† of-prefix

Forms: Old English æf-, Old English–Middle English af- (rare), Old English–Middle English off- (rare), Old English–1500s of-, early Middle English hof- (rare), Middle English o- (rare). See also off- prefix.

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: of prep.

Etymology: < of prep., in a number of compounds which are inherited from Germanic. Similar verbal formations are found in all of the major Germanic languages, as also in Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin.In verbs and their derivatives of Germanic or Old English age, of- was retained in Middle English, but is now obsolete. In such words the original literal sense ‘away, off’ seldom survived even in Old English; the compound verb, formed by the close union of particle and verb, having usually undergone a modification, extension, or transference of meaning, in which the original sense of the elements, especially of the particle, was obscured or lost. Words of this class which came down into Middle English are entered in the dictionary as main entries. In later combinations of Old English and Middle English age, the sense of the two elements remains manifest, the particle being usually = ‘off’; the union is much looser, the particle being in verbs mostly separable, with its position depending on the syntax. It is only in participles, verbal adjectives, and nouns, that the combination becomes more or less permanent. In the 16th cent., of- in this connection passed imperceptibly into off- , which is always the form in later combinations. Hence these are most simply regarded as variants of off- prefix, under which the Middle English examples are placed. In late Old English and Middle English of- before a consonant was frequently reduced to o- or a- , and thus identified in form with several other prefixes of different origin (see a- prefix⁴; compare adown adv. and prep., and with ofhungered adj., ofthirst adj., etc., compare ahungered adj., athirst adj., etc.; compare also discussion at a- prefix¹). As a result of this confusion between the prefixes, original a- was sometimes expanded to of- ; hence in late Old English and Middle English of- appears sometimes to represent an earlier a- (see sense 2). In later Old English and Middle English of- sometimes varies with ofer- , over- prefix: compare note at over- prefix 1n.

Obsolete.

1. Forming verbs and adjectives from verbs.

a. Forming verbs with the sense: (a) ‘to put, keep, etc., from or away’, e.g. ofhold v., ofsake v.; also figuratively with a negative sense, e.g. ofthink v.; (b) ‘to get or obtain by (the action of the verb)’, e.g. of-ask v., ofclepe v., ofsend v.; (c) ‘to do away with, finish off, destroy, kill’, as in ofslay v., ofsting v., oftread v.; (d) ‘to injure, hurt’, as in oflie v., ofset v., ofsit v.; (e) ‘to outdo or overcome’, as in ofride v., of-run v.

b. Forming adjectives, with the sense ‘overcome or exhausted with the action expressed by the verb’, as in ofcale adj., of-fought adj., ofhungered adj., ofthirst adj.

2. = a- prefix⁴, e.g. offear v., offright v., ofgrame v., ofgrise v., ofken v.¹, ofscape v., ofwake v. (in some of which, however, of- may be original).

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online December 2020).

单词	of-
释义	† of-prefix Forms: Old English æf-, Old English–Middle English af- (rare), Old English–Middle English off- (rare), Old English–1500s of-, early Middle English hof- (rare), Middle English o- (rare). See also off- prefix. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: of prep. Etymology: < of prep., in a number of compounds which are inherited from Germanic. Similar verbal formations are found in all of the major Germanic languages, as also in Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin.In verbs and their derivatives of Germanic or Old English age, of- was retained in Middle English, but is now obsolete. In such words the original literal sense ‘away, off’ seldom survived even in Old English; the compound verb, formed by the close union of particle and verb, having usually undergone a modification, extension, or transference of meaning, in which the original sense of the elements, especially of the particle, was obscured or lost. Words of this class which came down into Middle English are entered in the dictionary as main entries. In later combinations of Old English and Middle English age, the sense of the two elements remains manifest, the particle being usually = ‘off’; the union is much looser, the particle being in verbs mostly separable, with its position depending on the syntax. It is only in participles, verbal adjectives, and nouns, that the combination becomes more or less permanent. In the 16th cent., of- in this connection passed imperceptibly into off- , which is always the form in later combinations. Hence these are most simply regarded as variants of off- prefix, under which the Middle English examples are placed. In late Old English and Middle English of- before a consonant was frequently reduced to o- or a- , and thus identified in form with several other prefixes of different origin (see a- prefix⁴; compare adown adv. and prep., and with ofhungered adj., ofthirst adj., etc., compare ahungered adj., athirst adj., etc.; compare also discussion at a- prefix¹). As a result of this confusion between the prefixes, original a- was sometimes expanded to of- ; hence in late Old English and Middle English of- appears sometimes to represent an earlier a- (see sense 2). In later Old English and Middle English of- sometimes varies with ofer- , over- prefix: compare note at over- prefix 1n. Obsolete. 1. Forming verbs and adjectives from verbs. a. Forming verbs with the sense: (a) ‘to put, keep, etc., from or away’, e.g. ofhold v., ofsake v.; also figuratively with a negative sense, e.g. ofthink v.; (b) ‘to get or obtain by (the action of the verb)’, e.g. of-ask v., ofclepe v., ofsend v.; (c) ‘to do away with, finish off, destroy, kill’, as in ofslay v., ofsting v., oftread v.; (d) ‘to injure, hurt’, as in oflie v., ofset v., ofsit v.; (e) ‘to outdo or overcome’, as in ofride v., of-run v. b. Forming adjectives, with the sense ‘overcome or exhausted with the action expressed by the verb’, as in ofcale adj., of-fought adj., ofhungered adj., ofthirst adj. 2. = a- prefix⁴, e.g. offear v., offright v., ofgrame v., ofgrise v., ofken v.¹, ofscape v., ofwake v. (in some of which, however, of- may be original). This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online December 2020). Of-comb. form Stress is usually attracted to this combining form; see e.g. Ofsted n. Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: office n. Etymology: Shortened < office n. in the names of regulatory bodies.Apparently earliest in Oftel n. Forming the names of certain regulatory bodies instituted (largely in the mid 1980s and early 1990s) by the British government, as Ofgas n., Oflot n., Ofrail n., Ofsted n., Oftel n., Ofwat n. Cf. also the acronymic formation Ofgem n. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online January 2018). < prefixcomb. form
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† of-prefix

Of-comb. form