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In the Stargate franchise they use the preposition "to". Shouldn't it be "of"? Mother of the leader and First Prime of Apophis

From the transcript on Stargate Wiki:

LANDRY (sighing):
As the former First Prime to Apophis, Teal'c provided valuable insight to the enemy's resources and tactics.
DANIEL:
And as the mother to the leader of the Ori army, Vala may hold the key to stopping them.

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  • stargate-sg1-solutions.com/wiki/10.02_%22Morpheus%22_Transcript
    – user196887
    Commented Sep 18, 2016 at 16:44
  • It's a fantasy writing context, so they're probably using non-standard prepositions to add to the sense of "exotic other-worldliness". Bear in mind that First Prime itself doesn't have any established meaning in English, so we're already well away with the fairies here.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Sep 18, 2016 at 17:01

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The usage is correct, but less common. Relationships can be represented by both 'of' and 'to'.

For example, "Helga is a mother to Nimitta" conveys Helga's relationship to Nimitta. It can also be conveyed as "Helga is a mother of Nimitta".

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  • For me your second sentence doesn't work. I read "mother of" as implying biological parenthood, or possibly an adoptive parent. Even in the second case I doubt that the adoptee would consider that she had two 'real mothers', she would be more likely to refer to her 'mother' and her 'birth mother' so to say "a mother of" is inappropriate. "Mother to" implies to me someone who is acting as a mother figure to the subject and may well be one of a number of women in that position so "a mother to" is entirely reasonable. "The mother to" as quoted by the OP seems wrong by the opposite argument.
    – BoldBen
    Commented Sep 18, 2016 at 22:12
  • "To" is also used in relationships such as "adjutant to General Whatsit".
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Sep 23, 2016 at 22:19
  • @HotLicks True, but the adjutant is not a biological parent (unless the General is indulging in reverse nepotism)
    – BoldBen
    Commented Sep 24, 2016 at 4:56
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The use of to where you are expecting of is unremarkable, just less common. It has been used in literature and law for more than a thousand years. A source and some examples follow.

New English Dictionary, volume TI–TZ, Oxford University Press, 1926 printing:

To
A. prep. (in ordinary use, before a sb.)
V. Indicating addition, attachment, accompaniment, appurtenance, possession.
17. After belong and verbs of similar meaning (q.v.); also after be with the sense of belong; also after a sb., in the sense ‘appertaining or belonging to’: sometimes equivalent to ‘of’ or the possessive case of the sb.

c 893 K. ÆLFRED *Oros. ɪ. i. § 21 Þæt Witland belimpeð to Estum.
972 Charter in Birch Cart. Sax. III. 589 Ðis sind þa land ȝemæra þæs londes þe lympð to Sture.
1451 Rolls of Parlt. V. 226/2 Godes … that were sumtyme to the seid William
c 1530 LD. BERNERS Arth. Lyt. Bryt. 299, I am doughter to a king.
1605 CAMDEN Rem. (1637) 281 Katherine, wife to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolke.
1719 DE FOE Crusoe (1840) I. i. 2 Lieutenant-colonel to an English regiment of foot.
Ibid. 5 Clerk to an attorney.

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