at: [OE] The preposition at was originally found throughout the Germanic languages: Old English had ?t, Old High German az, Gothic and Old Norse at. It survives in the Scandinavian languages (Swedish att, for instance) as well as English, but has been lost from German and Dutch. Cognates in other Indo-European languages, including Latin ad ‘to, at’, suggest an ultimate common source.
at (prep.)
Old English ?t, from Proto-Germanic *at (cognates: Old Norse, Gothic at, Old Frisian et, Old High German az), from PIE *ad- "to, near, at" (cognates: Latin ad "to, toward" Sanskrit adhi "near;" see ad-).
Lost in German and Dutch, which use their equivalent of to; in Scandinavian, however, to has been lost and at fills its place. In choosing between at church, in church, etc. at is properly distinguished from in or on by involving some practical connection; a worshipper is at church; a tourist is in the church.
The colloquial use of at after where ("where it's at") is attested from 1859. At last is recorded from late 13c.; adverbial phrase at least was in use by 1775. At in Middle English was used freely with prepositions (as in at after, which is in Shakespeare), but this has faded with the exception of at about, which was used in modern times by Trollope, Virginia Woolfe, D.H. Lawrence, and Evelyn Waugh, but nonetheless is regarded as a sign of incompetent writing by my copy editor bosses.
例文
1. I think he means " at "rather than "to "
彼はtoではなく at と言いたいのだと思います。
2.The world breaks everyone，and afterward，many are stronger at the broken places.
生活はいつも私たちを傷だらけにしてくれますが、その後、傷を負った場所はもっと強くなります。
毎日一言
3.For what do we live，but to make sport for our neighbours，and laugh at them in our turn？
私たちが生きているのは何のためですか。隣人を笑い者にして、逆に笑うことではない。
4.You have to do everything you can.You have to work your hardest.And if you do，if you stay positive，then you have a shot at a silver lining.