/ əv; strong form ɒv; NAmE ʌv/ preposition
1.
belonging to sb; relating to sb :
a friend of mine
the love of a mother for her child
the role of the teacher
Can't you throw out that old bike of Tommy's?
the paintings of Monet
HELP NOTE : When you are talking about everything someone has painted, written, etc. use of . When you are referring to one or more examples of somebody's work, use by :
a painting by Monet
2.
belonging to sth; being part of sth; relating to sth :
the lid of the box
the director of the company
a member of the team
the result of the debate
3.
coming from a particular background or living in a place :
a woman of Italian descent
the people of Wales
4.
concerning or showing sb/sth :
a story of passion
a photo of my dog
a map of India
5.
used to say what sb/sth is, consists of, or contains :
the city of Dublin
the issue of housing
a crowd of people
a glass of milk
6.
used with measurements and expressions of time, age, etc. :
2 kilos of potatoes
an increase of 2%
a girl of 12
the fourth of July
the year of his birth
( old-fashioned )
We would often have a walk of an evening.
7.
used to show sb/sth belongs to a group, often after some , a few , etc. :
some of his friends
a few of the problems
the most famous of all the stars
8.
used to show the position of sth/sb in space or time :
just north of Detroit
at the time of the revolution
( NAmE )
at a quarter of eleven tonight (= 10.45 p.m.)
9.
used after nouns formed from verbs. The noun after 'of' can be either the object or the subject of the action :
the arrival of the police (= they arrive)
criticism of the police (= they are criticized)
fear of the dark
the howling of the wind
10.
used after some verbs before mentioning sb/sth involved in the action :
to deprive sb of sth
He was cleared of all blame.
Think of a number, any number.
11.
used after some adjectives before mentioning sb/sth that a feeling relates to :
to be proud of sth
12.
used to give your opinion of sb's behaviour :
It was kind of you to offer.
13.
used when one noun describes a second one :
Where's that idiot of a boy? (= the boy that you think is stupid)
•
IDIOMS
- of all
- of all the ...
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch af and German ab , from an Indo-European root shared by Latin ab and Greek apo .