| 释义 |
▪ I. of-, prefix1
the prepositional adv. of, off, in comb., corresp. to OS. af-, ON. af-, Goth. af-, OHG. ab-; L. ab-, Gr. ἀπο-, Skt. apa-, forming compounds of different ages.
1. In vbs. and their derivatives of Germanic or OE. age, retained in ME., but now obs. In these the original literal sense ‘away, off’ seldom survived even in OE.; 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, esp. of the particle, was obscured or lost. Examples: ofhold to hold from, withhold, ofsake to put away a charge, deny, ofthink to displease, grieve, ofask to ask for, get by asking, ofclepe to call for, ofsend to send for. Of- frequently added to the verbal notion that of ‘to do away with, finish off, destroy, kill’, as in ofslay, ofsting, oftread; of ‘to injure, hurt’, as in oflie, ofset, ofsit; of ‘to outdo or overcome’, as in ofride, ofrun. Closely allied to this is the sense, in participial adjectives, of ‘overcome or exhausted with the action expressed by the vb.’, as in ofcalen, offought, ofhungered, ofthirst. Words of this class which came down into ME. will be found in their alphabetical places.
In ME. of- before a cons. was frequently reduced to o-, a-, and thus identified in form with several other prefixes of different origin: see a- prefix, and of- prefix2; and cf. adown, of-hungered, a-hungered, ofthirst, athirst, etc.
2. In later combinations of OE. and ME. age, the sense of the two elements remains manifest, the particle being usually = ‘off’; the union is much looser, the particle being in vbs. mostly separable, with its position depending on the syntax. It was only in pples., verbal adjs., and ns., that the combination became more or less permanent. In the 16th c., of- in this connexion passed imperceptibly into off-, which is always the form in later combinations. Hence these naturally attach themselves to off- prefix, under which see the ME. examples.
▪ II. of-, prefix2
in ME. appears sometimes to represent an earlier a-. OE. of- being often phonetically reduced to a-, there arose a confusion between the prefixes, so that original a- was sometimes expanded to of-. See offear, offright, ofgrame, ofgrisen, ofken, ofscape, ofwake (in some of which, however, of- may be original).
▪ III. of-, prefix3
in ME. sometimes varies with ofer, over, from which it may be shortened. Cf. ofgo, ofhear, oftake. But this cannot always be distinguished from of- prep.1 in the sense ‘outdo or overcome’ as in ofride, ofrun. |
