ou

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ou"

Languages (30)

English

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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
• Category: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, 2025
• “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