aboon

From Middle English abone, abowne, from abuven, from Old English abūfan (“above”).


abeam

From a- (“in the direction of”) + beam (“keel”).

prefix

She came abeam the crippled ship.


aboard

From Middle English abord, from a- (“on”) + bord (“board, side of a ship”); equivalent to a- + board.

haul the tacks aboard

something done when one is setting the courses of a ship

We all went aboard the ship.

Conditions were horrendous aboard most British naval vessels at the time. Scurvy and other diseases ran rampant, killing more seamen each year than all other causes combined, including combat.

2012 March 5, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, “The British Longitude Act Reconsidered”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 87:

On board of; onto or into a ship, boat, train, plane.

inessive or illative case of the means of transport

Nor iron bands aboard The Pontic Sea by their huge navy cast.


abreast

From Middle English abrest. By surface analysis, a- (“on, at”) + breast, meaning “breasts (chests) in line, side-by-side and exactly equally advanced”; roughly “breast-by-breast”.

surf

This ship sank abreast the island.


abaft

From Middle English obaft, baft, baften, from Old English beæftan; be (“by”) (modern English by) + æftan (“behind”) (modern English after). See also aft.

The captain stood abaft the wheelhouse.

[…] two drunken Turkes, that were in the Frigot with twelue others, discharged two Calieuers, with which they killed two Souldiours, that stood abaft our Gally.

1620, Miguel de Cervantes, chapter 63, in Thomas Shelton, transl., The Second Part of the History of the Valorous and Witty Knight-Errant, Don Quixote of the Mancha, London: Edward Blount, page 432:

1773, James Cook, An Account of a Voyage Around the World, Book 3, Chapter 5, in John Hawkesworth (ed.), An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty: for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere, London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, Volume 3, p. 558,
[…] we could hear the water rush in a little abaft the foremast, about three feet from the keel: this determined me to clear the hold intirely.

“[…] Read the sign up there—NO SMOKING ABAFT THE WHEEL!”

1869, Mark Twain, chapter 3, in The Innocents Abroad, Hartford: The American Publishing Company, page 35:

The bulkhead that separates ladies’ country from the rough characters who shave is not necessarily No. 30 but, by tradition, it is called “bulkhead thirty” in any mixed ship. […] Male officers had a lounge called the cardroom just abaft thirty.

1959, Robert A. Heinlein, chapter 13, in Starship Troopers, New York: Ace, published 2010, page 260:

(nautical) Behind; toward the stern relative to some other object or position; aft of.

خَلْف

(nautical) behind; toward the stern relative to some other object or position; aft of


abroad

First attested in mid 13th century. From Middle English abrood (“broadly widely scattered”), from a- (“on, in”) + brood (“broad”). Equivalent to a- + broad.


absent

From Middle English absent, from Middle French absent, from Old French ausent, and their source, Latin absens, present participle of absum (“to be away from”), from ab (“away”) + sum (“to be”).

Absent taxes modern governments cannot function.

If the accused refuse upon demand to pay money or deliver property (absent any excuse or excusing circumstance) which came into his hands as a bailee, such refusal might well constitute some evidence of conversion, with the requisite fraudulent intent required by the statute.

1919, “State vs. Britt, Supreme Court of Missouri, Division 2”, in The Southwestern Reporter, page 427:

the Princess Caroline case […] established that – absent a measurable ‘public interest’ in publication – she was safe from being photographed while out shopping.

2011, David Elstein, London Review of Books, volume 33, number 15:

About 25 percent of Russia’s large farms continue to be unprofitable, and that number would be considerably higher absent government subsidies and assistance programs.

2013, Stephen K. Wegren, “Agriculture”, in Stephen K. Wegren, editor, Return to Putin's Russia: Past Imperfect, Future Uncertain, 5th edition, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., →ISBN, page 223:

And the distraction-management software Freedom offers a mode that won’t unlock affected apps absent a telephone-support call.

2019 September 5, Ian Bogost, “I tried to limit my screen time (It didn't go well)”, in The Atlantic:

California cannot promulgate regulations that are inconsistent with US federal laws absent an explicit waiver from the federal government.

2020, Anu Bradford, “8. Is the Brussels Effect Beneficial?”, in The Brussels Effect. How the European Union Rules the World, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 258:


the

valued at half a pound the bushel; paying seven dollars the year interest

Next morning I was up at an early hour, to see the market held near the water gate. The beef was excellent: but at the high prices of ten-pence and one shilling the pound; mutton at the same price; fowls a dollar the couple, and showing “more feathers than flesh.”

1837, James Edward Alexander, Narrative of a Voyage of Observation Among the Colonies of Western Africa, in the Flag-ship Thalia; and of a Campaign in Kaffir-land, on the Staff of the Commander-in-Chief, in 1835, volume 1, London: Henry Colburn, pages 251–2:


cum

Learned borrowing from Latin cum (“with”).

lbor

He built a bus-cum-greenhouse that made a bold statement, but the plants in it didn't live very long.

But instead of being a salesperson cum barista cum waitress merely serving the wordsmiths, I'm one of them, reading her latest baby out loud.

He is too good an actor to need that sort of tomfoolery: the effect will be far better if he is a credible mining camp elder-cum-publican.

1926-1950, George Bernard Shaw, Collected Letters: 1926-1950, University of California/Viking, published 1985, page 31:

One driver-cum-fireman-cum-fitter looks after the three locomotives, [...].

1944 May and June, “Notes and News: The Snailbeach District Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 183:

The banner shows a yellowed silhouette of a boy (possibly Calvin, of Calvin & Hobbes) urinating on an EU flag. Sites such as this show the full power of the Internet as a propaganda medium cum travel service cum organizing tool. Oh, and nightlife directory.

2001 Nov/Dec, David Sachs, “LET THEM EAT BITS”, in American Spectator, volume 34, number 8, page 78:

Coffee shops-cum-meeting-spots dotted across the city are teeming (Equator, Blue Bottle and Saint Frank). Caffeine-fuelled, lactose-intolerant, macadamia milk latte-drinking young folk are journalling, manifesting, coding, ChatGPT-ing and pitching their ideas.

2023 February 5, Kathryn Parsons, “Boom times are back in San Francisco’s tech mecca”, in The Sunday Times:

Used in indicating a thing or person which has two or more roles, functions, or natures, or a which has changed from one to another.


about

Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *ana-
Proto-West Germanic *ana-
Old English on-?
Proto-West Germanic *biūtan
Old English būtan?
Old English onbūtan
Middle English aboute
English about
Preposition and adverb from Middle English aboute, abouten, from Old English abūtan, onbūtan, from on (“in, on”) + būtan (“outside of”), itself from be (“by”) + ūtan (“outside”). Cognate with Old Frisian abûta (“outside; except”).
Adjective from Middle English about (adverb).

etymon

The snake was coiled about his ankle.

So look about you; know you any here?

c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Proverbs, iii, 3

Nothing daunted, the fleet put to sea, and after sailing about the island for some time, a landing was effected in the west of Munster.

1886, Duncan Keith, A history of Scotland: civil and ecclesiastical from the earliest times to the death of David I, 1153, volume 1:

The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. […] Roaring, leaping, pouncing, the tempest raged about the wanderers, drowning and blotting out their forms with sandy spume.

1892, James Yoxall, chapter 5, in The Lonely Pyramid:

In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of.

Rubbish was strewn about the place.

The children were running about the room.

He was well known about town.

[I]n likeneſs of a Dove / The Spirit deſcended, while the Fathers voice / From Heav'n pronounc'd him his beloved Son. / That heard the Adverſary, who roving ſtill / About the world, at that aſſembly fam'd / Would not be laſt, […]

1671, John Milton, “The First Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 3, lines 30–35:

He had been known, during several years, as a small poet; and some of the most savage lampoons which were handed about the coffeehouses were imputed to him.

1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

Over or upon different parts of; through or over in various directions; here and there in; to and fro in; throughout.

Indicates that something will happen very soon; indicates a plan or intention to do something.

(with 'to' and verb infinitive) See about to.

[It] was held, that the latter requirement was fulfilled by an affidavit declaring that "the defendant was about leaving the State permanently."

1866, Charles Daniel Drake, A treatise on the law of suits by attachment in the United States, page 80:

(with present participle, obsolete or dialect) On the point or verge of.

He talked a lot about his childhood.

We must do something about this problem.

I already have made way / To some Philistian lords, with whom to treat / About thy ransom.

There have been violent quarrels about whether the whole is greater than a part.

1856, Voltaire, Philosophical dictionary:

"I'll tell you what, Fanny: she must have her way about Sarah Thompson. You can see her to-morrow and tell her so."

1860, Anthony Trollope, Framley Parsonage:

I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.

2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:

Well, let’s not talk about yesterday.
Audio (US): (file)

2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

Concerning; with regard to; on account of; on the subject of; to affect.

hakkında (+ genitive pronouns, but no endings on nouns)

to be about one’s business

Have you much hay about? (Chester) ― Have you much in the process of making?

“What’s Mary doin'?” “Oh! oo’s about th’ butter.” (Chester) ― “What’s Mary doing?” “Oh, she’s making the butter.”

And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Luke, ii, 49

RON: And I’ll have the number 8.
WAITER: That’s a party platter, it serves 12 people.
RON: I know what I’m about, son.

2013 March 14, Parks and Recreation, season 5, episode 16, Bailout

I can’t find my reading glasses, but they must be somewhere about the house.

John’s in the garden, probably somewhere about the woodshed.

Within or in the immediate neighborhood of; in contiguity or proximity to; near, as to place.

I had no weapon about me but a stick.

At this assurance the traveller rose, and approached Alice softly. He drew away her hands from her face, when she said gently, "Have you much money about you?" / "Oh the mercenary baggage!" said the traveller to himself; and then replied aloud, "Why, pretty one?—Do you sell your kisses so high, then?"

1837, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], Ernest Maltravers […] , volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, book I, page 16:

He has his wits about him.

There was an air of confidence about the woman.

Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke.[…]A silver snaffle on a heavy leather watch guard which connected the pockets of his corduroy waistcoat, together with a huge gold stirrup in his Ascot tie, sufficiently proclaimed his tastes. […] But withal there was a perceptible acumen about the man which was puzzling in the extreme.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

(figurative) In or near, as in mental faculties or (literally) in the possession of; under the control of; at one's command; in one's makeup.

in or near, as in mental faculties or in possession of


above

From Middle English above, aboven, abuven, from Old English ābufan, onbufan, from on (“on”) + bufan (“over”), (akin to Icelandic ofan (“from above”), Middle Dutch bōven, Old Frisian bova, Middle High German bobene) from bī (“by”) + ufan (“over”); also cognate with Danish oven, Dutch boven, German oben, Swedish ovan, Old Saxon oƀan, Old High German obana.
The preposition, adjective and the noun derive from the adverb.

He always put his coat on above his sweater.

Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, said of clothing.

And God said, Let the waters bring foorth aboundantly the mouing creature that hath life, and foule that may flie aboue the earth in the open firmament of heauen.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 1:20:

Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, […] and the light of the reflector fell full upon her.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.

2013 May-June, William E. Conner, “An Acoustic Arms Race”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, pages 206–7:

In or to a higher place; higher than; on or over the upper surface.

Idaho is above Utah.

Rising; appearing out of reach height-wise.

to cut above average

Even the chief of police is not above suspicion.

He was always above reproach.

I thought you said you were above these kinds of antics.

That's above my comprehension.

Thy worth, sweet friend, is far above my gifts,

1594, Christopher Marlowe, Edward II, act I, scene i:

At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightnes of the Sunne, shining round about mee, and them which iourneyed with me.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 26:13:

(figuratively) Higher than; superior to in any respect; surpassing; higher in measure, degree, volume, or pitch, etc. than; out of reach; not exposed to; not likely to be affected by; incapable of negative actions or thoughts.

to stand head and shoulders above the rest

☞ This word [wrap] is often pronounced wrop, rhyming with top, even by ſpeakers much above the vulgar.

1791, John Walker, A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary […] , London: Sold by G. G. J. and J. Robinſon, Paternoſter Row; and T. Cadell, in the Strand, →OCLC, page 557:

above and beyond the call of duty

over and above

That amount is way above our asking price.

Surpassing in number or quantity; more than.

The owner was above taking more than a token salary.

Too proud to stoop to; averse to; disinclined towards;


um

From Middle English um, from Old Norse um, umb (“around, about”), from Proto-Germanic *umbi (“around”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (“round about, around”). Cognate with Old English ymbe (“around”), West Frisian om (“around”), Dutch om (“around”), German um (“around”). More at umbe.


on

Etymology tree
Proto-West Germanic *ana
Old English on
Middle English on
English on
From Middle English on, from Old English on, an (“on, upon, onto, in, into”), from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana (“on, at”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-.
Cognate with North Frisian a (“on, in”), Saterland Frisian an (“on, at”), West Frisian oan (“on, at”), Dutch aan (“on, at, to”), Low German an (“on, at”), German an (“to, at, on”), Swedish å (“on, at, in”), Faroese á (“on, onto, in, at”), Icelandic á (“on, in”), Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana), Ancient Greek ἀνά (aná, “up, upon”), Albanian në (“in”); and from Old Norse upp á: Danish på, Swedish på, Norwegian på, see upon.

etymon

Southern US, Midland US, Philadelphia, Baltimore

"di lunedì" - "on Monday", "di martedì" - "on Tuesday", ...; not always used)

in

used only with generic days, as in "in un giorno differente" - "on a different day"; not always used

(the definite article is used before the time period)

A vase of flowers stood on the table.

Please lie down on the couch.

The parrot was sitting on Jim's shoulder.

I stood on the bridge at midnight.

1845, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Bridge:

Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above.

He had a scar on the side of his face.

There is a dirty smudge on this window.

The painting hangs on the wall.

The fruit ripened on the trees.

Positioned at or resting against the outer surface of; attached to.

He wore old shoes on his feet.

All of the responsibility is on him.

I put a bet on the winning horse.

Expressing figurative placement, burden, or attachment.

tug on the rope; push hard on the door

Denoting physical contact or interaction with an object, such as impact or application of force.

With verbs describing an action of pushing, pulling, pressing, etc., designates the thing to which force is applied.

I stubbed my toe on an old tree stump.

I caught my fingernail on the door handle.

The rope snagged on a branch.

With verbs describing an action of hitting, rubbing, scratching, binding against, etc., designates the thing impacted or contacted.

to play on a violin or piano

Denoting performance or action by contact with the surface, upper part, or outside of anything; hence, by means of; with.

We live on the edge of the city.

on the left, on the right, on the side, on the bottom

At or in (a certain region or location).

Denoting relative position or position within the whole.

The Tories are on twenty-five percent in this constituency.

At or in (a certain region or location).

The lighthouse that you can see is on the mainland.

The suspect is thought to still be on the campus.

The fleet is on the American coast.

Croton-on-Hudson, Rostov-on-Don, Southend-on-Sea

A table can't stand on two legs.

After resting on his elbows, he stood on his toes, then walked on his heels.

Supported by (the specified part of itself).

on a bus, on a train, on a plane, on a ferry, on a yacht

on a bicycle, on a motorbike, on a horse, on a scooter

Aboard (a mode of transport, especially public transport, or transport that one sits astride or uses while standing).

Born on the 4th of July.

On Sunday I'm busy. I'll see you on Monday.

Can I see you on a different day?

Smith scored again on twelve minutes, doubling Mudchester Rovers' lead.

The Spain striker had given Chelsea the lead on 29 minutes but was shown a straight red card 10 minutes later for a rash challenge on Mark Gower.

2011 September 24, Aled Williams, “Chelsea 4-1 Swansea”, in BBC Sport:

(UK, especially in sports reporting) At a given time after the start of something; at.

At a given time after the start of something; at.

I was reading a book on history.

The city hosted the World Summit on the Information Society

I have no opinion on this subject.

[...] I received a note from that gentleman on a most trivial matter. I answered it as trivially.

1869 May, Anthony Trollope, “Lady Milborough as Ambassador”, in He Knew He Was Right, volume I, London: Strahan and Company, […], →OCLC, page 85:

Dealing with the subject of; about; concerning.

I haven't got any money on me.

to arrest someone on suspicion of bribery

to contact someone on a hunch

Because of; due to; upon the basis of (something not yet confirmed as true).

On Jack's entry, William got up to leave.

On the addition of ammonia, a chemical reaction begins.

(also often 'upon') At the time of (and often because of).

I need to get my planting done, as the season will soon be on us.

Before we knew it, the forest was on us, and the air grew colder and damper.

(also often 'upon') Arrived or coming into the presence of.

The drinks are on me tonight, boys.

The meal is on the house.

I paid for the airfare and meals for my family, but the hotel room was on the company.

с

с меня, с тебя...

I saw it on television.

Can't you see I'm on the phone?

My favorite shows are on BBC America.

The Beatles' appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show is on YouTube.

The film was released on DVD.

They planned an attack on London.

The soldiers mutinied and turned their guns on their officers.

Her words made a lasting impression on my mind.

What will be the effect on morale?

Indicating the target of, or thing affected by, an event or action.

Have pity or compassion on him.

Toward; for; indicating the object of an emotion.

'[…] the hunger is on me to carry my sword in distant places.' Mynyddog bowed his head.

2013 February 27, Rosemary Sutcliff, The Shining Company, Random House, →ISBN:

“Christ, the thirst on me.” “Sure, it's serious work, all that talk of independence.” The theater's stained-glass doors had first flung open in 1904, all in the hope of “rewriting the Irish identity,” of using culture in the fight[…]

2017 January 24, Ruth Gilligan, Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan, Tin House Books, →ISBN:

“I've got the hunger on me, I do.” Riordan snorted. Hardly a man knew hunger as he did. The prison rations at Point Lookout, spare enough, had been a feast compared to the black years in Ireland.[…]

2017 August 29, Ralph Peters, Judgment at Appomattox: A Novel, Forge Books, →ISBN, page 18:

(especially Ireland) Indicating the person experiencing an emotion, cold, thirst, hunger, etc.

I'm on question four.

Indicating the position that one has reached in a sequence.

They lived on ten dollars a week.

The dog survived three weeks on rainwater.

He's on his lunch break.

I'm on nights all this week.

on vacation; on holiday; on a mission; on the job; on the fiddle

Engaged in or occupied with (an action or activity).

You've been on these antidepressants far too long.

He's acting crazy because he's on crack right now.

Under the influence of (a drug, or something that is causing drug-like effects).

heaps on heaps of food

mischief on mischief; loss on loss

In addition to; besides; indicating multiplication or succession in a series.

I depended on them for assistance.

He will promise on certain conditions.

He is on the jury; I am on the committee.

He affirmed or promised on his word, or on his honour.

(informal, chiefly in set phrases) Ellipsis of I swear on: on my life, on God, on everything, etc.

On us be all the blame.

A curse on him!

Please don't tell on her and get her in trouble.

He turned on her and has been her enemy ever since.

He went all honest on me, making me listen to his confession.

His blood be on vs, and on our children.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 27:25:

To the account or detriment of; denoting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling, or resting upon.

The fight was three on one, and he never stood a chance.

(especially when numbers of combatants or competitors are specified) Against; in opposition to.

On naturalism, it is therefore difficult to find a ground for ultimate moral hope.

2021, Gavin Ortlund, Why God Makes Sense in a World That Doesn't: The Beauty of Christian Theism, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, →ISBN:

(philosophy, logic) According to, from the standpoint of; expressing what must follow, whether accepted or not, if a given premise or system is assumed true.

All the way around the table, off four cushions, and ... and he's on the black!

(snooker) In a position of being able to pot (a given ball).

In a position of being able to pot (a given ball).

a function on #x5C;mathbb#x7B;R#x7D;

(mathematics) Having as identical domain and codomain.

Having as identical domain and codomain.

an operator on #x5C;mathbb#x7B;Z#x7D;

(mathematics) Having Vⁿ as domain and V as codomain, for the specified set V and some integer n.

mathematics: having V as both domain and codomain

mathematics: having Vn as domain and V as codomain

the free group on four letters

Twenty on three.

I never seen 'im, and that's the truth on it.

Be not jealous on me.

1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

Or have we eaten on the insane root / That takes the reason prisoner?

c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

Hence on thy life: the captive maid is mine; / Whom not for price or pray'rs I will reſign: [...]

a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The First Book of Homer’s Ilias”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 415:

(obsolete) At the peril of, or for the safety of.


on

From Old Norse ón, án (“without”), from Proto-Germanic *ēnu, *ēno, *ino (“without”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḗnu (“without”). Cognate with North Frisian on (“without”), Middle Dutch an, on (“without”), Middle Low German āne (“without”), German ohne (“without”), Gothic 𐌹𐌽𐌿 (inu, “without, except”), Ancient Greek ἄνευ (áneu, “without”).


because

From Middle English bi cause, from bi (“by”) + cause, modelled on Old French par cause.

He rejected me because revenge, I guess.

It doesn't work because reasons.

You probably know it better, however, as explanation by way of Internet—explanation that maximizes efficiency and irony in equal measure. I'm late because YouTube. You're reading this because procrastination. As the language writer Stan Carey delightfully sums it up: “‘Because’ has become a preposition, because grammar.”

2013 November 19, Megan Garber, “English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet”, in The Atlantic:

(colloquial, Internet slang) On account of, because of.


de

Conwoman Jeanne de La Motte stole a 2,800-carat diamond necklace, The Slave's Collar, by convincing the Cardinal de Rohan that Queen Marie-Antoinette wanted it.

2009 November 5, Alex von Tunzelmann, “The Affair of the Necklace: nothing to get hot under the collar over”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-10:

When Prosper Mérimée had next seen Mercedes after Spain, in March 1846, he told the Countess de Montijo that Mercedes "looked less well preserved [and] limped a little."

2014, Alina García-Lapuerta, La Belle Créole: The Cuban Countess Who Captivated Havana, Madrid, and Paris, Chicago, I.L.: Chicago Review Press, →ISBN, page 236:

(historical) Used in the titles of French nobility; of.


in

PIE word
 *h₁en
Preposition and verb from Middle English in, from Old English in, from Proto-Germanic *in.
Adverb, noun and adjective from Middle English in, from Old English inn and inne, from Proto-Germanic *innai.
Sense 1/2 "in"/"into" are from the original PIE prefix, with locative/accusative case respectively. Sense 3/4 "qualification"/"means" are from the PIE metaphor of all infinitives coming from locatives.

The dog is in the kennel.

There were three pickles in a jar.

Used to indicate location, inclusion, or position within spatial, temporal or other limits.

בְּ־

written together with the following word

e

before masculine noun, without article; before feminine noun, with article "l'"

I like living in the city.

There are lots of trees in the park.

He sat in the chair.

She stood in the front-desk spot.

GDP measures the total value of output in an economic territory.

2013 August 3, “Boundary problems”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:

We are in the enemy camp.

Her plane is in the air.

Waiter! There's a fly in my soup!

I glanced over at the pretty girl in the red dress.

You are one in a million.

She's in an orchestra.

Part of; a member of; out of; from among.

My birthday is in the first week of December.

Easter falls in the fourth lunar month.

The country reached a high level of prosperity in his first term.

Will you be able to finish this in a week?

The massacre resulted in over 1000 deaths in three hours.

Within (a certain elapsed time); by the end of.

They said they would call us in a week.

Many English nouns in -is form their plurals in -es.

The ball was accidentally kicked in Kevin Nolan's face in the opening seconds of the contest – an incident that set the tone for an extremely uncomfortable encounter for the Premier League side.

2011 January 8, Paul Fletcher, “Stevenage 3-1 Newcastle”, in BBC:

Less water gets in your boots this way.

She stood there looking in the window longingly.

My fat rolls around in folds.

Used to indicate limit, qualification, condition, or circumstance.

He stalked away in anger.

John is in a coma.

You've got a friend in me.

He's met his match in her.

Indicates, connotatively, a place-like form of someone's (or something's) personality, as his, her or its psychic and physical characteristics.

There has been no change in his condition.

What grade did he get in English?

In returning to the vault, I had no very sure purpose in mind; only a vague surmise that this finding of Blackbeard's coffin would somehow lead to the finding of his treasure.

[1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:

In replacing the faucet washers, he felt he was making his contribution to the environment.

Please pay me in cash — preferably in tens and twenties.

The deposit can be in any legal tender, even in gold.

Her generosity was rewarded in the success of its recipients.

[…] tourists sometimes attempt to pay in euros or British pounds.

2014, Carla Bethmann, Clean, Friendly, Profitable?: Tourism, page 114:

Used to indicate means, medium, format, genre, or instrumentality.

(of something offered or given in an exchange) In the form of, in the denomination of.

Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" in C minor is among his most popular.

His speech was in French, but was simultaneously translated into eight languages.

When you write in cursive, it's illegible.

Military letters should be formal in tone, but not stilted.

Used to indicate a language, script, tone, etc. of a text, speech, etc.


be

A variant of by which goes back to Middle English be (variant of Middle English bi).

O ful tru un pertikler akeawnt o... th' greyt Eggshibishun. Be o felley fro Rachde.

1851, Oliver Ormerod, Felley fro Rachde:

Go thy way vorth be tha vootsteps uv tha vlock.

1860, Henry Baird, The Song of Solomon in the Devonshire Dialect, i 8:

Aw teuk me seat be day an' neet.

1870, Joseph Philip Robson, Evangeline: The Spirit of Progress, section 332:

Fetchin' it yan... be a round about rooad.

1870, Roger Piketah, Forness Folk, section 44:

Like a leeaf be firm decree / Mun fade an' fall.

1878, John Castillo, Poems in the North Yorkshire Dialect, section 35:

‘I'll meet you agin to-morra,’ says he, ‘be the chapel-door.’

(dialectal, possibly dated) Alternative form of by. Also found in compounds, especially oaths, e.g. begorra.


but

From Middle English but, buten, boute, bouten, from Old English būtan (“without, outside of, except, only”), from Proto-West Germanic *biūtan, *biūtini, equivalent to be- + out. Cognate with Scots but, bot (“outside, without, but”), Saterland Frisian buute (“without”), West Frisian bûten (“outside of, apart from, other than, except, but”), Dutch buiten (“outside”), Dutch Low Saxon buten (“outside”), German Low German buuten, buute (“outside”), obsolete German baußen (“outside”), Luxembourgish baussen. Compare bin, about.

cog

Everyone but Father left early.

I like everything but that.

Nobody answered the door when I knocked, so I had no choice but to leave.

Luiz struggled with the movement of Helguson in the box, as he collected a long ball and the Spaniard barged him over, leaving referee Chris Foy little option but to point to the spot.

2011 October 23, Becky Ashton, “QPR 1-0 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport:

Away but the hoose and tell me whae's there.


next

From Middle English nexte, nexste, nixte, from Old English nīehsta, nīehste, etc., inflected forms of nīehst (“nearest, next”), superlative form of nēah (“nigh”) (the comparative would become near), corresponding to Proto-Germanic *nēhwist (“nearest, closest”); equivalent to nigh + -est. Cognate with Saterland Frisian naist (“next”), Dutch naast (“next to”), German nächst (“next”), Danish næste (“next”), Swedish näst (“next”), Icelandic næst (“next”), Persian نزد (nazd, “near, with”).

inh

D is so dainty a letter, that she admits no other consonant next her but R:[…]

1660, James Howell, Lexicon Tetraglotton, an English-French-Italian-Spanish Dictionary: […] By the Labours, and Lucubrations of James Howell, page 117:

All persons, in walking the streets, whose right sides are next the wall, are intitled to take the wall.

The fact that the line cannot be original is patent from the fact that Aias in the rest of the Iliad is not encamped next the Athenians […] .

1900, The Iliad, edited, with apparatus criticus, prolegomena, notes, and appendices, translated by Walter Leaf (London, Macmillan), notes on line 558 of book 2

Photographs indicate that the southern terminals of the ditch system next the west gate may be in echelon, whilst those marginal to the east gate may be slightly inturned.

1986, University of Wales Board of Celtic Studies, Bwletin Y Bwrdd Gwybodau Celtaidd - Volume 33, page 413:

(obsolete or poetic) On the side of; nearest or adjacent to; next to.

knock someone into the middle of next week


a la

[…] the flaming purification of Diane Johnson's Los Angeles a la Sodom and Gomorrah […]

1971, The New York Times, Book review of Burning

I’m also not totally ready to get rid of my beachy summer blonde. But instead of scrapping the highlights I worked so hard for, I’m asking my stylist for a root smudge à la Tate McRae above.

2024 September 5, Beth Gillette, “24 Fall Hair Colors Every Celebrity Is Asking for Rn”, in Cosmopolitan:


qua

Qua work of art, the work of art cannot be interpreted; there is nothing to interpret; we can only criticize it according to standards, in comparison to other works of art; […]

1920, T. S. Eliot, “Hamlet and His Problems”, in The Sacred Wood:

As anatomy, physiology and, later, psychology have developed into more or less well-organized sciences, they have necessarily and rightly come to incorporate the study of, among other things, the structures, mechanisms, and functionings of animal and human bodies qua percipient.

1954: Gilbert Ryle, Dilemmas: The Tarner Lectures, 1953, dilemma vii: Perception, page 99 (The Syndics of the Cambridge University Press)

For sleep qua sleep has no experiential content: it cannot turn out, as remarked before, that a man was not asleep because he was not having some experience or other.
I am denying that a dream qua dream is a seeming, appearance or ‘semblance of reality’.

1962: Norman Malcolm; Dreaming; chapter nine: “Judgments in Sleep”, page 39; chapter twelve: “The Concept of Dreaming”, page 68 (1977 paperback reprint; Routledge & Kegan Paul; ISBN 0‒7100‒3836‒4 (c), 0‒7100‒8434‒X (p))

It was qua poet that Byron resurrected the exploded and discarded immortal Christian soul by bodying it forth through the notion of soul conceived as poetic imagination.

2003, Roy Porter, Flesh in the Age of Reason, Penguin, published 2004, page 458:

2005: Ulfelder, Jay.Collective Action and the Breakdown of Authoritarian Regimes. International Political Science Review, 26(3), p318. Retrieved 1615 240810 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/30039035.pdf?acceptTC=true.
"In essence, military regimes are autocracies in which the military qua organization performs many of the functions performed by the ruling party in single-party regimes."

2009: Ken Levy, Killing, Letting Die, and the Case for Mildly Punishing Bad Samaritanism, Georgia Law Review, p. 24.
Blame qua attitude is the feeling or belief that an individual has committed a wrongdoing, usually a wrongful action and/or harm, and can be reasonably expected not to have committed this wrongdoing. Blame qua practice is the public expression of this attitude – usually by means of censure (written or verbal criticism) or punishment. Generally, the morally worse the wrongdoing, the more severe the censure/punishment.

Sometimes, though, you pick up a novel and it makes your skin prickle — not necessarily because it’s a great novel qua novel, which you can’t know until the end, but because of the velocity of its microperceptions.

2022 March 29, Dwight Garner, “In Jennifer Egan’s New Novel, Our Memories Are Available for All to See”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(chiefly philosophy) as; in the capacity of; acting as


of

Etymology tree
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”). Doublet of off, which is the stressed descendant of the same Old English word. More at off.

etymon

Etymology tree
Proto-West Germanic *ab
Old English æf
Old English of
Middle English of
English of

de

connecting numeral or quantifier with quantified

de (not used with quantifiers like todo, nem todo, para todo)

subjective genitive: connecting action noun with subject

genitive construction is used - the verbal noun is followed by the subject in the genitive case

van

objective genitive: connecting action noun with object

genitive construction used - a verbal noun is modified by the object in the genitive

a verbal noun is modified by the object in the genitive case

i

(to tell the time) before, to, e.g. a quarter of three (2:45)

он минут ж.б.с.> қалды/бар

-ğa/ge <ширек, он минут ж.б.с.> qaldy/bar

туларга <(унбиш минут һ.б.ш.)>

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

1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter X, in Le Morte Darthur, book XIII:

Sir, said Galahad, by this shield many marvels have fallen / Sir, said the knight, it befell after the passion of our lord Jesus Christ, year 32, when Joseph of Arimathea, the gentile knight, / took down our lord of the holy Cross. At that time, he departed from Jerusalem with a great party of his kindred with him

(now obsolete or dialectal) From (of distance, direction), "off".

Expressing distance or motion.
From (of distance, direction), "off".

And he axed his father: howe longe is it agoo, sens this hath happened hym? And he sayde, of a chylde.

1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Mark:

one that I brought vp of a puppy […] I was sent to deliuer him, as a present to Mistris Siluia, from my Master.

c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]:

Obama has been obliged to make nice of late in hope of rescuing the moribund two-state process and preventing resumed West Bank settlement building.

2010 July 29, Simon Tisdall, The Guardian:

(obsolete except in phrases) Since, from (a given time, earlier state etc.).

Since, from (a given time, earlier state etc.).

There are no shops within twenty miles of the cottage.

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.

There are now upwards of 1.4 million 99ers in America facing a life with no benefits and few prospects for finding a job in a market in which companies are still not hiring.

From, away from (a position, number, distance etc.).

Finally she was relieved of the burden of caring for her sick husband.

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

1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “xviij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XIII:

And there, with his hands and on his knees, he got so close that he touched the holy vessel / and kissed it / and he was whole straight away / and then he said: lord God, I thank thee / for I am healed of this sickness

Antigonus [took] upon him to favour a souldier of his by reason of his vertue and valour, to have great care of him, and see whether they could recover him of a lingering and inward disease which had long tormented him […]

1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter I, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

I am almost entirely cured of my rheumatism—just a little pain in my knee now and then, to make me remember what it was, and keep on flannel.

In Houston, ten minutes after the Lindquist Finance Corp. was robbed of $447, Office Manager Howard Willson got a phone call from the thief who complained: "You didn't have enough money over there."

Indicating removal, absence or separation, with the action indicated by a transitive verb and the quality or substance by a grammatical object.

He seemed devoid of human feelings.

But schemes are perfectly accidental: some will appear barren of hints and matter, but prove to be fruitful […]

Yet for long spells Villa looked laboured and devoid of ideas.

2010 October 31, Stuart James, The Guardian:

Indicating removal, absence or separation, with resulting state indicated by an adjective.

He was kindly treated by the people at Saco, and recovered of his wounds.

1822, Jacob Bailey Moore, New Hampshire, volume 1, page 5:

(obsolete) Indicating removal, absence or separation, construed with an intransitive verb.

Indicating removal, absence or separation, construed with an intransitive verb.

intransitive verb
intransitive verb#English

The word is believed to be of Japanese origin.

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?

1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts:

My father was born of a family of weavers in Manchester, England.

Nothing may come of these ideas, yet their potential should not be dismissed.

2010, “The Cost of Repair”, in The Economist:

Indicating an ancestral source or origin of descent.

Jesus of Nazareth (after hometown)

Anselm of Canterbury (after diocese)

Anselm of Aosta (after birthplace)

Anselm of Bec (after monastery)

Pedro II of Brazil (after dominion)

Mrs Miggins of Gasworks Road, Mudchester (after place of residence)

Introducing an epithet that indicates a birthplace, residence, dominion, or other place associated with the individual.

-lainen (applied to place name, in all cases but dominion; for dominions, place dominion before name in genitive case)

an adjectival form of the epithet is often used

alternatively the epithet is in the genitive case

The invention was born of necessity.

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.

1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter XIX, in Le Morte Darthur, book X:

Fair knight, said Palamedes, seems to me we have assayed, either other passing sore / and if it may please thee / I request thee, of thy knighthood, tell me thy name / Sir, said the knight to Palamedes, / I am loath to do that / for thou hast done me wrong.

Undoubtedly it is to be understood, that inflicting deserved punishment on all evil doers, of right, belongs to God.

The woman who danced for me said she was there of her own free will, but when I pushed a bit further, I discovered that she "owed a man a lot of money", and had to pay it back quickly.

2008 December 3, Rowenna Davis, The Guardian:

Indicating a (non-physical) source of action or emotion; introducing a cause, instigation; from, out of, as an expression of.

It is said that she died of a broken heart.

He smelled of beer and cigarette smoke and his own body.

2006, Joyce Carol Oates, The Female of the Species:

Two men, one from Somalia and one from Zimbabwe, died of terminal illnesses shortly after their incarceration ended.

2010 October 5, Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi, The Guardian:

(following an intransitive verb) Indicates the source or cause of the verb.

Indicates the source or cause of the verb.

I am tired of all this nonsense.

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.

2010 September 23, Bagehot, The Economist:

Thus, one finds individuals dead of a gunshot wound with potentially lethal levels of drugs.

2015, Vincent J. M. DiMaio, Gunshot Wounds:

(following an adjective) Indicates the subject or cause of the adjective.

Indicates the subject or cause of the adjective.

I am not particularly enamoured of this idea.

After a good while, the iewes toke cousell amonge themselves to kyll him. But their layinges awayte wer knowen of Saul.

[S]he might appeare to be the lively patterne of another Lucrece, yet know I certainly that, both before that time and afterward, she had beene enjoyed of others upon easier composition.

The family is ordained of God.

1995, The Family: A Proclamation to the World, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

Colombia and Venezuela share an elegantly restrained style, with much back-stepping, smaller hand-movements and little use of the elaborate, arm-tangling moves beloved of Cuban dancers.

2008 March 27, “Selling rhythm to the world”, in The Economist:

(following a passive verb) Indicates the agent (for most verbs, now usually expressed with by).

Indicates the agent (for most verbs, now usually expressed with by).

The contract can be terminated at any time with the agreement of both parties.

In Blood and Sand, meanwhile, Valentino repeatedly solicits the attention of women who have turned away from him.

1994, Paul Coates, Film at the Intersection of High and Mass Culture, page 136:

Somehow Croatia has escaped the opprobrium of the likes of the German Christian Democrats and others that are against any rapid enlargement of the European Union to the include rest of the western Balkans.

2009 December 28, “Head to head”, in The Economist:

Used to introduce the "subjective genitive"; following a noun to form the head of a postmodifying noun phrase (see also 'Possession' senses below).

subjective genitive
w:subjective genitive

It was very brave of you to speak out like that.

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."

1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], Emma: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC:

Morrissey's spokesperson says he is considering the offer. It would perhaps be rude of him to decline.

2007 January 10, Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian:

(following an adjective) Used to indicate the agent of something described by the adjective.

Used to indicate the agent of something described by the adjective.

Many 'corks' are now actually made of plastic.

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 […]

1846 February, Henry Melville, Typee […] : A Peep at Polynesian Life, London: John Murray:

(after a verb expressing construction, making etc.) Used to indicate the material or substance used.

Used to indicate the material or substance used.

She wore a dress of silk.

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.

2010 January 23, Simon Mawer, The Guardian:

It's 25km of rolling pitch from the start of the 175 to Nansi. If you want to continue riding through more undeveloped natural landscape, head up the east side of Tsengwen Reservoir.

2014, Robert Kelly, Chung Wah Chow, Taiwan, 9th edition, Lonely Planet, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 253:

(directly following a noun) Used to indicate the material of the just-mentioned object.

Used to indicate the material of the just-mentioned object.

What a lot of nonsense!

His papers at this period contain a mass of very unedifying and uninteresting documents […].

1844 January–December, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, “The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq. [The Luck of Barry Lyndon.]”, in Miscellanies: Prose and Verse, volume III, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1856, →OCLC:

I'd expected to be confronted by oodles of barely suppressed tension and leather-clad, pouty-mouthed, large-haired sexiness; the visual shorthand of rock gods in general, and Jon Bon Jovi in particular.

2010 October 31, Polly Vernon, The Guardian:

Indicating the composition of a given collective or quantitative noun.

Welcome to the historic town of Harwich.

This having the rainy month of March and April to water it, sprung up very pleasantly, and yielded a very good crop […].

1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC:

In his studio in the Behlendorf woods, near the Baltic city of Lübeck, Günter Grass reflects on the outcry over his fictive memoir Peeling the Onion.

2010 October 30, Maya Jaggi, The Guardian:

Used to link a given class of things with a specific example of that class.

de or with a construction using the adjectival suffix -a

genitive case or nominative + -(с)ы/(с)і izafet

the example of a class can be used in the genitive modifying the class

I'm not driving this wreck of a car.

As he swallowed the soup his heart warmed to this fool of a girl.

1911, Katherine Mansfield, In a German Pension:

"I'm having a bitch of a day," he says, after ordering a restorative pint of Guinness and flopping down in a seat by the front window.

2010 August 22, Sean O'Hagan, The Guardian:

Links two nouns in near-apposition, with the first qualifying the second; "which is also".

I'm always thinking of you.

[H]e spoke of his uncle with warm regard, was fond of talking of him […]

You must not judge of Celia's feeling from mine. I think she likes these small pets.

1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter III, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book I, page 44:

while producing Cook, which includes more than 250 seasonal recipes by 80 different chefs, we washed up more than 500 times (oh, how I dreamed of dishwashers).

2010 October 19, Rebecca Seal, The Guardian:

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.

He told us the story of his journey to India.

Recession and rising unemployment have put paid to most thoughts of further EU enlargement.

(following a noun (now chiefly nouns of knowledge, communication etc.)) Introduces its subject matter; about, concerning.

Introduces its subject matter; about, concerning.

following a noun (now chiefly nouns of knowledge, communication etc.)

This behaviour is typical of teenagers.

The same secludedness and isolation to which the schoolmaster whale betakes himself in his advancing years, is true of all aged Sperm Whales.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

(following an adjective) Introduces its subject matter.

Introducing subject matter.
Introduces its subject matter.

Most of these apples are rotten.

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

1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “lviij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book X:

But as for me, said Sir Gareth, I do not meddle their matters, therefore none of them loves me / And, since I understand they are murderers of good knights, I left their company.

The dead bodies of the Koreish were despoiled and insulted; two of the most obnoxious prisoners were punished with death […]

1788, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume VI, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC:

Many of the civilisational achievements of Mesopotamia are the product of that symbiosis.

2010 November 10, Michael Wood, The Guardian:

(following a number or other quantitive word) Introduces the whole for which is indicated only the specified part or segment; "from among".

Introduces the whole for which is indicated only the specified part or segment; "from among".

following a number or other quantitive word

everyone, even the ladies of the village, called the dish tzigayner shmeklekh, or “gypsies' penises.”

2005, Naomi Wolf, The Treehouse, page 58:

That, I think, is the buried core of the outrage people feel most generally.

(following a noun) Indicates a given part.

Having partitive effect.
Indicates a given part.

On the whole, they seem to be of the decent sort.

And the folysshe sayde to the wyse: geve us of youre oyle, for oure lampes goo out?

1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Matthew:

My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains / My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, […]

1819, John Keats, “Ode to a Nightingale”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], published 1820, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 107:

Dunning, however, is of the old school, and does not like new faces; so he will have no Irishman at his door […]

1846, James Fenimore Cooper, The Redskins:

(now archaic, literary, with preceding partitive word assumed, or as a predicate after to be) Some, an amount of, one of.

Having partitive effect.
Some, an amount of, one of.

He is a friend of mine.

He is just what I should have liked a son of mine to be.

1893, Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance, section IV:

In its flattering way, the press tried to invest this habit of Bush's with the sense that it was indicative of a particularly sharp wit.

2010 August 27, Michael Tomasky, The Guardian:

Links to a genitive noun or possessive pronoun, with partitive effect (though now often merged with possessive senses, below).

He was perhaps the most famous scientist of the twentieth century.

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.

1774, Edward Long, The History of Jamaica. Or, General Survey of the Antient and Modern State of that Island, volume 2, book 2, chapter 7, 5:

Thus, as he dressed, the thoughts and the rage of yesterday began to stir and move in his mind again.

Within ten seconds, the citizens of New York, Cleveland, Detroit and Toronto were being given first-hand experience of what it was like to live in the nineteenth century.

2003 August 20, Julian Borger, The Guardian:

Belonging to, existing in, or taking place in a given location, place or time. Compare "origin" senses, above.

The owner of the nightclub was arrested.

In a much-anticipated radio broadcast the Duke of Edinburgh said last night that Britain will be a grim place in the year 2000 […]

The third son, William John (1826-1902), was headmaster of the Boys' British School, Hitchin […]

2001, Dictionary of National Biography, page 27:

Belonging to (a place) through having title, ownership or control over it.

Keep the handle of the saucepan away from the flames.

The breasts of young girls sometimes become tender at puberty in sympathy with the evolution of the sexual organs […]

1933, Havelock Ellis, Psychology of Sex, volume 4:

It amounts to knocking on the door of No 10 then running away.

2010 October 29, Marina Hyde, The Guardian:

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.)

genitive construction (إِضَافَة (ʔiḍāfa)) is used – i.e. the thing owned is followed by the owner in the genitive case

...之

in classical Chinese and in set expressions

possessive construction (a son of a teacher = mab dyskador; the son of a/the teacher = mab an dyskador; a/the son of the teacher = mab an dyskador)

-ja/-je (attached to property instead of owner, e.g. Péter autója)

-nak/-nek (dative) (used together with -ja/-je, e.g. Péternek az autója)

izāfa

اِضافَہ (izāfa)

She had a profound distrust of the police.

And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 4::

Antifeminism has been a credible cover and an effective vehicle because the hatred of women is not politically anathema on either the Right or the Left.

Follows an agent noun, verbal noun or noun of action.

My companion seemed affable and easy of manner.

He was huge, raw-boned, knotty, long of body and long of leg, with the head of a war charger.

Still nimble of mind and fleet of foot, Morris buzzed here and there, linking well and getting stuck in at every opportunity.

2004 August 11, Sean Ingle, The Guardian:

Expressing qualities or characteristics.

(archaic or literary) Links an adjective with a noun or noun phrase to form a quasi-adverbial qualifier; in respect to, as regards.

Expressing qualities or characteristics.

Links an adjective with a noun or noun phrase to form a quasi-adverbial qualifier; in respect to, as regards.

Pooh was said to be a bear of very little brain.

His frank acceptance of the situation marks him as either an innocent man, or else as a man of considerable self-restraint and firmness.

1891, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Boscombe Valley Mystery:

No other man has made so deep a mark on his time and on our world unless he has been a man of action, a Cromwell or a Napoleon.

1951, Jacob Bronowski, The Common Sense of Science:

Indicates a quality or characteristic; "characterized by".

We have been paying interest at a rate of 10%.

She was a tall young girl of about twenty-two or three, holding herself erect and with fine dignity.

1903, Frank Norris, The Pit, Doubleday, published 1924, page 4:

A police car, traveling southbound at a speed of 40.0 m/s, approaches with its siren producing sound at a frequency of 2 500 Hz.

1996, Raymond A. Serway, John W. Jewett, Principles of Physics, published 2006, page 428:

It's not that big of a deal.

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.

1990, Mary Crain, “The Social Construction of National Identity in Highland Ecuador”, in Anthropological Quarterly, volume 61, number 1, page 43:

For some individuals, even 1000 calories/day may be too great of a deficit.

1998, Lyle McDonald, The Ketogenic Diet: A Complete Guide for the Dieter and Practitioner, page 98:

While it is quite obvious that the state continues to try and dilute the voting power of Native Americans, at least as big of a challenge is the need for mobilizing Native American voters.

2017, Jean Reith Schroedel, Artour Aslanian, “A Case Study of Descriptive Representation: The Experience of Native American Elected Officials in South Dakota”, in American Indian Quarterly, volume 41, number 3, page 278:

(US, informal, considered incorrect by some) Used to link singular indefinite nouns (preceded by the indefinite article) and attributive adjectives modified by certain common adverbs of degree.

Of an evening, we would often go for a stroll along the river.

For, sometimes of an afternoon when Miss Pupford has been reading the paper through her little gold eye-glass[…], she has become agitated, […]

1861, Charles Dickens, “Tom Tiddler’s Ground. Chapter VI. Picking Up Miss Kimmeens.”, in Christmas Stories […] (The Works of Charles Dickens; XV), de luxe edition, London: Chapman and Hall, published 1881, →OCLC, page 242:

If there was a type Ida despised, Sir Claude communicated to Maisie, it was the man who pottered about town of a Sunday […]

1897 October 16, Henry James, What Maisie Knew, Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y.: Herbert S. Stone & Co., →OCLC:

(chiefly regional) During the course of (a set period of time, day of the week etc.), now specifically with implied repetition or regularity.

During the course of (a set period of time, day of the week etc.), now specifically with implied repetition or regularity.

I’ve not taken her out of a goodly long while.

(UK, dialectal, chiefly in the negative) For (a given length of time).

Expressing a point in time.
For (a given length of time).

After a delay of three hours, the plane finally took off.

The cab driver's claim he was sleepwalking during the attack has already been supported by his wife of 37 years.

(after a noun) Indicates duration of a state, activity etc.

Indicates duration of a state, activity etc.

I’ll be ready at ten of two
I’ll be ready at 1:50

What's the time? / Nearly a quarter of three.

I'll be ready by five of noon.

"Fellow Democrats," he began, "I left Washington at a quarter of two this morning […]"

1940 June 17, “Little Bull Booed”, in Time:

Quarter of seven. Fifteen minutes to go.

1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin, published 2006, page 194:

(chiefly US) Before (the hour); to (the hour).

Expressing a point in time.
Before (the hour); to (the hour).

I’ll be ready at ten of
I’ll be ready at 1:50, or 2:50, or whatever time ending in 10 makes most sense in context.

Wednesday was more of the same. Out at 08:30, got to the office by quarter of, clients all day.

2022 May 16, Ariel Levine, 09:20 from the start, in Giancarlo Esposito, director, Better Call Saul S6E6: Axe and Grind (TV series), spoken by Private Investigator (Lennie Loftin):

Expressing a point in time.
Before (the hour); to (the hour).
Often used without the hour


en

Used in various phrases borrowed from French or formed as if borrowed from French (see "Derived terms" below).


or

From Late Old English ār, from Old Norse ár. Compare ere.

Or euer the siluer corde be loosed, or the golden bowle be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountaine, or the wheele broken at the cisterne. Then shall the dust returne to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall returne vnto God who gaue it.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ecclesiastes 12:6-7:

I looked to heaven, and tried to pray;
But or ever a prayer had gusht,
A wicked whisper came, and made
My heart as dry as dust.

1834, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:

And Time went forth into the worlds to obey the commands of the gods, yet he cast furtive glances at his masters, and the gods distrusted Time because he had known the worlds or ever the gods became.

1906, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], Time and the Gods, London: William Heineman, →OCLC, page 3:

(now archaic or dialect) Before; ere. Followed by "ever" or "ere".


for

From Middle English for, from Old English for (“for, because of”), from Proto-Germanic *furi (“for”), from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-.
Cognate with West Frisian foar (“for”), Dutch voor (“for”), German für (“for”), Danish for (“for”), Swedish för (“for”), Norwegian for (“for”), Icelandic fyrir (“for”), Latin per (“by, through, for, by means of”) and Romance language successors (e.g. Spanish para (“for”)), Ancient Greek περί (perí, “for, about, toward”), Lithuanian per (“by, through, during”), Sanskrit परि (pári, “over, around”).

cog

Latin per (“by, through, for, by means of”)

The astronauts headed for the moon.

Run for the hills!

He was headed for the door when he remembered.

Wee ſailed from Peru, (where wee had continued by the ſpace of one whole yeare,) for China and Iapan, by the South Sea; [...]

1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “New Atlantis. A Worke Vnfinished.”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC, page 1:

I have something for you.

Everything I do, I do for you.

We're having a birthday party for Janet.

The mayor gave a speech for the charity gala.

You, telling me the things you're gonna do for me.

1976, Michael McDonald (lyrics and music), “Takin' It to the Streets”, performed by The Doobie Brothers:

In order to help, benefit, gratify, honor etc. (someone or something).

If having to bag the groceries correctly is more than you can handle, then this isn't the job for you.

Befitting of someone’s beliefs, needs, wants, skills, or tastes; best suited to.

This is a new bell for my bicycle.

The cake is for Tom and Helen's anniversary.

These apples here are for eating. The rest are for throwing away.

To be used or treated in a stated way, or with a stated purpose.

All those for the motion, raise your hands.

Who's for ice-cream?

I'm for going by train

Ten voted for, and three against. (with implied object)

He wouldn't apologize; and just for that, she refused to help him.

He looks better for having lost weight. (UK usage)

She was the worse for drink.

I like her for lots of reasons.

with fiery eyes sparkling for very wrath

c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene v]:

"A summerly day for you," said my host; "You ought to be here in winter. It is impossible then to get out of the doors for the snow and wind. Ugh! dreadful weather!"

1867, Frederick Metcalfe, The Oxonian in Iceland, page 202:

I could not see his hands, for the thick gloves he wore, and his face was partially concealed by a red woollen comforter; but his entire appearance and manners tallied with what I had seen of Yorkshire farmerhood.

1864, George Etell Sargent, The Story of a City Arab, page 313:

This medicine is for your cough.

I need to spray my house for termites.

Intended to cure, remove or counteract; in order to cure, remove or counteract.

I've lived here for three years.

They fought for days over a silly pencil.

To guide the sun's bright chariot for a day.

-a/-e/-ja/-je (e.g. egy órája, as in "s/he has/had been waiting for an hour")

-ig (e.g. egy óráig, as in "s/he waited / waits / will wait for an hour")

use the accusative case with no preposition

I can see for miles.

For many miles about / There's scarce a bush.

c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:

Throughout or across (a distance in space).

It is unreasonable for our boss to withhold our wages.

All I want is for you to be happy.

Used to introduce a subject of a to-infinitive clause.

I will stand in for him.

I speak for the Prime Minister.

I used a hay bale for a bed.

He's got a turnip for a brain.

In the role or capacity of; instead of; in place of.

I got five hundred pounds for that old car!

He matched me blow for blow.

And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 21:23-24:

In exchange for; in correspondence or equivalence with.

I am aiming for completion by the end of business Thursday.

He's going for his doctorate.

Do you want to go for coffee?

People all over Greece looked to Delphi for answers.

Can you go to the store for some eggs?

I'm saving up for a car.

Don't wait for an answer.

What did he ask you for?

For we would have you know it, / The loſs will fall on us, not on the Poet: / For he writes not for money, nor for praiſe, / Nor to be call'd a Wit, nor to wear Bayes: […]

1641 (first performance), [John Denham], “The Prologue”, in The Sophy. […], 2nd edition, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for H[enry] Herringman, […], published 1667, →OCLC:

Fair for its day.

She's spry for an old lady.

He's very mature, for a two-year-old.

By the standards of, usually with the implication that those standards are lower than one might otherwise expect; considering.

Don't take me for a fool.

17th century Abraham Cowley, Of Wit
We take a falling meteor for a star.

if a man can be persuaded and fully assured of anything for a truth without having examined, what is there that he may not embrace for truth ?

a. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: […], London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], published 1706, →OCLC:

Most of our ingenious young men take up some cry'd-up English poet for their model.

c. 1690, John Dryden, Translations (Preface)

But let her go for an ungrateful woman.

1712, Ambrose Philips, The Distrest Mother:

They knew him for a stranger.

1976, Louis L’Amour, chapter 2, in The Rider of Lost Creek, Bantam Dell, →ISBN:

For all his expensive education, he didn't seem very bright.

"You must keep your head. There is still hope." "Hope!" "Yes; plentiful hope -- for all this destruction!"

1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 113:

1892 August 6, "The Unbidden Guest", in Charles Dickens, Jr. (editor), All the Year Round, page 133,
Mr. Joseph Blenkinshaw was perhaps not worth quite so much as was reported; but for all that he was a very wealthy man […]

For all his faults, there had been something lofty and great about him - as a judge, as a patron of education, as a builder, as an international figure.

1968, J. J. Scarisbrick, Henry VIII, page 240:

(usually in the phrase 'for all') Despite, in spite of.

O for the wings of a dove.

Ah! for wings to soar …

And now for a slap-up meal!

O For a Muſe of Fire, that would aſcend / The brighteſt Heauen of Inuention :

1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act PROLOGUE, (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)]:

Oh! but to breathe the air / By their side under summer skies! To watch the blush on their cheeks, / The light in their liquid eyes. / Oh! but for one short hour, / To whisper a word of love; […]

1858 March 27, “The Lay of the Brief”, in Punch, Or, The London Charivari, page 129:

Indicating something desired or anticipated.

Go scuba diving? For one thing, I can't even swim.

For another, we don't have any equipment.

(in expressions such as 'for a start') Introducing the first item(s) in a potential sequence .

He is named for his grandfather.

(with names, chiefly US) In honor of; after.

He totally screwed up that project. Now he's surely for the sack.

(UK) Due for or facing (a certain outcome or fate).

Due for or facing (a certain outcome or fate).

In term of base hits, Jones was three for four on the day

(chiefly US) Out of; used to indicate a fraction, a ratio

Out of; used to indicate a fraction, a ratio

At close of play, England were 305 for 3.

(cricket) Used as part of a score to indicate the number of wickets that have fallen.

We'll have a bib, for spoiling of thy doublet.

1609–1612, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “The Captaine”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act III, scene v:

(obsolete) Indicating that in prevention of which, or through fear of which, anything is done.

to account for one's whereabouts    to care for a relative    to settle for second best    to allow for mistakes

Used in various more-or-less idiomatic ways to construe individual verbs, indicating various semantic relationships such as target, purpose, result, etc.; see also the entries for individual phrasal verbs, e.g. ask for, look for, stand for, etc.

He took the swing shift for he could get more overtime.


again

From Middle English agayn, from Old English onġēan (“against, again”), from Proto-West Germanic [Term?]. Cognate with Old Frisian ajēn (whence North Frisian ijen (“against”)), Old Saxon angegin, Danish igen (“again”), Swedish igen (“again”), and Norwegian Bokmål igjen (“again”). By surface analysis, on- + gain (“against”).

surf

And here begynneth the treson of Kynge Marke that he ordayned agayne Sir Trystram.

1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book X:

Ah'd like to wahrn (warn) thi agaan 'evvin owt to dew wi' that chap.

1924, J H Wilkinson, Leeds Dialect Glossary and Lore, page 60:

You may think you are all on the same side, agin the government.

2003, Glasgow Sunday Herald, page 16, column 2


after

Northern England, other non-rhotic without the trap–bath split

From Middle English after, from Old English æfter, from Proto-West Germanic *aftar, from Proto-Germanic *after, *aftiri, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epoteros (“further behind, further away”), from *h₂epo (“off, away”).
Cognate with Scots efter (“after”), North Frisian efter (“after, behind”), West Frisian after, achter, efter (“behind; after”), Low German/Dutch achter (“behind”), German after- (“after-”), Swedish/Danish efter (“after”), Norwegian etter (“after”), Icelandic eftir (“after”), aftur (“back, again”).
The Irish usage to indicate recent completion of an activity is a calque of the Irish collocation Táim tar éis... (“I have just...”, literally “I am after...”).

уашҭан

subsequently; following in time; later than

-rraar- (postbase used with subordinative mood endings)

close the barn door after the horse has bolted

close the stable door after the horse has been stolen

close the stable door after the horse has bolted

lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen

lock the stable door after the horse has bolted

shut the stable door after the horse has bolted

After your bad behaviour, you will be punished.

Subsequently to; following in time; later than.

I’m not putting you in charge again after the last disaster.

After all that has happened, he is still my friend.

I can’t believe that, after all our advice against gambling, you walked into that casino!

I'm tired of picking up after you. Why can't you clean your own messes?

(often with verbs related to cleaning or tidying) Subsequently to the actions of (someone), in order to remedy a situation.

day after day, time after time, mile after mile, beer after beer, smile after smile

(in reduplicative expressions) Repeatedly, seemingly in a sequence without end.

I was after finishing my dinner when there was a knock on the door. [= I had just finished my dinner when ...]

He was after walking on the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before, all the way from the County Limerick, where his brother, Father John, has a parish; and you may believe, the poor man was tired

1875, Patrick Kennedy, Evenings in the Duffrey, page 283:

Mother: Let him get away out of this now, himself and his share of songs. Look at the way he has your bib destroyed that I was after washing in the morning!

1906, Lady Gregory, “A Miracle Play”, in The Shanachie, volume 1:

When I woke up it was black-dark and the music was after stopping. I could taste the bread I was after eating in the dream, as sweet and luscious as any I ever knew

2004, Joseph O'Connor, Star of the Sea, page 40:

He asked directions to the dairy those milk cans had shown up late at. Corrigan pointed back the way he'd come and explained, “You'd have been after riding past their loading platform because they don't have their sign overlooking where the train would be after stopping.

2004, Tabor Evans, Longarm and the Great Milk Train Robbery:

"Yes. And where were you when the flood broke loose?" / "I would be most of the way to the Old House then. O'Loughlin was after running in wild to tell me he was hearing the Banshee out at The Old House, […]."

2008, M. P. Shiel, The Black Box, page 45:

(Ireland, Newfoundland, usually preceded by a form of be, followed by an -ing form of a verb) Used to indicate recent completion of an activity.

We had a few beers after the game.

The time is a quarter after eight. (chiefly US)

The Cold War began shortly after WWII.

After you with the salt and pepper.

I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

After early sparring, Spurs started to take control as the interval approached and twice came close to taking the lead. Terry blocked Rafael van der Vaart's header on the line and the same player saw his cross strike the post after Adebayor was unable to apply a touch.

2012 April 15, Phil McNulty, “Tottenham 1-5 Chelsea”, in BBC:

From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.

2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:

He will leave a trail of destruction after him.

I told her to shut the door after her.

Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps,[…], and the light of the reflector fell full upon her.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

He’s after a job; run after him; inquire after her health.

We named him after his grandfather.

This painting is after Leonardo da Vinci.

Work your horse in a calade, after the Italian way; ride him straight, and then you make good use of the calade.

In allusion to, in imitation of; following or referencing.

պատվին

in allusion to, in imitation of; following or referencing

The princess is next in line to the throne after the prince.

Below, often next below, in importance or rank.

to look after workmen; to enquire after a friend; to thirst after righteousness

Denoting the aim or object; concerning; in relation to.

(obsolete) According to (an author or text).

He takes greatness of kingdoms according to bulk and currency, and not after their intrinsic value.

a. 1627 (date written), Francis [Bacon], “Considerations Touching a VVarre vvith Spaine. […]”, in William Rawley, editor, Certaine Miscellany VVorks of the Right Honourable Francis Lo. Verulam, Viscount S. Alban. […], London: […] I. Hauiland for Humphrey Robinson, […], published 1629, →OCLC:

(obsolete) According to the direction and influence of; in proportion to; befitting.


from

From Middle English from (“from”), from Old English from, fram (“forward, from”), from Proto-West Germanic *fram, from Proto-Germanic *fram (“forward, from, away”). Cognate with Old Saxon fram (“from”) and Old High German fram (“from”), Danish frem (“forth, forward”), Danish fra (“from”), Swedish fram (“forth, forward”), Swedish från (“from”), Norwegian Nynorsk fram (“forward”), Norwegian Nynorsk frå (“from”), Icelandic fram (“forward, on”), Icelandic frá (“from”), Albanian pre, prej. More at fro.

مِن

with the origin, starting point or initial reference of or at

مِن

with the separation, exclusion or differentiation of

mod

when used as protection from someone/something

appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober

Paul is from New Zealand.

I got a letter from my brother.

You can't get all your news from the Internet.

Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out.[…]. Ikey the blacksmith had forged us a spearhead after a sketch from a picture of a Greek warrior; and a rake-handle served as a shaft.

1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter II, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:

There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker armchairs with red cloth cushions for superior people. From the packing-cases had emerged some Indian clubs,[…], and all these articles[…]made a scattered and untidy decoration that Mrs. Clough assiduously dusted and greatly cherished.

1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.

2013 June 29, “A punch in the gut”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, pages 72–3:

This manuscript is from the 1980s.

The working day runs from 9 am to 5 pm.

Tickets are available from 17th July.

Used to indicate a starting point or initial reference.

Rate your pain from 1 to 10.

Start counting from 1.

Indicating a starting point on a range or scale.

You can study anything from math to literature.

Indicating a starting point on an array or gamut of conceptual variations.

It's hard to tell from here.

Try to see it from his point of view.

The bomb went off just 100 yards from where they were standing.

From the top of the lighthouse you can just see the mainland.

With reference to the location or position of a speaker or other observer or vantage point.

I’ve been doing this from pickney.

I’ve been a bad boy from a little youth.

2021 August 17, TStackz & Kapz (lyrics and music), “BGB”, 1:01–1:03:

(MLE) Indicates a starting state of the predicament of the subject. Synonym of since being

He had books piled from floor to ceiling.

He departed yesterday from Chicago.

This figure has been changed from a one to a seven.

Face away from the wall!

The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

After twenty minutes, remove the cake from the oven.

The general was ousted from power.

20 from 31 leaves 11.

(mathematics, chiefly British, not in formal use) Denoting a subtraction operation.

Indicating removal or separation.
Denoting a subtraction operation.

She was barred from entering.

A parasol protects from the sun.

Your opinions differ from mine.

He knows right from wrong.

In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.

2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:

It's made from pure gold.

Produced with or out of (a substance or material).

Too many people die from breast cancer.

Used to indicate causation; because of, as a result of.


at

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Germanic *at
Old English æt
Middle English at
English at
From Middle English at, from Old English æt (“at, near, by, toward”), from Proto-Germanic *at (“at, near, to”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (“near, at”). Cognate with Scots at (“at”), North Frisian äät, äit, et, it (“at”), Danish at (“to”), Swedish åt (“for, toward”), Norwegian åt (“to”), Faroese at (“at, to, toward”), Icelandic að (“to, towards”), Gothic 𐌰𐍄 (at, “at”), Latin ad (“to, near”).

etymon

Caesar was at Rome.

at the corner of Fourth Street and Vine

at Jim’s house

Hirtius and Pansa, who were good men and admirers of Cicero, begged him not to desert them, and undertook to put down Antony if Cicero would remain at Rome.

1919, Plutarch, “The Life of Cicero” in Parallel Lives, 43 (Bernadotte Perrin, trans.)

(b) sporophyte with foot reduced, the entire sporophyte enveloped by the calyptra, which is ± stipitate at the base.

1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page 4:

Today my friend Marsha is at her friend’s house.
Audio (US): (file)

2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

In, near, or in the general vicinity of a particular place.

em

not distinct from the senses expressed in English by in or on

a (unproductive; only used with a few words, as in à mesa: at the table)

at six o’clock

at closing time

at night

Lafayette was major-general in the American army at the age of 18 […]

Other global taboos, such as sex and suicide, manifest themselves widely online, with websites offering suicide guides and Hot XXX Action seconds away at the click of a button. The UK government will come under pressure to block access to pornographic websites this year when a committee of MPs publishes its report on protecting children online.

2012 April 19, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in the Guardian:

Hi, Anne. Are you busy? — Hi, Anna. Yes. At 10 a.m. I am writing.
Audio (US): (file)

(indicating time) Indicating occurrence in an instant of time or a period of time relatively short in context or from the speaker’s perspective.

五点 (wǔ diǎn, literally “at five o'clock”)

Don’t just talk at someone; really listen to what they have to say.

He threw the ball at me.

He shouted at her.

“My Continental prominence is improving,” I commented dryly.
 Von Lindowe cut at a furze bush with his silver-mounted rattan.
 “Quite so,” he said as dryly, his hand at his mustache. “I may say if your intentions were known your life would not be worth a curse.”

1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

Come on in. I’ll play the guitar at you.

2023 July 9, Barbie, spoken by Ken (Ryan Gosling):

In the direction of (often implied to be in a hostile or careless manner).

3 apples at 2¢ (each)

The offer was at $30,000 before negotiations.

men at work

She is at sixes and sevens with him.

They are at loggerheads over how best to tackle the fiscal cliff.

The city was at the mercy of the occupying forces.

Sell at 90.

Tiger finished the round at tenth, seven strokes behind the leaders.

I’m offering it—just to select customers—at cost.

Indicates a position on a scale or in a series.

to laugh at a joke

mad at their comments

[…] to be sold at auction for sixty gold francs.

1995, Richard Klein, Cigarettes are Sublime, →ISBN, page 41:

A few days later, on 1 October, King Hussein opened the Jordanian Parliament by speaking at length about the crisis in Syria,

2012, Sami Moubayed, Syria and the USA: Washington's Relations with Damascus, →ISBN:

It is growing at the rate of 3% a year.

Cruising along at fifty miles per hour.

The twins were both bad at chemistry.

He slipped at marksmanship over his extended vacation.

She’s good at playing musical instruments, singing and dancing, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

2015, Sanyan Stories: Favorites from a Ming Dynasty Collection, →ISBN, page 157:

(used for skills (including in activities) or areas of knowledge) On the subject of; regarding.

I think ‘Jesus, my back is at me’. Then I get the ball. Off you go for 10 yards and you don’t feel a thing. Then you stop and think: ‘Jesus, it’s at me again’[.]

1995 Keith Wood, quoted in David Hughes, "Wood odds-on to take one against the head", in The Independent (London) 18 January

He seems to be saying. “Ah, go on, you’re making the other lads feel bad.” But the 4th fella says, “No. Don’t be ‘at’ me. I’m just not in the form right now, I’ll stay where I am, thanks.”

2014 Marian Keyes "Antarctic Diary - Part 2" personal website (January 2014)

(Ireland, stressed pronunciation) Bothering, irritating, causing discomfort to

balance as at 20th March 1999

n.d., quoted in Longmans Business Dictionary

(UK, Commonwealth, Ireland, especially finance) (also as at; before dates) On a particular date.


to

From Middle English to, from Old English tō, from Proto-Germanic *tō ~ *ta, from Proto-Indo-European *de ~ *do (“to”). Cognate with Scots tae, to (“to”), North Frisian to, tö, tu (“to”), Saterland Frisian tou (“to”), Low German to (“to”), Dutch toe (“to”), German zu (“to”), West Frisian ta (“to”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian ndaj (“towards”), Irish do (“to, for”), Breton da (“to, for”), Welsh i (“to, for”), Russian до (do, “to”). Doublet of too.

uses the dative case or նկատմամբ (nkatmamb)

(first number in genitive case) suhde (second number in illative case) (e.g. yhden suhde yhteen ~ one to one)

(ordinal number of the exponent in illative case)

ב־

written together with the following word

(ordinal number of the exponent in superessive case)

We are walking to the shop.

Driven by a perceived political need to adopt a hard-line stance, Mr. Cameron’s coalition government has imposed myriad new restrictions, the aim of which is to reduce net migration to Britain to below 100,000.

2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in New York Times, retrieved 2013-09-28:

Indicating destination: In the direction of, so as to arrive at.

nach (in this sense only used for and sole preposition option for constructions without articles, i.e. general directions (e.g. up, west), most countries and cities etc. and nachhause/nach Hause (home))

-δε (-de) (adverbial suffix added to certain nouns)

-σε (-se) (adverbial suffix added to certain pronouns and adjectives)

felé (postposition, in the direction of)

h

if the next word begins with a "k" or "g"

I gave the book to him.

I spoke to him earlier.

He devoted himself to education.

They drank to his health.

Used to indicate the target or recipient of an action.

-lle

e.g. annoin lantin hänelle ~ I gave a coin to her/him; puhuin hänelle ~ I spoke to her/him

kanssa

e.g. puhuin hänen kanssa(an) ~ I spoke with her/him

His face was beaten to a pulp.

To everyone's great relief, the tuneless carol singers finally ceased their warbling.

Used to indicate a resulting feeling or emotion.

similar to ..., relevant to ..., pertinent to ..., I was nice to him, he was cruel to her, I am used to walking.

Used after an adjective to indicate its application.

used after certain adjectives to indicate a relationship

It takes 2 to 4 weeks to process typical applications.

-en

e.g. kahdesta neljään ~ from two to four

With God to friend (with God as a friend); with The Devil to fiend (with the Devil as a foe); lambs slaughtered to lake (lambs slaughtered as a sacrifice); took her to wife (took her as a wife); was sold to slave (was sold as a slave).

one to one = 1:1

ten to one = 10:1.

I have ten dollars to your four.

The hoſt of Xerxes, which by fame is ſaid
To drinke the mightie Parthian Araris,
Was but a handfull to that we will haue.

c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iii:

In total, the Reds had 28 shots to their opponent's nine, and 15 corners to the Baggies' three.

2012 April 22, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:

Used to indicate a ratio or comparison; compared to, as against.

Three squared or three to the second power is nine.

Three to the power of two is nine.

Three to the second is nine.

(arithmetic) Used to indicate that the preceding term is to be raised to the power of the following value; indicates exponentiation.

What's the time? – It's quarter to four in the afternoon (or 3:45 pm).

It’s quarter to (3:45, or 4:45, or whatever time ending in 45 would make the most sense)

(time) Preceding the next hour.
(informal) Often used without the hour

Preceding the next hour.
Often used without the hour

Anyone could do this job; there's nothing to it.

There's a lot of sense to what he says.

The name has a nice ring to it.

Used to describe what something consists of or contains.

Our holiday did not go to plan.

Stay where you're to and I'll come find you, b'y.

Where are you to?

(Canada, Cornwall (UK), Newfoundland, Wales, West Midlands (UK)) At.

Cornwall (UK); West Midlands (UK); Cornwall (UK); West Midlands (UK)


as

From Middle English as, als(a), alswa, from Old English eallswā (“just so; as”), thus representing a reduced form of also. Compare German Low German as, German als, Dutch als.

You are not as tall as my sister.

They are big as houses.

A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire.

1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0016:

She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry.

1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

Introducing a basis of comparison, with an object in the objective case.

What is your opinion as a parent?

He was never seen as the boss, but rather as a friend.

Directed by Howard Hawks, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes starred Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei and Jane Russell as Dorothy.

2000, Tom Pendergast, Sara Pendergast, St. James encyclopedia of popular culture, volume 2, page 223:

Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus.[…]A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that. Developed as a tool to electronically combine the sharpest bits of multiple digital images, focus stacking is a boon to biologists seeking full focus on a micron scale.

2013 July-August, Catherine Clabby, “Focus on Everything”, in American Scientist:

I bought you a new toy as a special treat.


re

Borrowed from Latin rē, ablative of rēs (“thing, matter, topic”).

Re A (conjoined twins) [2000] EWCA Civ 254

"I know it's been a long haul, but can we please not get complacent re: our annual magic gunk explosion? I can't believe I just typed those words."

2020 July 24, HarryBlank, “SCP-5243”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 2024-09-02:

About, regarding, with reference to; especially in letters, documents, emails and case law.

فِي مَا يَخُصّ

fī mā yaḵuṣṣ


while

From Middle English whyle, from Old English hwīl, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlu, from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō (compare Dutch wijl, Low German Wiel, German Weile, Danish hvile (“rest”), Norwegian Bokmål hvile (“rest”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“to rest”). Cognate with Albanian sillë (“breakfast”), Latin tranquillus, Sanskrit चिर (cirá), Persian شاد (šâd).

der

I may be conveyed into your chamber; I'll lie under your bed while midnight.

c. 1613, Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, “Wit at Several Weapons. A Comedy.”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):