ou

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ou"

Languages (30)

English

---

Afrikaans • Aneme Wake • Aromanian • Bonggi • Catalan • Estonian • Franco-Provençal • French • Galician • Haitian Creole • Hawaiian • Italian • Jamaican Creole • Japanese • Mandarin • Mauritian Creole • Megleno-Romanian • Middle English • Middle French • Norman • Old French • Portuguese • Romanian • Sardinian • Saterland Frisian • Sicilian • Suena • Tongan • Zia

---

Page categories

English

Etymology 1

From Hawaiian ʻōʻū.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈəʊ.uː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

ou (plural ous)

1. A probably extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper, Psittirostra psittacea.

Translations

extinct honeycreeper

Chinese: Mandarin: 鸚嘴雀 / 鹦嘴雀 (yīngzuǐquè) Czech: šatovník papouščí Hawaiian: ʻōʻū Korean: 오우 (ou) Russian: оу (ru) (ou)

Further reading

• Psittirostra psittacea on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Psittirostra psittacea on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Psittirostra psittacea on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

Etymology 2

From Afrikaans ou, probably from Dutch ouwe (“old man”).

Pronunciation

• (General South African, UK) IPA^(key): /əʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /oʊ/
• Rhymes: -əʊ, -oʊ

Noun

ou (plural ous or ouens)

1. (South Africa, colloquial) A fellow, guy, bloke. [from 20th c.]
   • 1962, Jeremy Taylor (lyrics and music), “Ag Pleez Deddy”:

     Ag pleez Deddy won't you take us to the wrestling
     We wanna see an ou called Sky High Lee

   • 1975, Sheila Roberts, Outside Life's Feast: Short Stories, Johannesburg: Ad. Donker, →ISBN, page 27:

     I couldn't care that the ous call me rooinek and sometimes whiterat because of my hair and face. At least I am not a hairyback I tell them.

   • 1978, André Brink, Rumours of Rain, Vintage, published 2000, page 292:

     “They're the same good and solid ous they'd been before. Because they managed not to think.”

Anagrams

• UO, U&O

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /œu/

Etymology 1

Probably from ouwe, from Dutch oude

Noun

ou (plural ouens, diminutive outjie)

1. an old fellow, guy, bloke

   Synonym: kêrel

Etymology 2

From Dutch ouwe.

Adjective

ou

1. attributive form of oud

Aneme Wake

Noun

ou

1. cloud

Aromanian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Classical Latin ōvum, possibly via Vulgar Latin (*)ŏvum. Compare Romanian ou.

Noun

ou n (plural oauã, definite singular oulu, definite plural oauãli)

1. egg

Derived terms

• oauã / ou

Etymology 2

Verb based on etymology 1.

Verb

ou first-singular present indicative (past participle uoatã)

1. Alternative form of oauã to lay an egg (like a hen)

Related terms

• uoari / uoare
• uoat

Bonggi

Pronoun

ou

1. I

References

• Michael Boutin, A role and reference grammar account of Bonggi adversative constructions, A Mosaic of languages and cultures: studies celebrating the career of Karl J. Franklin (2010)

Catalan

Etymology 1

Inherited from Vulgar Latin (*)ŏvum, from Classical Latin ōvum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈɔw]

• Audio (Valencia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔw

Noun

ou m (plural ous)

1. egg
2. (colloquial) ball, testicle

References

• “ou” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “ou”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “ou” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “ou” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈow]

Interjection

ou

1. (Mallorca, Menorca) whoa! (command to an animal to stop)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈɔw]

Verb

ou

1. (Valencia, Northern Calatan) inflection of oir:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Estonian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Interjection

ou

1. (colloquial) oi!, hey!, used for calling out to someone

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Inherited from Latin aut.

Conjunction

ou (ORB, broad)

1. or

References

• ou in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• ou in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French ou, from Latin aut.^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /u/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -u
• Homophones: août, où, houe, houes, houx

Conjunction

ou

1. or
   • 2011, Christian Depover, Thierry Karsenti, Enseigner avec les technologies: Favoriser les apprentissages, développer des compétences, PUQ, →ISBN:

     La baladodiffusion est ainsi utilisée comme outil à potentiel cognitif, parce qu’elle permet, relativement facilement, de diffuser un contenu audio ou vidéo qui peut, par la suite, être écouté ou vu à tout moment par l’apprenant.

     Therefore, podcasting is used as a tool for cognitive potential, because it allows for the relatively easy distribution of audio or video content, which, as a result, can be listened to or watched at any moment by the learner.

2. either...or

   Ou il est fou ou il est bête.

   Either he's mad or he's stupid.

Derived terms

• ou bien

See also

• où ("where")
• et
• soit

References

1. Picoche, Jacqueline with Jean-Claude Rolland (2009) “ou”, in Dictionnaire étymologique du français (in French), Paris: Dictionnaires Le Robert

Further reading

• “ou”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese ou, from Latin aut.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ow]

Conjunction

ou

1. or

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈoːw]

Interjection

ou!

1. whoa! (order for cattle)

   Synonym: xo

2. oh! (vocative)
   • 1775, María Francisca Isla y Losada, Romance:

     Ôu mèu Crego? Seica qués,
     que eu vote a lengoa â pastàr?
     Catao ben, e despois non
     che pese, ò que ágora fás.
     Se contra toda concencia
     pensache de min tàn màl,
     e estou quixòsa, ¿por que
     non me has ti de aloumiñar?

     Oh, my clergyman? Perchance you want
     that I let my tongue free range?
     Watch it carefully, or either don't you later
     regret what you do now.
     If against all conscience
     You thought so badly of me
     And I'm cranky, why
     wouldn't you cherish me?

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “ou”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “ou”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “ou”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “ou”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Haitian Creole

Etymology

Possibly from French vous (“you”)

Pronunciation

1. IPA^(key): /u/

Letter

ou (upper case Ou)

1. A letter of the Haitian Creole alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pronoun

ou (contracted form w)

1. you (singular)

Hawaiian

Pronoun

ou

1. yours, your Second person singular possessive, o-type.

Usage notes

• Used after negatives, numbers, locative nouns, certain prepositions, and after nouns preceded by an article or a k-determiner.

Related terms

• kou

Italian

Interjection

ou

1. (usually impolite) used to get someone's attention; oi, hey

   Ou, mi stai ascoltando? ― Oi, are you listening to me?

Jamaican Creole

Etymology

Derived from English how.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ou/

Adverb

ou

1. how

   ou iz it?

   how is it?

   (literally, “How are things?/How are you?”)

   ou kom?

   how come?

   • 2019, “Recognize Patois As An Official Language; Says UWI”, in JamaicanInsider.com‎:

     Juu tu ou Jamiekan a di wan langwij we bring evri Jamiekan tugeda;

     Due to how Jamaican is the language that brings all Jamaicans together;

Japanese

Romanization

ou

1. Rōmaji transcription of おう

Mandarin

Romanization

ou (ou⁵ / ou⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄡ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of cmn, 嘔 / 呕

Romanization

ou

1. Nonstandard spelling of ōu.
2. Nonstandard spelling of óu.
3. Nonstandard spelling of ǒu.
4. Nonstandard spelling of òu.

Usage notes

• 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.

Mauritian Creole

Alternative forms

• u

Etymology

Probably from French vous; compare Haitian Creole ou.

Pronoun

ou (informal to)

1. you (second-person singular formal personal pronoun)

See also

			singular	plural
1st person			mo mwa (objective)	nou
2nd person			to (informal), ou (formal) twa (objective)	zot
3rd person			li	zot, bann-la

Mauritian Creole personal pronouns

Megleno-Romanian

Noun

ou n (plural uauă)

1. Alternative form of uou

Middle English

Pronoun

ou

1. Alternative form of yow

Middle French

Etymology 1

From Latin aut.

Conjunction

ou

1. or

Descendants

• French: ou

Etymology 2

Contraction from en+le.

Preposition

ou

1. within
   • 15th century, Chronique de Charles VII roi de France par Jean Chartier, Tomé II, edited by Vallet de Viriville. Paris: P. Jannet, 1858, page 18.

     Discord et division ou royaulme de Castile.

     Discord and division within the kingdom of Castile

Norman

Etymology

From Old French ou, from Latin aut.

Conjunction

ou

1. (France, Guernsey) or

Old French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /u/

Etymology 1

From Latin aut.

Conjunction

ou

1. or

Descendants

• French: ou

Etymology 2

From Latin ubi.

Adverb

ou

1. where
   • 11th century, La Vie de Saint Alexis, BNF manuscript 19525

     Dona as povres ou qu'il les pout trouver

     He gave to the poor wherever he could find them

Descendants

• Middle French: où
  • French: où

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese ou, from Latin aut.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /o(w)/ [o(ʊ̯)]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /o(w)/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /o(w)/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ow/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /o/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ow
• Hyphenation: ou

Conjunction

ou

1. or (connects at least two alternative words, phrases, clauses, sentences, etc. each of which could make a passage true)

   Escolhe a opção um ou a opção dois.

   Choose option one or option two.

2. or (connects two equivalent names)

   Synonym: também

   Mianmar, ou Birmânia, fica na Ásia.

   Myanmar, or Burma, is located in Asia.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:ou.

Descendants

• Macanese: ó

Conjunction

ou … ou

1. either … or

Noun

ou m (plural ous)

1. (logic) inclusive or (connective which yields true when at least one of the predicates is true)

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:ou.

Derived terms

• ou exclusivo

Romanian

Etymology

Inherited from Classical Latin ōvum, possibly via Vulgar Latin (*)ŏvum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ow]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

ou n (plural ouă)

1. egg
2. (slang, chiefly in the plural) ball (testicle)

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	ou	oul		ouă	ouăle
genitive-dative	ou	oului		ouă	ouălor
vocative	oule			ouălor

Related terms

• oua
• oară

Sardinian

Alternative forms

• ovu (Nuorese)

Etymology

Inherited from Classical Latin ōvum, possibly via Vulgar Latin (*)ŏvum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈou/

Noun

ou m (plural ovos) (Logudorese, Campidanese)

1. egg

References

• AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 1132: “l'uovo guasto” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it
• Wagner, Max Leopold (1960–1964) “óvu”, in Dizionario etimologico sardo, Heidelberg

Saterland Frisian

Alternative forms

• oawe

Etymology

From Old Frisian of, from Proto-West Germanic *ab, from Proto-Germanic *ab. Cognates include West Frisian ôf and German ab.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oːu̯/
• Hyphenation: ou
• Rhymes: -oːu̯

Preposition

ou (neuter or distal adverb deerou, proximal adverb hierou, interrogative adverb wierou)

1. from

Adjective

ou (masculine ouen, feminine, plural or definite oue)

1. detached
2. tired
3. distant
4. (games) out

References

• Marron C. Fort (2015) “ou”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

Sicilian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔu/
• Hyphenation: ò‧u

Etymology 1

Noun

ou m (plural ova)

1. Alternative form of ovu

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

ou

1. an exclamation to get attention.

   Ou, talè cca

   Hey, look at this!

   Ou! Ascuta!

   Hey! Listen!

2. a protest or reprimand.

   Ou! Tàgghiala!

   Hey! Stop that!

3. an expression of surprise.

   Ou! Quant'avìa ca nun ti vidìa!

   Hey! How long had I not seen you!

4. an informal greeting, similar to ciau.

   Ou! Comu jemu?

   Hey! How's it going?

Synonyms

• (exclamation to get attention): oi, yo; see also Thesaurus:hey
• (expression of surprise): meh, zu, pui, ippi; see also Thesaurus:wow
• (for repetition or explanation): eh, ah
• (informal greeting): ciau; see also Thesaurus:ciau

Suena

Noun

ou

1. water

References

• Transnewguinea.org, citing McElhanon and Voorhoeve (1970), Smallhorn (2011) and Wilson (1969)

Tongan

Alternative forms

• au

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *au, from Proto-Oceanic *(i-)au, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)aku.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /o.u/

Pronoun

ou

1. Alternative form of au

Zia

Noun

ou

1. water

References

• Transnewguinea.org, citing McElhanon and Voorhoeve (1970), Smallhorn (2011) and Wilson (1969)