Word: of Part of Speech: prep Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Germanic *ab Proto-West Germanic *ab Old English æf Old English of Middle English of English of From Middle English of, from Old English of (“from, out of, off”), an unstressed form of æf, from Proto-West Germanic *ab, from Proto-Germanic *ab (“away; away from”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“away”). Doublet of off, which is the stressed descendant of the same Old English word. More at off. Pronunciation: /ɒv/, /ɔv/, /ʌv/, [ɐv~ʌv~əv], /ɔf/ 1. Expressing distance or motion. Labels: dialectal, obsolete Example: Take the chicken out of the freezer. Example: Sir said Galahad by this shelde ben many merueils fallen / Sir sayd the knyght hit befelle after the passion of our lord Ihesu Crist xxxij yere that Ioseph of Armathye the gentyl knyghte / the whiche took doune oure lord of the hooly Crosse att that tyme he departed from Iherusalem with a grete party of his kynred with hym 2. Expressing distance or motion. Example: He hasn't been well of late. Example: And he axed his father: howe longe is it agoo, sens this hath happened hym? And he sayde, of a chylde. 3. Expressing distance or motion. Example: There are no shops within twenty miles of the cottage. Example: Though Washington does not officially recognize Moscow, the Hoover Administration permits a Soviet Russian Information Bureau to flourish in a modest red brick house on Massachusetts Avenue, within a mile of the White House. 4. Expressing separation. Example: Finally she was relieved of the burden of caring for her sick husband. Example: And ther with on his handes and on his knees he wente soo nyghe that he touched the holy vessel / and kyste hit / and anone he was hole / and thenne he sayd lord god I thanke the / for I am helyd of this sekenesse 5. Expressing separation. Example: He seemed devoid of human feelings. Example: But schemes are perfectly accidental: some will appear barren of hints and matter, but prove to be fruitful […] 6. Expressing separation. Labels: obsolete Example: He was kindly treated by the people at Saco, and recovered of his wounds. 7. Expressing origin. Example: The word is believed to be of Japanese origin. Example: They wondred all, and marveylled sayinge amonge themselves: Loke, are not all these which speake off galile? And howe heare we every man his awne tongue wherein we were boren? 8. Expressing origin. Example: Jesus of Nazareth (after hometown) Example: Anselm of Canterbury (after diocese) 9. Expressing origin. Example: The invention was born of necessity. Example: Faire knyght said Palomydes me semeth we haue assayed eyther other passyng sore / and yf hit may please the / I requyre the of thy knyghthode telle me thy name / Sir said the knyȝt to Palomydes / that is me loth to doo / for thou hast done me wronge. 10. Expressing origin. Example: It is said that she died of a broken heart. Example: He smelled of beer and cigarette smoke and his own body. 11. Expressing origin. Example: I am tired of all this nonsense. Example: Lib Dems were appalled by Mr Boles’s offer, however kindly meant: the party is so frightened of losing its independence under Mr Clegg that such a pact would “kill” him, says a senior member. 12. Expressing agency. Example: I am not particularly enamoured of this idea. Example: After a good while, the iewes toke cousell amonge themselves to kyll him. But their layinges awayte wer knowen of Saul. 13. Expressing agency. Example: The contract can be terminated at any time with the agreement of both parties. Example: In Blood and Sand, meanwhile, Valentino repeatedly solicits the attention of women who have turned away from him. 14. Expressing agency. Example: It was very brave of you to speak out like that. Example: When this was over, Mr. Woodhouse gratefully observed,—"It is very kind of you, Mr. Knightley, to come out at this late hour to call upon us." 15. Expressing composition, substance. Example: Many 'corks' are now actually made of plastic. Example: The mallet is made of a hard heavy wood resembling ebony, is about twelve inches in length, and perhaps two in breadth, with a rounded handle at one end, and in shape is the exact counterpart of one of our four-sided razor-strops. 16. Expressing composition, substance. Example: She wore a dress of silk. Example: Perhaps symbolically, Van Doesburg was building a house of straw: he died within a few months of completion, not in Meudon but in Davos, of a heart attack following a bout of asthma. 17. Expressing composition, substance. Example: I'll have a dozen of those apples, please. Example: What a lot of nonsense! 18. Expressing composition, substance. Example: Germany's formal name is the Federal Republic of Germany. Example: Welcome to the historic town of Harwich. 19. Expressing composition, substance. Example: I'm not driving this wreck of a car. Example: As he swallowed the soup his heart warmed to this fool of a girl. 20. Introducing subject matter. Example: I'm always thinking of you. Example: [H]e spoke of his uncle with warm regard, was fond of talking of him […] 21. Introducing subject matter. Example: He told us the story of his journey to India. Example: Recession and rising unemployment have put paid to most thoughts of further EU enlargement. 22. Introducing subject matter. Example: This behaviour is typical of teenagers. Example: The same secludedness and isolation to which the schoolmaster whale betakes himself in his advancing years, is true of all aged Sperm Whales. 23. Having partitive effect. Example: Most of these apples are rotten. Example: But as for me said sire Gareth I medle not of their maters therfore there is none of them that loueth me / And for I vnderstande they be murtherers of good knyghtes I lefte theyre company 24. Having partitive effect. Example: We want a larger slice of the cake. Example: everyone, even the ladies of the village, called the dish tzigayner shmeklekh, or “gypsies' penises.” 25. Having partitive effect. Labels: archaic, literary Example: On the whole, they seem to be of the decent sort. Example: And the folysshe sayde to the wyse: geve us of youre oyle, for oure lampes goo out? 26. Having partitive effect. Example: He is a friend of mine. Example: He is just what I should have liked a son of mine to be. 27. Expressing possession. Example: He was perhaps the most famous scientist of the twentieth century. Example: The building was erected in two years, at the parochial expence, on the foundation of the former one, which was irreparably damaged by the hurricane of Auguſt, 1712. 28. Expressing possession. Example: The owner of the nightclub was arrested. Example: In a much-anticipated radio broadcast the Duke of Edinburgh said last night that Britain will be a grim place in the year 2000 […] 29. Expressing possession. Example: Keep the handle of the saucepan away from the flames. Example: The breasts of young girls sometimes become tender at puberty in sympathy with the evolution of the sexual organs […] 30. Forming the "objective genitive". 31. Forming the "objective genitive". Example: She had a profound distrust of the police. Example: And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 32. Expressing qualities or characteristics. Labels: archaic, literary Example: My companion seemed affable and easy of manner. Example: This fact becomes very noticeable when a cultivated tongue ceases to be used any longer by the educated, and is heard only from the mouths of the illiterate. The variations which spring up under such circumstances are easy of observation, because we have an ideal standard preserved by which to compare the present with the past. 33. Expressing qualities or characteristics. Example: Pooh was said to be a bear of very little brain. Example: His frank acceptance of the situation marks him as either an innocent man, or else as a man of considerable self-restraint and firmness. 34. Expressing qualities or characteristics. Example: A young man of 20 has been paying interest at an exorbitant rate of 10%. Example: She was a tall young girl of about twenty-two or three, holding herself erect and with fine dignity. 35. Expressing qualities or characteristics. Labels: US, informal Example: It's not that big of a deal. (Standard form: It's not that big a deal.) Example: Such hegemonic projects often appropriate certain local traditions and re-inscribe them as "national," while dismissing other traditions which pose too great of a threat to the reproduction of the existing socio-political order. 36. Expressing a point in time. Labels: regional Example: Of an evening, we would often go for a stroll along the river. Example: For, sometimes of an afternoon when Miss Pupford has been reading the paper through her little gold eye-glass[…], she has become agitated, […] 37. Expressing a point in time. Labels: UK, dialectal Example: I’ve not taken her out of a goodly long while. 38. Expressing a point in time. Example: After a delay of three hours, the plane finally took off. Example: The cab driver's claim he was sleepwalking during the attack has already been supported by his wife of 37 years. 39. Expressing a point in time. Labels: US Example: I’ll be ready at ten of two Example: What's the time? / Nearly a quarter of three. 40. Expressing a point in time. Labels: US, informal Example: I’ll be ready at ten of Example: Wednesday was more of the same. Out at 08:30, got to the office by quarter of, clients all day.