They will _root up_ the whole ground.--SWIFT.

A friend _prevailed upon_ one of the interpreters.--ADDISON

My uncle _approved of_ it.--FRANKLIN.

The robber who _broke into_ them.--LANDOR.

This period is not obscurely _hinted at_.--LAMB.

The judge _winked at_ the iniquity of the decision.--_Id._

The pupils' voices, _conning over_ their lessons.--IRVING.

To _help out_ his maintenance.--_Id._

With such pomp is Merry Christmas _ushered in_.--LONGFELLOW.

[Sidenote: _Ordinary use as connective, relation words._]

(3) As _relation words_, introducing phrases,--the most common use, in
which the words have their own proper function.

[Sidenote: _Usefulness of prepositions._]

311. Prepositions are the subtlest and most useful words in the
language for compressing a clear meaning into few words. Each
preposition has its proper and general meaning, which, by frequent and
exacting use, has expanded and divided into a variety of meanings more
or less close to the original one.

Take, for example, the word _over_. It expresses place, with motion,
as, "The bird flew _over_ the house;" or rest, as, "Silence broods
_over_ the earth." It may also convey the meaning of _about_,
_concerning_; as, "They quarreled _over_ the booty." Or it may express
time: "Stay _over_ night."

The language is made richer and more flexible by there being several
meanings to each of many prepositions, as well as by some of them
having the same meaning as others.

CLASSES OF PREPOSITIONS.

312. It would be useless to attempt to classify all the
prepositions, since they are so various in meaning.

The largest groups are those of place, time, and exclusion.

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE.

313. The following are the most common to indicate place:--

(1) PLACE WHERE: _abaft_, _about_, _above_, _across_, _amid_
(_amidst_), _among_ (_amongst_), _at_, _athwart_, _below_, _beneath_,
_beside_, _between_ (_betwixt_), _beyond_, _in_, _on_, _over_, _under_
(_underneath_), _upon_, _round_ or _around_, _without_.

(2) PLACE WHITHER: _into_, _unto_, _up_, _through_, _throughout_,
_to_, _towards_.

(3) PLACE WHENCE: _down_, _from_ (_away from_, _down from_, _from
out_, etc.), _off_, _out of_.

Abaft is exclusively a sea term, meaning _back of_.

Among (or amongst) and between (or betwixt) have a difference
in meaning, and usually a difference in use. _Among_ originally meant
in the crowd (_o