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of - 12 dictionary results

of

1  [uhv, ov; unstressed uhv or, especially before consonants, uh]
Use of in a Sentence
–preposition
1. (used to indicate distance or direction from, separation, deprivation, etc.): within a mile of the church; south of Omaha; to be robbed of one's money.
2. (used to indicate derivation, origin, or source): a man of good family; the plays of Shakespeare; a piece of cake.
3. (used to indicate cause, motive, occasion, or reason): to die of hunger.
4. (used to indicate material, component parts, substance, or contents): a dress of silk; an apartment of three rooms; a book of poems; a package of cheese.
5. (used to indicate apposition or identity): Is that idiot of a salesman calling again?
6. (used to indicate specific identity or a particular item within a category): the city of Chicago; thoughts of love.
7. (used to indicate possession, connection, or association): the king of France; the property of the church.
8. (used to indicate inclusion in a number, class, or whole): one of us.
9. (used to indicate the objective relation, the object of the action noted by the preceding noun or the application of a verb or adjective): the ringing of bells; He writes her of home; I'm tired of working.
10. (used to indicate reference or respect): There is talk of peace.
11. (used to indicate qualities or attributes): an ambassador of remarkable tact.
12. (used to indicate a specified time): They arrived of an evening.
13. Chiefly Northern U.S. before the hour of; until: twenty minutes of five.
14. on the part of: It was very mean of you to laugh at me.
15. in respect to: fleet of foot.
16. set aside for or devoted to: a minute of prayer.
17. Archaic. by: consumed of worms.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE: of, off; c. G ab, L ab, Gk apó. See off, a- 2 , o'

Usage note:
Of is sometimes added to phrases beginning with the adverb how or too followed by a descriptive adjective: How long of a drive will it be? It's too hot of a day for tennis. This construction is probably modeled on that in which how or too is followed by much, an unquestionably standard use in all varieties of speech and writing: How much of a problem will that cause the government? There was too much of an uproar for the speaker to be heard. The use of of with descriptive adjectives after how or too is largely restricted to informal speech. It occurs occasionally in informal writing and written representations of speech. See also couple, off.

of

2  [uhv]
–auxiliary verb Pronunciation Spelling.
have: He should of asked me first.
Compare a 4 .

Pronunciation note:
Because the preposition of, when unstressed (a piece of cake), and the unstressed or contracted auxiliary verb have (could have gone, could've gone) are both pronounced [uhv] or [uh] in connected speech, inexperienced writers commonly confuse the two words, spelling have as of (I would of handed in my book report, but the dog ate it). Professional writers have been able to exploit this spelling deliberately, especially in fiction, to help represent the speech of the uneducated: If he could of went home, he would of.

of-

 
var. of ob- (by assimilation) before f: offend.

OF

 
Old French.
Also, OF., O.F.

ob-

 
a prefix meaning “toward,” “to,” “on,” “over,” “against,” orig. occurring in loanwords from Latin, but now used also, with the sense of “reversely,” “inversely,” to form Neo-Latin and English scientific terms: object; obligate; oblanceolate.
Also, o-, oc-, of-, op-.

Origin:
ME (< OF) < L, repr. ob (prep.); in some scientific terms, < NL, L ob-
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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of   (ŭv, ŏv; əv when unstressed)   
prep.  
  1. Derived or coming from; originating at or from: customs of the South.
  2. Caused by; resulting from: a death of tuberculosis.
  3. Away from; at a distance from: a mile east of here.
  4. So as to be separated or relieved from: robbed of one's dignity; cured of distemper.
  5. From the total or group comprising: give of one's time; two of my friends; most of the cases.
  6. Composed or made from: a dress of silk.
  7. Associated with or adhering to: people of your religion.
  8. Belonging or connected to: the rungs of a ladder.
    1. Possessing; having: a person of honor.
    2. On one's part: very nice of you.
    3. With reference to; about: think highly of her proposals; will speak of it later.
    4. In respect to: slow of speech.
  10. Containing or carrying: a basket of groceries.
  11. Specified as; named or called: a depth of ten feet; the Garden of Eden.
  12. Centering on; directed toward: a love of horses.
  13. Produced by; issuing from: products of the vine.
  14. Characterized or identified by: a year of famine.
    1. With reference to; about: think highly of her proposals; will speak of it later.
    2. In respect to: slow of speech.
  16. Set aside for; taken up by: a day of rest.
  17. Before; until: five minutes of two.
  18. During or on a specified time: of recent years.
  19. By: beloved of the family.
  20. Used to indicate an appositive: that idiot of a driver.
  21. Archaic On: "A plague of all cowards, I say" (Shakespeare).

[Middle English, from Old English; see apo- in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note: Grammarians have sometimes objected to the so-called double genitive construction, as in a friend of my father's; a book of mine. But the construction has been used in English since the 14th century and serves a useful purpose. It can help sort out ambiguous phrases like Bob's photograph, which could refer either to a photograph of Bob (that is, revealing Bob's image) or to one in Bob's possession. A photograph of Bob's can only be a photo that Bob has in his possession, which may or may not show Bob's image. Moreover, in some sentences the double genitive offers the only way to express what is meant. There is no substitute for it in a sentence such as That's the only friend of yours that I've ever met, since sentences such as That's your only friend that I've ever met and That's your only friend, whom I've ever met are awkward or inaccurate.

Our Living Language  : Some speakers of vernacular English varieties, particularly in isolated or mountainous regions of the southern United States, use phrases such as of a night or of an evening in place of Standard English at night or in the evening, as in We'd go hunting of an evening. This of construction is used only when referring to a repeated action—where Standard English uses nights, evenings, and the like, as in We'd go hunting nights. It is not used for single actions, as in She returned at night. · Interestingly, these of and -s constructions are related. This -s construction, which dates back to the Old English period (c. 449-1100), does not signify a plurality but is similar to the so-called genitive suffix -s, which often indicates possession, as in the king's throne. Just as this example can also be phrased as the throne of the king, nights can be reformulated as of a night. This reformulation has been possible since the Middle English period (c. 1100-1500). Sometimes the original -s ending remains in the of construction, as in We'd walk to the store of evenings, but usually it is omitted. Using of with adverbial time phrases has not always been confined to vernacular speech, as is evidenced by its occurrence in sources from the Wycliffite Bible (1382) to Theodore Dreiser's 1911 novel Jennie Gerhardt: "There was a place out in one corner of the veranda where he liked to sit of a spring or summer evening." · Using such of constructions reflects a long-standing tendency for English speakers to eliminate the case endings that were once attached to nouns to indicate their role as subject, object, or possessor. Nowadays, word order and the use of prepositional phrases usually determine a noun or noun phrase's role. Despite the trend to replace genitive -s with of phrases, marking adverbial phrases of time with of is fading out of American vernacular usage, probably because one can form these phrases without -s, as in at night. See Note at Smith Island.
OF  
abbr.  
  1. outfield
  2. outfielder
out·field   (out'fēld')   
n.   Baseball
  1. The playing area extending outward from the diamond, divided into left, center, and right field.
  2. Abbr. OF The position played by an outfielder.
  3. The members of a team playing in the outfield.
out·field·er   (out'fēl'dər)   
n.   Baseball Abbr. OF
A player who defends left, center, or right field.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Of

Of\, prep. [AS. of of, from, off; akin to D. & OS. af, G. ab off, OHG. aba from, away, Icel., Dan., Sw., & Goth. af, L. ab, Gr. ?, Skr. apa. Cf.Off, A- (2), Ab-, After, Epi-.] In a general sense, from, or out from; proceeding from; belonging to; relating to; concerning; -- used in a variety of applications; as:

1. Denoting that from which anything proceeds; indicating origin, source, descent, and the like; as, he is of a race of kings; he is of noble blood.

That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. --Luke i. 35.

I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you. --1 Cor. xi. 23.

2. Denoting possession or ownership, or the relation of subject to attribute; as, the apartment of the consul: the power of the king; a man of courage; the gate of heaven. "Poor of spirit." --Macaulay.

3. Denoting the material of which anything is composed, or that which it contains; as, a throne of gold; a sword of steel; a wreath of mist; a cup of water.

4. Denoting part of an aggregate or whole; belonging to a number or quantity mentioned; out of; from amongst; as, of this little he had some to spare; some of the mines were unproductive; most of the company.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. --Lam. iii. 22.

It is a duty to communicate of those blessings we have received. --Franklin.

5. Denoting that by which a person or thing is actuated or impelled; also, the source of a purpose or action; as, they went of their own will; no body can move of itself; he did it of necessity.

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. --Josh. xi. 20.

6. Denoting reference to a thing; about; concerning; relating to; as, to boast of one's achievements.

Knew you of this fair work? --Shak.

7. Denoting nearness or distance, either in space or time; from; as, within a league of the town; within an hour of the appointed time.

8. Denoting identity or equivalence; -- used with a name or appellation, and equivalent to the relation of apposition; as, the continent of America; the city of Rome; the Island of Cuba.

9. Denoting the agent, or person by whom, or thing by which, anything is, or is done; by.

And told to her of [by] some. --Chaucer.

He taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. --Luke iv. 15.

[Jesus] being forty days tempted of the devil. --Luke iv. 1, 2.

Note: The use of the word in this sense, as applied to persons, is nearly obsolete.

10. Denoting relation to place or time; belonging to, or connected with; as, men of Athens; the people of the Middle Ages; in the days of Herod.

11. Denoting passage from one state to another; from. [Obs.] "O miserable of happy." --Milton.

12. During; in the course of.

Not be seen to wink of all the day. --Shak.

My custom always of the afternoon. --Shak.

Note: Of may be used in a subjective or an objective sense. "The love of God" may mean, our love for God, or God's love for us.

Note: From is the primary sense of this preposition; a sense retained in off, the same word differently written for distinction. But this radical sense disappears in most of its application; as, a man of genius; a man of rare endowments; a fossil of a red color, or of an hexagonal figure; he lost all hope of relief; an affair of the cabinet; he is a man of decayed fortune; what is the price of corn? In these and similar phrases, of denotes property or possession, or a relation of some sort involving connection. These applications, however all proceeded from the same primary sense. That which proceeds from, or is produced by, a person or thing, either has had, or still has, a close connection with the same; and hence the word was applied to cases of mere connection, not involving at all the idea of separation.

Of consequence, of importance, value, or influence.

Of late, recently; in time not long past.

Of old, formerly; in time long past.

Of one's self, by one's self; without help or prompting; spontaneously.

Why, knows not Montague, that of itself England is safe, if true within itself? --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : of
Spanish: de,
German: von,
Japanese: ～の
More Translations »

of 
O.E. of, unstressed form of æf (prep., adv.) "away, away from," from P.Gmc. *af- (cf. O.N. af, O.Fris. af, of "of," Du. af "off, down," Ger. ab "off, from, down"), from PIE *apo- "off, away" (see apo-). Primary sense in O.E. was still "away," but shifted in M.E. with use of the word to translate L. de, ex, and especially O.Fr. de, which had come to be the substitute for the genitive case. "Of shares with another word of the same length, as, the evil glory of being accessory to more crimes against grammar than any other." [Fowler]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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OF
  1. Oriental female
  2. outfield
  3. outfielder
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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