wo
Translingual
editSymbol
editwo
See also
editEnglish
editAlternative forms
editEtymology 1
editVariant of who.
Interjection
editwo
Etymology 2
editVariant of woe.
Noun
editwo (countable and uncountable, plural wos)
- Obsolete spelling of woe.
- 1815, Philip Freneau, A collection of poems, on American affairs and a variety of other subjects, page 82:
- Such feeble arms, to work internal wo!
Etymology 3
editFrom Middle English wough, woh, wouh, from Old English wāh, wāg (“a wall, partition”), from Proto-Germanic *waigaz (“wall”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- (“to bend, twist”). Cognate with Scots wauch, vauch.
Alternative forms
editPronunciation
editNoun
editwo (plural wos)
- (Northern England, Derbyshire, dialectal) A wall.
- 1859, Thomas Moore, The Song of Solomon in the Durham Dialect, ii. 9:
- He stands ahint our wo.
- 1871, Benjamin Brierly, “Weaver of Wellbrook”, in William-Edward-Armitage Axon, editor, Folk-song and Folk-speech of Lancashire, page 53:
- Yo may turn up yor noses at me an' th' owd dame,
An thrutch us like dogs agen th' wo :
Bo as lung 's aw con nayger, aw'll ne'er be a beggar,
So aw care no a cuss for yo o-o'.
- 1880, Thomas Clarke, Specimens of the Dialect of Westmorland, page 41:
- […] thinkan it ran at him, thrast him up again t' wo, ramm't at him, […]
- 1884, Jack Robison, Aald Tales ower Agen, section 4:
- Plantit up agen t'wo
- 1936, G. Halstead Whittaker, A Lancashire Garland of Dialect Prose and Verse, page 221:
- Hoo's pluck of a lion an' faces her foe
- Wi' calm in her e'en an' her beck agen t' wo;
- Hoo's firm i' decision, stonds up for her reets
- An' bravely withstonds o' t' misfortins hoo meets.
Verb
editwo
- (Northern England, dialectal, possibly obsolete) To wall (to build a wall, or build a wall around).
- 1871, John Richardson, "Cummerland Talk": Being Short Tales and Rhymes, page 101:
- […] “Theer was anudder time, teu, 'at I saw t Park Boggle, in anudder form; bit I wassent seah nart that time, as I was when I'd been fetchen t hogs. I'd been wo-en a gap 'at hed fawn ower o' tudder side o' to Park; […]
- 1880, Thomas Clarke, Specimens of the Dialect of Westmorland, page 2:
- It's a varra lang while—a caant tell ya hoo lang—sen it wes bilt, lang afooar Borradal fooak woet kucku in, er t' first cooach ran throo Dent, […]
Anagrams
editAcehnese
editAlternative forms
editVerb
editwo
References
edit- 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.
Akan
editPronoun
editwo
Bavarian
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editWith a widespread dialectal shift from -ā- to -ō-, from Middle High German wā, wār, from Old High German wār, hwār, from Proto-West Germanic *hwār, from Proto-Germanic *hwēr, *hwar. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis, whence also wer. Cognate with German wo, Dutch waar and English where.
Pronunciation
editAdverb
editwo (Central Bavarian)
- (interrogative) where (at what place)
- Wo sand'n meine Augnglasln? ― Where are my glasses?
- (relative) where (at or in which place or situation)
- I kenn a Gschäft, wo's des håbn. ― I know a shop where they offer that.
- Wo i a ka Sun brauch, is beim Autofoahn. ― Where I don't need the sun is when I'm driving.
- (relative) when, that (on which; at which time)
- Des woa de Wochn, wo ma gfeiert håbn. ― That was the week when we celebrated.
- (indefinite) somewhere (in or to an uncertain or unspecified location)
- I warad gern wo, wo's wärmer is. ― I'd like to be somewhere where it's warmer.
Pronoun
editwo (chiefly West Central Bavarian)
- (relative) who, whom, which, that
- Des is de Frau, wo i gsehn håb. ― This is the woman who I saw.
- Koatn gibt's åm Schoiter, wo då hintn is. ― Tickets are available at the counter which is back there.
- (relative) (inserted after the relative pronouns der, de, des, dem, den, dena, dera
- Des is de Frau, de wo i gsehn håb. ― This is the woman who I saw.
- Koatn gibt's åm Schoiter, der wo då hintn is. ― Tickets are available at the counter which is back there.
Synonyms
editConjunction
editwo
Dongxiang
editEtymology
editCompare Bonan wa, perhaps from Proto-Mongolic *bü- (“to be”), see Mongolian бий (bii).
Pronunciation
editVerb
editwo (defective, copulative)
- to be
- existential copula
- Eqie guanjinde nie sizi wo, nie basi wo.
- Once upon a time there was a lion and a tiger.
- equitive copula
- Bi shi er dui nie bawan, yi dui bawan shi jiu Rejie wo, san dui bawan shi nie halao Remi wo.
- I was the bigshot of the second team, the bigshot of the first team was Rejie and the bigshot of the third team was one ugly Remi.
- adjectival copula
- Ene shihoude sumulase hunnerei wo dei.
- If I think [about it] now, it's funny.
- existential copula
- in possessive constructions with the possessor in dative
- Ene ghualade nie ghoni wo.
- These two had a sheep.
- (after -zhi) forming the progressive tense
- Bi ene agvinni nanbangiede nie jian wafande sauzhi wo.
- I live [am living] in a one bedroom house at the south of the village.
Usage notes
edit- Usually combined with the Chinese copula shi which is placed between two terms while wo follows the second. Either of them or even both can be omitted but both being present is usually the most common setup.
Synonyms
editAntonyms
editDerived terms
editEwe
editPronoun
editwo
German
editEtymology
editWith a widespread dialectal shift from -ā- to -ō-, from Middle High German wā, wār, from Old High German wār, hwār, from Proto-West Germanic *hwār, from Proto-Germanic *hwēr, *hwar. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis, whence also wer. Cognate with English where.
Pronunciation
editAdverb
editwo
- (interrogative) where (at what place)
- Wo bist du?
- Where are you?
- (relative) where (at or in which place or situation)
- Ich kenne einen Laden, wo solche Sachen verkauft werden.
- I know a shop where such things are sold.
- (relative, somewhat informal) when, that (on which; at which time)
- Das war der Tag, wo wir uns kennen gelernt haben.
- That was the day when we got to know each other.
- (indefinite, colloquial) somewhere (in or to an uncertain or unspecified location)
- Synonym: irgendwo
- Ich wär gern wo, wo's wärmer ist.
- I'd like to be somewhere where it's warmer.
Usage notes
edit- The temporal use of wo (meaning “when”) is sometimes frowned upon in formal standard German. There is a tendency to use a preposition + relative pronoun instead: Das war der Tag, an dem wir uns kennen gelernt haben. (“That was the day on which we got to know each other.”) Nevertheless, this usage is very common in spoken German and is also widely acceptable in writing, particularly after adverbs, where the only alternative would be the archaic da: Jetzt, wo ich es weiß, wird mir alles klar. (“Now that I know, it all becomes clear to me.”) Compare French où (“where”), the temporal use of which is perfectly standard.
Conjunction
editwo
- (colloquial) when
- Synonym: als
- Wo ich mich umgedreht hab, haut der mir unvermittelt eine rein.
- When I turned around, he just abruptly punched me in the face.
Usage notes
edit- This usage is exclusively colloquial and would be considered inappropriate in a formal text.
Pronoun
editwo
- (relative, dialectal, nonstandard) who, whom, which, that
- Ich bin der, wo das kann.
- I'm the one who can do that.
- 1979, Margret Weiler, Zur Frage der Integration der Zigeuner in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: eine Untersuchung der gegenwärtigen Situation der Zigeuner und der sozialpolitischen und sozialarbeiterischen Massnahmen für Zigeuner, self-published doctoral thesis, p. 188
- Aber daß sie sich da mit uns unterhalten, das tun die nicht, mal grad die wo wir mal kennen, das ist eine Familie (...)
- But that they should have a chat with us, they don't do that, just maybe those who we know a bit, that's one family (...)
- 1994, Burkhard Hergesell, Arbeiterkulturen im Betrieb: interethnische Beziehungen zwischen Produktionsarbeitern: eine empirische Studie, IKO Verlag für Interkulturelle Kommunikation, p. 133
- Ali: "Und der Hussein, der ist ein Typ, wo / wo doch nicht Türkisch redet. Der redet nur Deutsch mit mir. (...)"
- Ali: "And Hussein, he's a bloke who / who won't speak Turkish. He only talks German to me. (...)"
- 2009, Elfriede Jelinek, Die Kontrakte des Kaufmanns. Rechnitz (Der Würgeengel). Über Tiere. – Drei Romane, Rowohlt Taschenbuch, p. 216
- Ich bin, der ich bin. Ich bin, wo ich bin. Ich bin der, wo ich bin. Wo sagt man sowas?
- I am who I am. I am where I am. I am the one that I am. Where do they say it like this?
Usage notes
edit- This use is restricted to dialectally influenced vernaculars (Regiolekte) and chiefly to Alemannic areas (Switzerland and south-western Germany). In other regions, this usage is unusual, and scorned by some.
Related terms
editGerman Low German
editEtymology 1
editFrom Middle Low German wô (“how”), from Old Saxon [Term?], from Proto-Germanic *hwō. Cognate with English how, German wie, Dutch hoe.
Alternative forms
edit- (in some dialects) woans
Pronunciation
editAdverb
editwo
- how
- Wo vele Daag?
- How many days?
Etymology 2
editFrom Old Saxon hwē, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz. Compare English who, whom, whose.
Pronoun
editwo
- (Low Prussian, relative) who, which
- (Low Prussian) Dat, wo ös... ― that which is...
Usage notes
editThe dative form (also used for the accusative) is woom (wom); the genitive form is woos (wos).
Haitian Creole
editEtymology
editPronunciation
editAdjective
editwo
Adverb
editwo
Related terms
editHunsrik
editAlternative forms
edit- woo (Wiesemann spelling system)
Etymology
editFrom Middle High German wā, wār, from Old High German wār, hwār, from Proto-West Germanic *hwār, from Proto-Germanic *hwēr, *hwar.
Pronunciation
editAdverb
editwo
- (interrogative) where
- Wo bist-du?
- Where are you.
- (relative) where
- Ich waarte dich, wo mein Fatter wohnd.
- I will wait for you where my father lives.
- (relative) when
- In denne Zeid, wo alles deirer waar.
- In those times when everything was more expensive.
Pronoun
editwo
- (relative) who
- De Mann, wost-du sihst, is mein Fatter.
- The man you see is my father.
- Die Fraa, wo uns gerufd hod, siehd aarich bees aus.
- The woman who called us seems pretty angry.
Further reading
editJapanese
editRomanization
editwo
Lashi
editEtymology
editFrom Proto-Sino-Tibetan *r/g-wa. Cognate to Burmese ရွာ (rwa).
Pronunciation
editNoun
editwo
References
edit- Hkaw Luk (2017) A grammatical sketch of Lacid[1], Chiang Mai: Payap University (master thesis)
Lower Sorbian
editPreposition
editwo
Luxembourgish
editVerb
editwo
Mandarin
editRomanization
edit- Nonstandard spelling of wō.
- Nonstandard spelling of wǒ.
- Nonstandard spelling of wò.
Usage notes
edit- Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
Middle English
editEtymology 1
editPronoun
editwo
- Alternative form of who (“who”, nominative)
Etymology 2
editNoun
editwo (plural wos)
- Alternative form of woo
Etymology 3
editAdjective
editwo
- woeful
- 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Wyfe of Bathes Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:
- Wo was the knight and sorroufully he syketh.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Saterland Frisian
editEtymology
editFrom Old Frisian hō, from Proto-West Germanic [Term?], from Proto-Germanic *hwō. Cognates include West Frisian hoe and Dutch hoe.
Pronunciation
editAdverb
editwo
References
editXhosa
editPronoun
edit-wo
- Combining stem of wona.
Ye'kwana
editALIV | wo |
---|---|
Brazilian standard | wo |
New Tribes | wo |
Pronunciation
editNoun
editwo (possessed wodü)
- great-grandfather
- father-in-law (of a woman)
- mother’s brother, maternal uncle
- father’s sister’s husband
Usage notes
editThis noun has a suppletive first-person possessed form, yawo.
References
edit- Cáceres, Natalia (2011) “wo”, in Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana[2], Lyon
- Hall, Katherine Lee (1988) “wo:dü”, in The morphosyntax of discourse in De'kwana Carib, volumes I and II, Saint Louis, Missouri: PhD Thesis, Washington University
- Hall, Katherine (2007) “wōdɨ”, in Mary Ritchie Key & Bernard Comrie, editors, The Intercontinental Dictionary Series[3], Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, published 2021
- Monterrey, Nalúa Rosa Silva (2012) Hombres de curiara y mujeres de conuco. Etnografía de los indigenas Ye’kwana de Venezuela, Ciudad Bolívar: Universidad Nacional Experimental de Guayana, pages 62–65, 69, 73: “woodü, wodüümö”
Yoruba
editEtymology 1
editPronunciation
editDeterminer
editwo
- (interrogative) which; what
- Èdè wo ni ẹ gbọ́ jù? ― Which language do you understand the most?
- Fíìmù wo ni kí n wò? ― Which film should I watch?
See also
edit- èwo (“which; what”)
Etymology 2
editFrom Proto-Yoruboid *ɣò
Pronunciation
editVerb
editwò
Synonyms
editYoruba Varieties and Languages - wò (“to look, watch”) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
view map; edit data | |||||
Language Family | Variety Group | Variety/Language | Subdialect | Location | Words |
Proto-Itsekiri-SEY | Southeast Yoruba | Ào | Ìdóàní | yò | |
Ìdànrè | Ìdànrè | ghò | |||
Ìjẹ̀bú | Ìjẹ̀bú | Ìjẹ̀bú Òde | wò | ||
Rẹ́mọ | Ẹ̀pẹ́ | ghò | |||
Ìkòròdú | ghò | ||||
Ṣágámù | ghò | ||||
Ìkálẹ̀ | Òkìtìpupa | ghò | |||
Ìlàjẹ | Mahin | ghò | |||
Oǹdó | Oǹdó | ghò | |||
Ọ̀wọ̀ | Ọ̀wọ̀ | ghò | |||
Usẹn | Usẹn | ghò | |||
Ìtsẹkírì | Ìwẹrẹ | ghò | |||
Olùkùmi | Ugbódù | ghò | |||
Proto-Yoruba | Central Yoruba | Èkìtì | Èkìtì | Àdó Èkìtì | ò |
Àkúrẹ́ | Àkúrẹ́ | ò | |||
Mọ̀bà | Ọ̀tùn Èkìtì | ò | |||
Ifẹ̀ | Ilé Ifẹ̀ | wò | |||
Northwest Yoruba | Àwórì | Èbúté Mẹ́tà | wò | ||
Ẹ̀gbá | Abẹ́òkúta | wò | |||
Èkó | Èkó | wò | |||
Ìbàdàn | Ìbàdàn | wò | |||
Ìbàràpá | Igbó Òrà | wò | |||
Ìbọ̀lọ́ | Òṣogbo | wò | |||
Ìlọrin | Ìlọrin | wò | |||
Oǹkó | Òtù | wò | |||
Ìwéré Ilé | wò | ||||
Òkèhò | wò | ||||
Ìsẹ́yìn | wò | ||||
Ṣakí | wò | ||||
Tedé | wò | ||||
Ìgbẹ́tì | wò | ||||
Ọ̀yọ́ | Ọ̀yọ́ | wò | |||
Standard Yorùbá | Nàìjíríà | wò | |||
Bɛ̀nɛ̀ | wò | ||||
Northeast Yoruba/Okun | Ìyàgbà | Ìsánlú Ìtẹ̀dó | gwò | ||
Owé | Kabba | wò | |||
Ede Languages/Southwest Yoruba | Ifɛ̀ | Akpáré | wò | ||
Atakpamé | wò | ||||
Tchetti | wò | ||||
Note: This amalgamation of terms comes from a number of different academic papers focused on the unique varieties and languages spoken in the Yoruboid dialectal continuum which extends from eastern Togo to southern Nigeria. The terms for spoken varieties, now deemed dialects of Yorùbá in Nigeria (i.e. Southeast Yorùbá, Northwest Yorùbá, Central Yorùbá, and Northeast Yorùbá), have converged with those of Standard Yorùbá leading to the creation of what can be labeled Common Yorùbá (Funṣọ Akere, 1977). It can be assumed that the Standard Yorùbá term can also be used in most Nigerian varieties alongside native terms, especially amongst younger speakers. This does not apply to the other Nigerian Yoruboid languages of Ìṣẹkírì and Olùkùmi, nor the Èdè Languages of Benin and Togo. |
Derived terms
editZulu
editPronoun
edit-wo
- Combining stem of wona.
- Translingual lemmas
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- ISO 639-1
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- English uncountable nouns
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