Etymograph

English

of

Of comes from Old English of ‘from, out of, off’, from Proto-Germanic *ab ‘away’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ep1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂epó1‘away’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ab1‘away’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ab1reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150æf1
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150of1‘from’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500of1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1485of1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English of
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory: “Sir said Galahad by this shelde ben many merueils…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂epWiktionary, English ofreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂epóWiktionary, English of‘away’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*abWiktionary, English of‘away’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*abWiktionary, English ofreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150æfWiktionary, English of
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150ofWiktionary, English of‘from’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ofWiktionary, English of
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1485ofWiktionary, English of. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory: “Sir said Galahad by this shelde ben many merueils…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with of, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó ‘away’

  • afterward ← æfterweard ← æfter ← *after
  • abdomen ← abdō ← ab ← *ap
  • overt ← ovrir ← operire ← aperīre

through Proto-Germanic *ab ‘away’

  • ebb ← ebbe ← ebba ← *abbjā ← *abjô

through Middle English of

4 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

prep From (a place); off.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “of”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep / of