First Known Use: before 12th century
Dictionary
1of
preposition \əv, before consonants also ə; ˈəv, ˈäv\
: belonging to, relating to, or connected with (someone or something)
—used to indicate that someone or something belongs to a group of people or things
: living or occurring in (a specified country, city, town, etc.)
Full Definition of OF
1
—used as a function word to indicate a point of reckoning <north of the lake>
2
a —used as a function word to indicate origin or derivation <a man of noble birth> b —used as a function word to indicate the cause, motive, or reason <died of flu> c : by <plays of Shakespeare> d : on the part of <very kind of you> e : occurring in <a fish of the western Atlantic>
3
—used as a function word to indicate the component material, parts, or elements or the contents <throne of gold> <cup of water>
4
a —used as a function word to indicate the whole that includes the part denoted by the preceding word <most of the army> b —used as a function word to indicate a whole or quantity from which a part is removed or expended <gave of his time>
5
a : relating to : about <stories of her travels> b : in respect to <slow of speech>
6
a —used as a function word to indicate belonging or a possessive relationship <king of England> b —used as a function word to indicate relationship between a result determined by a function or operation and a basic entity (as an independent variable) <a function of x> <the product of two numbers>
7
—used as a function word to indicate something from which a person or thing is delivered <eased of her pain> or with respect to which someone or something is made destitute <robbed of all their belongings>
8
a —used as a function word to indicate a particular example belonging to the class denoted by the preceding noun <the city of Rome> b —used as a function word to indicate apposition <that fool of a husband>
9
a —used as a function word to indicate the object of an action denoted or implied by the preceding noun <love of nature> b —used as a function word to indicate the application of a verb <cheats him of a dollar> or of an adjective <fond of candy>
10
—used as a function word to indicate a characteristic or distinctive quality or possession <a woman of courage>
11
a —used as a function word to indicate the position in time of an action or occurrence <died of a Monday> b : before <quarter of ten>
12
archaic : on <a plague of all cowards — Shakespeare>
See of defined for English-language learners
See of defined for kids
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Origin of OF
Middle English, off, of, from Old English, adverb & preposition; akin to Old High German aba off, away, Latin ab from, away, Greek apo
Related to OF
2of
verbal auxiliary \əv, before consonants also ə\
Definition of OF
nonstandard : have —used in place of the contraction 've often in representations of uneducated speech <I could of beat them easy — Ring Lardner>
Origin of OF
by alteration
First Known Use: circa 1800
OF
abbreviation
OF[1] Defined for Kids
of
preposition \əv, ˈəv, ˈäv\
Definition of OF for Kids
1
—used to join an amount or a part with the whole which includes it <most of the children> <the back of the closet>
2
: belonging to, relating to, or connected with <a shirt of his> <the top of the hill>
3
: concerning <I heard the news of your success.>
4
: that is <the city of Rome>
5
: made from <a house of bricks>
6
: that has : with <a man of courage> <a thing of no importance>
7
—used to show what has been taken away <a tree bare of leaves> <cured of disease>
8
—used to indicate the reason for <a fear of spiders>
9
: living in <the people of China>
10
: that involves <a test of knowledge>
11
—used to indicate what an amount or number refers to <an acre of land>
12
—used to indicate the point from which someone or something is located <He lives north of town.>
13
—used to indicate the object affected by an action <destruction of property>
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Seen & Heard
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