Join free

OF

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

of¹

  • /ɒv/ UK
  • /ɔv/ Australia, British, New Zealand, Southern, Standard
  • /ʌv/ US
  • [ɐv~ʌv~əv] US
  • /ɔf/ South Asia
  • /əv/ Western
  • /ə/ Western
  • /əf/ South Asia
  • /ə/ South Asia

Sounds like off, 've (unstressed of only, postconsonantal 've only), a stripped-by-parse_pron_post_template_fn · Rhymes with -ɒv, -ʌv, -ɒf

Where it comes from

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.

preposition ov · ob · o · o' · a

  1. dialectal, obsolete From (a place); off. Take the chicken out of the freezer.
  2. Since, from (a given time, earlier state etc.). He hasn't been well of late.
  3. From, away from (a position, number, distance etc.). There are no shops within twenty miles of the cottage.
  4. Indicating removal, absence or separation, with the action indicated by a transitive verb and the quality or substance by a grammatical object. Finally she was relieved of the burden of caring for her sick husband.
  5. Indicating removal, absence or separation, with resulting state indicated by an adjective. He seemed devoid of human feelings.
  6. obsolete Indicating removal, absence or separation, construed with an intransitive verb. He was kindly treated by the people at Saco, and recovered of his wounds.
  7. Indicating an ancestral source or origin of descent. The word is believed to be of Japanese origin.
  8. Introducing an epithet that indicates a birthplace, residence, dominion, or other place associated with the individual. Jesus of Nazareth (after hometown)
  9. Indicating a (non-physical) source of action or emotion; introducing a cause, instigation; from, out of, as an expression of. The invention was born of necessity.
  10. Indicates the source or cause of the verb. It is said that she died of a broken heart.
  11. Indicates the subject or cause of the adjective. I am tired of all this nonsense.
  12. Indicates the agent (for most verbs, now usually expressed with by). I am not particularly enamoured of this idea.
  13. Used to introduce the “subjective genitive”; following a noun to form the head of a postmodifying noun phrase (see also ‘Possession’ senses below). The contract can be terminated at any time with the agreement of both parties.
  14. Used to indicate the agent of something described by the adjective. It was very brave of you to speak out like that.
  15. Used to indicate the material or substance used. Many 'corks' are now actually made of plastic.
  16. Used to indicate the material of the just-mentioned object. She wore a dress of silk.
  17. Indicating the composition of a given collective or quantitative noun. I'll have a dozen of those apples, please.
  18. Used to link a given class of things with a specific example of that class. Germany's formal name is the Federal Republic of Germany.
  19. Links two nouns in near-apposition, with the first qualifying the second; “which is also”. I'm not driving this wreck of a car.
  20. Links an intransitive verb, or a transitive verb and its subject (especially verbs to do with thinking, feeling, expressing etc.), with its subject-matter; concerning, with regard to. I'm always thinking of you.
  21. Introduces its subject matter; about, concerning. He told us the story of his journey to India.
  22. Introduces its subject matter. This behaviour is typical of teenagers.
  23. Introduces the whole for which is indicated only the specified part or segment; “from among”. Most of these apples are rotten.
  24. Indicates a given part. We want a larger slice of the cake.
  25. archaic, literary Some, an amount of, one of. On the whole, they seem to be of the decent sort.
  26. Links to a genitive noun or possessive pronoun, with partitive effect (though now often merged with possessive senses, below; see also double possessive). He is a friend of mine.
  27. Belonging to, existing in, or taking place in a given location, place or time. Compare “origin” senses, above. He was perhaps the most famous scientist of the twentieth century.
  28. Belonging to (a place) through having title, ownership or control over it. The owner of the nightclub was arrested.
  29. Belonging to (someone or something) as something they possess or have as a characteristic; the “possessive genitive”. (With abstract nouns, this intersects with the subjective genitive, above under “agency” senses.) Keep the handle of the saucepan away from the flames.
  30. Forming the “objective genitive”.
  31. Follows an agent noun, verbal noun or noun of action. She had a profound distrust of the police.
  32. archaic, literary Links an adjective with a noun or noun phrase to form a quasi-adverbial qualifier; in respect to, as regards. My companion seemed affable and easy of manner.
  33. Indicates a quality or characteristic; “characterized by”. Pooh was said to be a bear of very little brain.
  34. Indicates quantity, age, price, etc. A young man of 20 has been paying interest at an exorbitant rate of 10%.
  35. US, informal Used to link singular indefinite nouns (preceded by the indefinite article) and attributive adjectives modified by certain common adverbs of degree. It's not that big of a deal. (Standard form: It's not that big a deal.)
  36. regional During the course of (a set period of time, day of the week etc.), now specifically with implied repetition or regularity. Of an evening, we would often go for a stroll along the river.
  37. UK, dialectal For (a given length of time). I’ve not taken her out of a goodly long while.
  38. Indicates duration of a state, activity etc. After a delay of three hours, the plane finally took off.
  39. US Before (the hour); to (the hour). I’ll be ready at ten of two
  40. US, informal Often used without the hour. I’ll be ready at ten of

of²

Where it comes from

A spelling of /əv/ influenced by Etymology 1.

verb

  1. pronunciation spelling Eye dialect spelling of have and 've, chiefly in depictions of colloquial speech.have and 've I have refrained from giving many details which I might of done, from feelings of delicacy; indeed, they were of so dark and dreadful a nature, that I could do no more than hint at them

OF³

proper noun

  1. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Old French.Old French
  2. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Old Frisian.Old Frisian
  3. Internet, abbreviation Abbreviation of OnlyFans.OnlyFans
  4. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Ordinary Form.Ordinary Form

noun OFs

  1. abbreviation Abbreviation of outfield.outfield
  2. abbreviation Abbreviation of outfielder.outfielder
  3. Internet, abbreviation Abbreviation of OnlyFans (“an account on OnlyFans”).OnlyFans

Talk about this word