of

of · preposition¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ep
2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂epó
3. Proto-Germanic*ab
4. Proto-West Germanic*ab
5. Old Englishæf
6. Old Englishof
7. Middle Englishof
8. English todayof

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.

of · verb²

A spelling of /əv/ influenced by Etymology 1.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 9th c. From (a place); off.
• from 9th c. Since, from (a given time, earlier state etc.).
• from 10th c. From, away from (a position, number, distance etc.).
• from 10th c. Indicating removal, absence or separation, with the action indicated by a transitive verb and the quality or substance by a grammatical object.
• from 10th c. Indicating removal, absence or separation, with resulting state indicated by an adjective.
• 14th–19th c. Indicating removal, absence or separation, construed with an intransitive verb.
• from 9th c. Indicating an ancestral source or origin of descent.
• from 9th c. Indicating a (non-physical) source of action or emotion; introducing a cause, instigation; from, out of, as an expression of.