From
King James Dictionary [1]
From, prep.
The sense of from may be expressed by the noun distance, or by the adjective distant, or by the participles, departing, removing to a distance. Thus it is one hundred miles from Boston to Hartford. He took his sword from his side. Light proceeds from the sun. Water issues from the earth in springs. Separate the coarse wool from the fine. Men have all sprung from Adam. Men often go from good to bad, and from bad to worse. The merit of an action depends on the principle from which it proceeds. Men judge of facts from personal knowledge, or from testimony. We should aim to judge from undeniable premises.
The sense of from is literal or figurative, but it is uniformly the same.
In certain phrases, generally or always elliptical, from is followed by certain adverbs, denoting place, region or position, indefinitely, no precise point being expressed as,
From above, from the upper regions.
From afar, from a distance.
From beneath, from a place or region below.
From below, from a lower place.
From behind, from a place or position in the rear.
From far, from a distant place.
From high, from on high, from a high place, from an upper region, or from heaven.
From hence, from this place but from is superfluous before hence. The phrase however is common.
From thence, from that place from being superfluous.
From whence, from which place from being superfluous.
From where, from which place.
From within, from the interior or inside.
From without, from the outside, from abroad.
From precedes another preposition, followed by its proper object or case.
From amidst, as from amidst the waves.
From among, as from among the trees.
From beneath, as from beneath my head.
From beyond, as from beyond the river.
From forth, as from forth his bridal bower. But this is an inverted order of the words forth from his bower.
From off, as from off the mercy seat, that is, from the top or surface.
From out, as from out a window, that is, through an opening or from the inside.
From out of, is an combination of words and not to be used.
From under, as from under the bed, from under the ashes, that is, from beneath or the lower side.
From within, as from within the house, that is, from the inner part or interior.
Webster's Dictionary [2]
(prep.) Out of the neighborhood of; lessening or losing proximity to; leaving behind; by reason of; out of; by aid of; - used whenever departure, setting out, commencement of action, being, state, occurrence, etc., or procedure, emanation, absence, separation, etc., are to be expressed. It is construed with, and indicates, the point of space or time at which the action, state, etc., are regarded as setting out or beginning; also, less frequently, the source, the cause, the occasion, out of which anything proceeds; - the aritithesis and correlative of to; as, it, is one hundred miles from Boston to Springfield; he took his sword from his side; light proceeds from the sun; separate the coarse wool from the fine; men have all sprung from Adam, and often go from good to bad, and from bad to worse; the merit of an action depends on the principle from which it proceeds; men judge of facts from personal knowledge, or from testimony.
