be /wər ˈɒfɪŋ/. The word "were" is spelled with the silent letter "e" at the end to indicate it is the past tense of "are". The word "offing" is spelled using the letter combination "ff" to indicate the pronunciation of the letter "f" at the end of a syllable. The silent "e" at the end indicates that the preceding vowel is pronounced as a long sound.
The phrase "were offing" is not a commonly used term, and it does not have a specific etymology. However, if you meant to ask about the etymology of the word "offing", it refers to the area of the sea that is visible from the shore, but not near the shore itself.
The term "offing" originated in the early 17th century and comes from the Middle English word "offynge" and the Old English word "offan", which means "to set out" or "to embark". It is derived from the Old Norse word "ofan", meaning "from" or "down from".
Over time, the meaning of "offing" shifted to refer specifically to the part of the sea that is seen from shore, as sailors would observe ships going away and disappearing "off" into the distance.