Where does “oh” come from?
Oh comes from Middle English oo, Old English ān, Latin o, Proto-Indo-European óynos, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European úd, originally meaning water or moisture.
oh (English): Expression of surprise; Expression of wonder,...
Definitions
- Expression of surprise; Expression of wonder,...
Ancestry of “oh”, step by step
oh traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English o
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | o | Alternative form of oo |
| 2 | Old English | o | ever, always |
| 3 | Latin | o | The name of the letter "O"; o!; oh! |
| 4 | Etruscan | 𐌏 | — |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | ο | Lower-case omicron (ὂ μικρόν), the 15th letter of the ancient Greek alphabet. It represented the close-mid back rounded vowel. It is preceded by ξ and followed by π |
| 6 | Phoenician | 𐤏 | ayin; ʿayin |
| 7 | Egyptian | 𓁹 | — |
via Middle English oo
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | oo | a, one; Alternative form of O |
| 2 | Middle English | oon | one; singly, by oneself, by itself |
| 3 | Old English | ān | lonely; entirely alone, solitary, single; one |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | ain | one |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | ainaz | one; some |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | óynos | one; single |
via Middle English oa
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | oa | oh |