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.
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.
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."