| a |
| 1. art. One; any indefinite example of; used to denote a singular item of a group. | |
| There was a man here looking for you yesterday. | |
| 2. art. Used in conjunction with the adjectives score, dozen, hundred, thousand, and million, as a function word. | |
| I've seen it happen a hundred times. | |
| 3. art. One certain or particular; any single.Brown, Lesley, (2003) | |
| We've received an interesting letter from a Mrs. Miggins of London. | |
| 4. art. The same; one. | |
| We are of a mind on matters of morals. | |
| 5. art. Any, every; used before a noun which has become modified to limit its scope; also used with a negative to indicate not a single one.Lindberg, Christine A. (2007) | |
| A man who dies intestate leaves his children troubles and difficulties. | |
| He fell all that way, and hasn't a bump on his head? | |
| 6. art. Used before plural nouns modified by few, good many, couple, great many, etc. | |
| 7. art. Someone or something like; similar to; Used before a proper noun to create an example out of it. | |
| The center of the village was becoming a Times Square. | |
| 8. prep. (archaic) To do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto. | |
| Stand a tiptoe. | |
| 9. prep. To do with separation; In, into. | |
| Torn a pieces. | |
| 10. prep. To do with time; Each, per, in, on, by. | |
| I brush my teeth twice a day. | |
| 11. prep. (obsolete) To do with method; In, with. | |
| 12. prep. (obsolete) To do with role or capacity; In. | |
| A God’s name. | |
| 13. prep. To do with status; In. | |
| King James Bible (II Chronicles 2:18) | |
| To set the people a worke. | |
| 14. prep. (archaic) To do with process, with a passive verb; In the course of, experiencing. | |
| 1964, Bob Dylan, The Times They Are a-Changin’ | |
| The times, they are a-changin'. | |
| 15. prep. (archaic) To do with an action, an active verb; Engaged in. | |
| 1611, King James Bible, Hebrews 11-21 | |
| Jacob, when he was a dying | |
| 16. prep. (archaic) To do with an action/movement; To, into. | |
| 17. v. (archaic, or slang) Have. | |
| I'd a come, if you'd a asked. | |
| 18. pron. (obsolete, outside, England, and Scotland dialects) He. | |
| 19. interj. A meaningless syllable; ah. | |
| 20. prep. (archaic, slang) Of. | |
| The name of John a Gaunt. | |
| 21. adv. (chiefly Scotland) All. | |
| 22. adj. (chiefly Scotland) All. | |
| solvent |
| 1. n. A liquid that dissolves a solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution. | |
| 2. n. That which resolves. | |
| a solvent of mystery | |
| 3. adj. Able to pay all debts as they become due, and having no more liabilities than assets. | |
| 4. adj. Having the power of dissolving; causing solution. | |
| of |
| 1. prep. Expressing distance or motion. | |
| 2. prep. (now obsolete, or dialectal) From (of distance, direction), "off". | |
| 3. prep. (obsolete except in phrases) Since, from (a given time, earlier state etc.). | |
| 4. prep. From, away from (a position, number, distance etc.). | |
| There are no shops within twenty miles of the cottage. | |
| 5. prep. (North America, Scotland, Ireland) Before (the hour); to. | |
| What's the time? / Nearly a quarter of three. | |
| 6. prep. Expressing separation. | |
| 7. prep. (Indicating removal, absence or separation, with the action indicated by a transitive verb and the quality or substance by a grammatical object.) | |
| Finally she was relieved of the burden of caring for her sick husband. | |
| 8. prep. (Indicating removal, absence or separation, with resulting state indicated by an adjective.) | |
| He seemed devoid of human feelings. | |
| 9. prep. (obsolete) (Indicating removal, absence or separation, construed with an intransitive verb.) | |
| 10. prep. Expressing origin. | |
| 11. prep. (Indicating an ancestral source or origin of descent.) | |
| The word is believed to be of Japanese origin. | |
| 12. prep. (Indicating a (non-physical) source of action or emotion; introducing a cause, instigation); from, out of, as an expression of. | |
| The invention was born of necessity. | |
| 13. prep. (following an intransitive verb) (Indicates the source or cause of the verb.) | |
| It is said that she died of a broken heart. | |
| 14. prep. (following an adjective) (Indicates the subject or cause of the adjective.) | |
| I am tired of all this nonsense. | |
| 15. prep. Expressing agency. | |
| 16. prep. (following a passive verb) (Indicates the agent (for most verbs, now usually expressed with by).) | |
| I am not particularly enamoured of this idea. | |
| 17. prep. (Used to introduce the "subjective genitive"; following a noun to form the head of a postmodifying noun phrase) (see also 'Possession' senses below). | |
| The contract can be terminated at any time with the agreement of both parties. | |
| 18. prep. (following an adjective) (Used to indicate the agent of something described by the adjective.) | |
| It was very brave of you to speak out like that. | |
| 19. prep. Expressing composition, substance. | |
| 20. prep. (after a verb expressing construction, making etc.) (Used to indicate the material or substance used.) | |
| Many 'corks' are now actually made of plastic. | |
| 21. prep. (directly following a noun) (Used to indicate the material of the just-mentioned object.) | |
| She wore a dress of silk. | |
| 22. prep. (Indicating the composition of a given collective or quantitative noun.) | |
| What a lot of nonsense! | |
| 23. prep. (Used to link a given class of things with a specific example of that class.) | |
| Welcome to the historic town of Harwich. | |
| 24. prep. (Links two nouns in near-apposition, with the first qualifying the second); "which is also". | |
| I'm not driving this wreck of a car. | |
| 25. prep. Introducing subject matter. | |
| 26. prep. (Links an intransitive verb, or a transitive verb and its subject (especially verbs to do with thinking, feeling, expressing etc.), with its subject-ma | |
| I'm always thinking of you. | |
| 27. prep. (following a noun (now chiefly nouns of knowledge, communication etc.)) (Introduces its subject matter); about, concerning. | |
| He told us the story of his journey to India. | |
| 28. prep. (following an adjective) (Introduces its subject matter.) | |
| This behaviour is typical of teenagers. | |
| 29. prep. Having partitive effect. | |
| 30. prep. (following a number or other quantitive word) (Introduces the whole for which is indicated only the specified part or segment); "from among". | |
| Most of these apples are rotten. | |
| 31. prep. (following a noun) (Indicates a given part.) | |
| 32. prep. (now archaic, literary, with preceding partitive word assumed, or as a predicate after to be) Some, an amount of, one of. | |
| On the whole, they seem to be of the decent sort. | |
| 33. prep. (Links to a genitive noun or possessive pronoun, with partitive effect (though now often merged with possessive senses, below).) | |
| He is a friend of mine. | |
| 34. prep. Expressing possession. | |
| 35. prep. Belonging to, existing in, or taking place in a given location, place or time. Compare "origin" senses, above. | |
| He was perhaps the most famous scientist of the twentieth century. | |
| 36. prep. Belonging to (a place) through having title, ownership or control over it. | |
| The owner of the nightclub was arrested. | |
| 37. prep. Belonging to (someone or something) as something they possess or have as a characteristic; (the "possessive genitive". (With abstract nouns, this inter | |
| Keep the handle of the saucepan away from the flames. | |
| 38. prep. Forming the "objective genitive". | |
| 39. prep. (Follows an agent noun, verbal noun or noun of action.) | |
| She had a profound distrust of the police. | |
| 40. prep. Expressing qualities or characteristics. | |
| 41. prep. (now archaic, or literary) (Links an adjective with a noun or noun phrase to form a quasi-adverbial qualifier); in respect to, as regards. | |
| My companion seemed affable and easy of manner. | |
| 42. prep. (Indicates a quality or characteristic); "characterized by". | |
| Pooh was said to be a bear of very little brain. | |
| 43. prep. (Indicates quantity, age, price, etc.) | |
| We have been paying interest at a rate of 10%. | |
| 44. prep. (US, informal considered incorrect by some) (Used to link singular indefinite nouns (preceded by the indefinite article) and attributive adjectives mod | |
| It's not that big of a deal. | |
| 45. prep. Expressing a point in time. | |
| 46. prep. (chiefly regional) During the course of (a set period of time, day of the week etc.), now specifically with implied repetition or regularity. | |
| Of an evening, we would often go for a stroll along the river. | |
| 47. prep. (UK dialectal, chiefly in negative constructions) For (a given length of time). | |
| I've not tekken her out of a goodly long while. | |
| 48. prep. (after a noun) (Indicates duration of a state, activity etc.) | |
| After a delay of three hours, the plane finally took off. | |
| mystery |
| 1. n. Something secret or unexplainable; an unknown. | |
| The truth behind the events remains a mystery. | |
| 2. n. Someone or something with an obscure or puzzling nature. | |
| That man is a mystery. | |
| 3. n. (obsolete) A secret or mystical meaning. | |
| 4. n. A religious truth not understandable by the application of human reason alone (without divine aid). | |
| 5. n. (archaic, outside, Eastern Orthodoxy) A sacrament. | |
| 6. n. (mostly, in plural) A secret religious celebration, admission to which was usually through initiation. | |
| the Eleusinian mysteries | |
| the Mysteries of Mithras | |
| 7. n. (Catholicism) A particular event or series of events in the life of Christ. | |
| The second decade of the Rosary concerns the Sorrowful mysteries, such as the crucifixion and the crowning with thorns. | |
| 8. n. A craft, art or trade; specifically a guild of craftsmen.http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch15.htm#S9 | |
