_f(r)əm, _f ə m, |främ, |frəm, _främ preposition
Etymology: Middle English fram, from, from Old English; akin to Old English & Old High German fram, adverb, forth, away, forward, Old Norse frā, preposition, from, fram, adverb, forward, Gothic, preposition, from, Old English faran to travel, go — more at fare
1. — used as a function word to indicate a starting point: as (1) a point or place where an actual physical movement (as of departure, withdrawal, or dropping) has its beginning
he set out from town this morning
held the funeral from the funeral parlor — R.O.Bowen
shrinking from his touch
a fall from a horse
the first pigeon race … ever held from this city — Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News
he comes from beyond the sea
came out from under the table
five tanks were shot from under him — Current Biography
(2) something that is taken as a starting point in measuring or reckoning or in a statement of limits
it is 20 miles from here to the nearest town
three years from that day
ready to go home within a fortnight from the operation — Lancet
from five to ten years are needed for the project
from childhood he displayed great ability
frames and trays range from $1 — New York Herald Tribune
(3) the starting or focal point of any activity or movement
will fight you from our beaches and from our ruined homes
looked at me from under her glasses
from one point of view you are right
I speak from the heart
shot straight from the hip
often used with words that express the condition of being suspended or pendent
ornaments hanging from a Christmas tree
2. — used as a function word to indicate (1) the fact or condition of spatial or physical absence, separation, remoteness, or disjunction
an ocean separates America from Europe
the wind was from them
a dunlin, disturbed from its young, creeps along the ground — E.A.Armstrong
— often used, chiefly British, in the phrase from home
seemed to discover a home from home in our house — Adrian Bell
he had been from home … during most of the period mentioned — F.W.Crofts
— also in obs. usage to indicate qualitative remoteness or unlikeness; (2) the act, fact, or condition of removal, withdrawal, abstention, separation, dissent, discrimination, qualification, or differentiation of any kind
the most extensive file … lacks only five numbers from being complete — B.A.Botkin & A.F.Harlow
asked him to refrain from interrupting
exclude a man from membership
he differs from his brother in every particular
purging its abuses from the faith
put his wife from him
set men free from superstition
(3) change or transition from one state or condition to another or replacement of one thing by another
from the defense they sprang to the attack
things go from bad to worse
transformed from wretched serfs into proud freemen
turned from their books to the grim business of war
3. — used as a function word to indicate the source or original or moving force of something: as (1) the source, cause, means, or ultimate agent of an action or condition
all his misfortunes spring from that piece of folly
you will hear from my lawyer
he holds his appointment from the trustees
smoking a cigarette from one hand and sipping chocolate ice-cream soda … from the other — Frances Perkins
emissaries from a barbarian king
these lakes … are, from their low temperature, entirely destitute of fish — Encyc. Americana
tea time when visits from her family usually occurred — Osbert Lancaster
(2) the ground, reason, or basis (as of a judgment, belief, finding, or action)
its composition appears to be uncertain from the physical facts — W.E.Swinton
cannot generalize from the state of the weather in Great Britain and Ireland — Geoffrey Jefferson
negotiations from strength
(3) descent, ancestry, or birth
descended from a long line of kings
two colts from the same dam
(4) the place of origin, source, or derivation of a material or immaterial thing
all creation is from conflict — W.B.Yeats
assigned two chapters from the text
took a dime from his pocket
(5) the model or original (as of a work of art)
painting done directly from nature
the church was built from his plans
also used to indicate a person or thing that another is named for
the name was soon changed to Jamaica, from the Jameco Indians, the aboriginal settlers — American Guide Series: New York City
(6) the fact or condition of being suspended or pendent
wear it from the principal masthead when the yacht is in commission — Peter Heaton
(7) selection out of a number of individuals
chosen from a large number of competitors
(8) the fact or condition of being native to or a resident of
people from Ohio are often call Buckeyes
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