Where does “of-” come from?

of- (Middle English) comes from Old English of-, from Proto-Germanic aba-, from Proto-Indo-European h₂epó — off, away.

of- (Middle English): away from; off

Definitions

  1. away from; off

Ancestry of “of-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishof-off, away, from, out of, away from; down;...
2Proto-Germanicaba-away, away from
3Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂epóoff, away

Words derived from “of-”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂epó →Every word from Proto-Germanic aba- →Every word from Old English of- →