-o

See also: Appendix:Variations of "o"

Languages (41)

Afar • Albanian • Blackfoot • Dutch • Esperanto • Finnish • Franco-Provençal • French • Garo • Gothic • Ido • Ingrian • Italian • Kapampangan • Kashubian • Latin • Lithuanian • Lower Sorbian • Mokilese • Murui Huitoto • Northern Kurdish • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old Dutch • Old English • Old Galician-Portuguese • Old High German • Old Polish • Old Saxon • Polish • Portuguese • Romani • Romanian • Serbo-Croatian • Somali • Spanish • Swahili • Swedish • Turkish • Volapük • Welsh

Page categories

English

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /əʊ/
(Australia) IPA^(key): /əʉ/, [æ̠ʉ~ɐʉ]
(General American) IPA^(key): /oʊ/
Homophones: o, owe, oh

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Latin ō

Old French ohbor.

Middle English o

English O

▲

Middle English o

English oh

English -o

Originally a special use of the interjection O or oh appended to street cries and nautical calls to project a hail or shout (as in milk-oh, smoke-oh, and sail-ho). Its later use as a colloquializing noun suffix, particularly prominent in Australian English, developed from the substantivation of these cries (e.g., smoko), reinforced by early nautical adaptations of Mediterranean Lingua Franca or pseudo‐Spanish words (such as guardo). As noted by the Australian National Dictionary, this vocative “hailing” origin naturally led to its frequent attachment to personal names to form nicknames (e.g., John‐o, Jacko).

Some senses may also derive from o (“one”), from Middle English o, oo, a variant of a, on, oon, an (“one”). See one and -y.

Alternative forms

-oh

Suffix

-o (noun-forming suffix, plural -os or -oes)
-o (adjective-forming suffix, comparative more -o, superlative most -o)

(historical) A vocative or exclamative particle appended to street cries, nautical calls, or names to project a hail or shout.
‎smoke + ‎-o → ‎smoko

‎milk + ‎-o → ‎milko
A colloquializing suffix, typically appended to names, abbreviations of long words, or substantive uses of adjectives.
‎kid + ‎-o → ‎kiddo

‎sick + ‎-o → ‎sicko

‎ugly + ‎-o → ‎uggo
- 1991, Stephen Fry, chapter III, in The Liar, London: William Heinemann, →ISBN, page 26:
  Adrian thought it worth while to try out his new slang. ‘I say, you fellows, here’s a rum go. Old Biffo was jolly odd this morning. He gave me a lot of pi‐jaw about slacking and then invited me to tea. No rotting! He did really.’

Usage notes

Occasionally, the terminal consonant of the clipped form is doubled for clarity of pronunciation, as with uggo and doggo. It sometimes does change the meaning of words, usually by being applied to adjectives to indicate a person with a pronounced trait, as with weirdo (“weird person”), or to nouns used metonymously to indicate a person with a pronounced connection to the other object, as with wino (“poor or vagrant alcoholic”). Especially in American English, some uses of this suffix are understood as dated slang, as with bucko and neato. The suffix is most frequently and widely encountered in Australian English, which has additional uses (such as rego for registration and nasho for national service) that are never or only extremely rarely encountered in other dialects.

Its meaning is very similar to some uses of -y and its use is particularly common where use of -y might cause misunderstanding, as with randy and rando, journey and journo, whiny and wino. However, unlike -y, the -o suffix typically lacks a diminutive connotation, conveying instead a robust, rowdy, or familiar tone owing to its origins as a shouted hail.

Derived terms

Australianisms

Etymology 2

From many Spanish or Italian words that end in o. This ending in such Spanish or Italian words generally derives from -um, the accusative singular inflectional ending for masculine and neuter nouns in Latin.

Suffix

-o

(humorous) Converts certain words to faux Italian or Spanish. Can be used with Spanish el for expressions such as el stinko.
no problemo

Derived terms

Etymology 3

Rebracketing of typo.

Suffix

-o (noun-forming suffix, plural -os)

Added to verb stems to create a noun describing an error relating to the action described by the verb.

Derived terms

English terms suffixed with -o

Afar

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /-ˈo/ [-ˈɔ]

Suffix

-ó

Used to form feminine nouns from verbs.

Derived terms

Afar terms suffixed with -o

abaaro

cato

maxo

References

Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015), L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎^[1], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Albanian

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔ/

Suffix

-ó

Creates a second-person singular active imperative verb form from a non-verb.
‎áfër (“close, nearby”, adverb/preposition) + ‎-o → ‎afró! (“bring closer”)

‎báraz (“equal”, adverb) + ‎-o → ‎barazó! (“eqalize!”)

‎kráhas (“arm in arm, side by side”, adverb/preposition) + ‎-o → ‎krahasó! (“compare!”)

‎pástër (“clean”, adjective/adverb) + ‎-o → ‎pastró! (“cleanse”)

‎zhúrmë (“noise”, noun) + ‎-o → ‎zhurmó! (“make a noise, scream!”)

Etymology 2

Particle

-o

alternative form of o

Blackfoot

Suffix

-o

animate transitive verbaliser
inanimate intransitive verbaliser
benefactive verbal suffix

Derived terms

Blackfoot terms suffixed with -o (inanimate intransitive)

waakawoo-

References

Frantz, Donald G.; Genee, Inge (2016–2023), Blackfoot Online Dictionary‎^[2], University of Toronto Press

Dutch

Etymology

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

Suffix

-o

-o (suffix forming colloquial nouns, generally referring to persons)
‎Brabant (“Brabant (province)”) + ‎-o → ‎Brabo (“person from Brabant”)

‎positief (“positive”) + ‎-o → ‎positivo (“person with a positive disposition”)

Derived terms

Dutch terms suffixed with -o

Esperanto

Wikidata has a Lexeme related to:

-o (L291790)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *-ós

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Indo-European *-ós

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Italic *-os

Archaic Latin -os

Latin -um

Italian -oder.

Proto-Indo-European *-om

Proto-Italic *-om

Latin -um

Spanish -oder.

Ancient Greek -οι (-oi)der.

Esperanto -o

[1] Common to the masculine singular of the Romance languages, such as Italian (amico), the neuter singular common to all Slavic languages (окно (okno)), and the vowel of the Greek second declension syllabic nucleus -ο, from which Greek and Esperanto plural -oj is also derived.

[2] Perhaps from [1]; cf. Italian quello 'that', Russian то (to) 'then'

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /o/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -o
Syllabification: -o

Suffix

-o

Nominal suffix. Most Esperanto nouns end in -o. (A few nouns end in -aŭ, and with some writers some feminine names end in -a.) The default vowel ending on the first element of a compound word, regardless of part of speech.
- amiko (“friend”)
- patro (“father”)
- vorto (“word”)
-thing. (correlative ending.)
- kio (“what?, what”)
- tio (“that”)
- ĉio (“everything”)
- io (“something”)
- nenio (“nothing”)

Finnish

Etymology

Conflated:

from Proto-Finnic *-o (forms action/result nouns), from Proto-Uralic *-w (originally as applied to stems ending in -a).
from Proto-Finnic *-oi (variant/diminutive), from Proto-Uralic *-j (diminutive ending), Originally, the -j labialized the preceding -a- when appended to an a-stem, resulting in *...a-j > *...oj; the entire part was then reanalyzed as an suffix *-oi, and the final *-i was subsequently lost.

Suffix

-o (front vowel harmony variant -ö, linguistic notation -O)

Forms result or action nouns from verbs.
‎huutaa (“shout”) + ‎-o → ‎huuto (“shout”)

‎keittää (“boil, cook”) + ‎-o → ‎keitto (“cooking; soup”)

‎nähdä (“see”) + ‎-o → ‎näkö (“vision”) (ability to see)
Forms variants or diminutives from a few nominal roots.
‎hilla (“cloudberry”) + ‎-o → ‎hillo (“jam”)

‎lehti (“leaf”) + ‎-o → ‎lehto (“grove”)

‎tasa (“level”) + ‎-o → ‎taso (“plane”)

Usage notes

Used deverbally especially with those verbs whose dictionary form (first infinitive) ends with -aa or -ää.
Somewhat unusually, in words with few syllables, the front-vowel form -ö is used only with stems that contain what is considered a front vowel under harmony, i.e. -ä-, -ö- or -y-; if it only contains neutral vowels (e, i), the back-vocalic form -o is used, even though such words or stems have front vowel harmony by default. However, polysyllabic words containing only neutral vowels (e, i) still tend to use -ö.

Declension

Inflection of -o (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)
nominative		-o	-ot
genitive		-on	-ojen
partitive		-oa	-oja
illative		-oon	-oihin
		singular	plural
nominative		-o	-ot
accusative	nom.	-o	-ot
accusative	gen.	-on	-ot
genitive		-on	-ojen
partitive		-oa	-oja
inessive		-ossa	-oissa
elative		-osta	-oista
illative		-oon	-oihin
adessive		-olla	-oilla
ablative		-olta	-oilta
allative		-olle	-oille
essive		-ona	-oina
translative		-oksi	-oiksi
abessive		-otta	-oitta
instructive		—	-oin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of -o (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-oni	-oni
accusative	nom.	-oni	-oni
accusative	gen.	-oni	-oni
genitive		-oni	-ojeni
partitive		-oani	-ojani
inessive		-ossani	-oissani
elative		-ostani	-oistani
illative		-ooni	-oihini
adessive		-ollani	-oillani
ablative		-oltani	-oiltani
allative		-olleni	-oilleni
essive		-onani	-oinani
translative		-okseni	-oikseni
abessive		-ottani	-oittani
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-oineni

second-person singular possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-osi	-osi
accusative	nom.	-osi	-osi
accusative	gen.	-osi	-osi
genitive		-osi	-ojesi
partitive		-oasi	-ojasi
inessive		-ossasi	-oissasi
elative		-ostasi	-oistasi
illative		-oosi	-oihisi
adessive		-ollasi	-oillasi
ablative		-oltasi	-oiltasi
allative		-ollesi	-oillesi
essive		-onasi	-oinasi
translative		-oksesi	-oiksesi
abessive		-ottasi	-oittasi
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-oinesi

first-person plural possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-omme	-omme
accusative	nom.	-omme	-omme
accusative	gen.	-omme	-omme
genitive		-omme	-ojemme
partitive		-oamme	-ojamme
inessive		-ossamme	-oissamme
elative		-ostamme	-oistamme
illative		-oomme	-oihimme
adessive		-ollamme	-oillamme
ablative		-oltamme	-oiltamme
allative		-ollemme	-oillemme
essive		-onamme	-oinamme
translative		-oksemme	-oiksemme
abessive		-ottamme	-oittamme
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-oinemme

second-person plural possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-onne	-onne
accusative	nom.	-onne	-onne
accusative	gen.	-onne	-onne
genitive		-onne	-ojenne
partitive		-oanne	-ojanne
inessive		-ossanne	-oissanne
elative		-ostanne	-oistanne
illative		-oonne	-oihinne
adessive		-ollanne	-oillanne
ablative		-oltanne	-oiltanne
allative		-ollenne	-oillenne
essive		-onanne	-oinanne
translative		-oksenne	-oiksenne
abessive		-ottanne	-oittanne
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-oinenne

third-person possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		-onsa	-onsa
accusative	nom.	-onsa	-onsa
accusative	gen.	-onsa	-onsa
genitive		-onsa	-ojensa
partitive		-oaan -oansa	-ojaan -ojansa
inessive		-ossaan -ossansa	-oissaan -oissansa
elative		-ostaan -ostansa	-oistaan -oistansa
illative		-oonsa	-oihinsa
adessive		-ollaan -ollansa	-oillaan -oillansa
ablative		-oltaan -oltansa	-oiltaan -oiltansa
allative		-olleen -ollensa	-oilleen -oillensa
essive		-onaan -onansa	-oinaan -oinansa
translative		-okseen -oksensa	-oikseen -oiksensa
abessive		-ottaan -ottansa	-oittaan -oittansa
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	-oineen -oinensa

Note that if the stem has gradation, it is (almost always) preserved.

Derived terms

Finnish terms suffixed with -o

ajo

eho

elo

emo

eno

ero

iso

Franco-Provençal

Pronoun

-o

postpositive form of o

French

Etymology

Analogically extended from various clippings with etymological o, such as vélo, resto < vélocipède, restaurant. Its pronunciation perhaps had input from -aud.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /o/

Suffix

-o m or f by sense or (for nouns referring to objects and sometimes to people) m (noun-forming suffix, plural -os) (informal)

added to a clipped noun
‎intell(igent) (“intelligent”) + ‎-o → ‎intello m or f by sense (“intellectual; nerd”)

‎social(iste) (“socialist”) + ‎-o → ‎socialo m or f by sense (“socialist”)

‎propri(étaire) (“landlord”) + ‎-o → ‎proprio m (“male landlord”) (female equivalent is propriote)

‎proj(ecteur) (“projector”) + ‎-o → ‎projo m (“projector”)

‎dic(tionnaire) (“dictionary”) + ‎-o → ‎dico m (“dictionary”)

Suffix

-o (adjective-forming suffix, plural -os)
-o (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -ote, masculine plural -os, feminine plural -otes) (less commonly) (informal)

added to a clipped adjective
‎dingue (“crazy, nuts”) (slang) + ‎-o → ‎dingo (“crazy, nuts; obsessed”)

‎intell(igent) (“intelligent”) + ‎-o → ‎intello (“intellectual, highbrow”)

‎règle (“rule”) + ‎-o → ‎réglo (“correct; stand-up, honest, loyal”)

‎rigoler (“to laugh; to joke”) + ‎-o → ‎rigolo (“funny, comical”) (feminine rigolote)

Derived terms

French terms suffixed with -o

Garo

Etymology

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

Suffix

-o

(inflectional suffix) forms the locative case

Synonyms

-no (“forms locative”)

Gothic

Romanization

-o

romanization of -𐍉

Ido

Etymology

From Esperanto -o, from Romance languages.

Suffix

-o

Nominal suffix. All Ido nouns end in -o.

Ingrian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Finnic *-o. Cognates include Finnish -o.

Pronunciation

(Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /-o/, [-o̞]
(Soikkola) IPA^(key): /-o/, [-o̞]

Suffix

-o (front vowel variant -ö)

Used to form result or action nouns from verbs.
(rare) Used to form nouns denoting something related to the suffixed noun.

Declension

Declension of -o (type 4/koivu, no gradation)
	singular	plural
nominative	-o	-ot
genitive	-on	-oin, -oloin
partitive	-oa	-oja, -oloja
illative	-oo	-oi, -oloihe
inessive	-os	-ois, -olois
elative	-ost	-oist, -oloist
allative	-olle	-oille, -oloille
adessive	-ol	-oil, -oloil
ablative	-olt	-oilt, -oloilt
translative	-oks	-oiks, -oloiks
essive	-onna, -oon	-oinna, -oloinna, -oin, -oloin
exessive¹⁾	-ont	-oint, -oloint
¹⁾ obsolete ^) the accusative* corresponds with either the genitive (sg) or nominative (pl) ^) the comitative** is formed by adding the suffix -ka^? or -kä^? to the genitive.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Proto-Finnic *-oi. Cognates include Finnish -o.

Pronunciation

(Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /-o/, [-o̞]
(Soikkola) IPA^(key): /-oi̯/, [-o̞i̯]

Suffix

-o (front vowel variant -ö)

Used to form diminutives.

Declension

Declension of -o (type 4/koivu, no gradation)
	singular	plural
nominative	-o	-ot
genitive	-on	-oin, -oloin
partitive	-oa	-oja, -oloja
illative	-oo	-oi, -oloihe
inessive	-os	-ois, -olois
elative	-ost	-oist, -oloist
allative	-olle	-oille, -oloille
adessive	-ol	-oil, -oloil
ablative	-olt	-oilt, -oloilt
translative	-oks	-oiks, -oloiks
essive	-onna, -oon	-oinna, -oloinna, -oin, -oloin
exessive¹⁾	-ont	-oint, -oloint
¹⁾ obsolete ^) the accusative* corresponds with either the genitive (sg) or nominative (pl) ^) the comitative** is formed by adding the suffix -ka^? or -kä^? to the genitive.

Derived terms

Italian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin -um, from Proto-Indo-European *-os (creates action nouns from verbs).

Suffix

-o m (noun-forming suffix, plural -i)

(productive) used with a stem to form a masculine singular noun, usually a deverbal
Synonym: -a

Derived terms

Italian terms suffixed with -o (deverbal)

Etymology 2

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

Suffix

-o (past participle-forming suffix, feminine -a, masculine plural -i, feminine plural -e)

(not productive) used with a verb stem to form a past participle

Derived terms

Italian terms suffixed with -o (participle)

Etymology 3

From Latin -ō.

Suffix

-o (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)

(productive) used with a stem to form the first-person singular present of regular are and ere verbs and those -ire verbs that do not take -isc-

Kapampangan

Alternative forms

-u

Pronunciation

Hyphenation: -ó

Suffix

-o

indicates question and exclamation replacing the final vowel -u
Mamasang libru → Mamasang libro?
Reading a book → Are you reading a book?

Mete ya ing pawu → Mete ya ing pawo?
The turtle died → Did the turtle die?

Ay nuku → Ay nuko.
Oh, god → Oh, god!!

Aru → Aro.
Oh, my → Oh, my!!

Usage notes

There are instances where the vowel -o is often disregarded and remains -u when an interrogative pronoun is present.
The last vowel and the form it took depend on whether or not a question is being asked.

Related terms

-e

Kashubian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *-o.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔ/

Suffix

-o

forms adverbs from adjectives
‎całi + ‎-o → ‎cało

Derived terms

Kashubian terms suffixed with -o

Latin

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [oː]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [o]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European *-ō, *-on-, perhaps (controversially) merged with "Hoffmann's suffix" *-h₃ō, *-h₃onh₂-; in Latin, the vowel length of nominative ō was made common to all cases. Etymologically, it forms part of the abstract noun suffixes -iō f, -tiō f. Non-abstract nouns ending in the suffix -ō, -ōnis are typically masculine.

Alternative forms

-iō m

Suffix

-ō m (genitive -ōnis); third declension

Used to form masculine nouns with various meanings:
1. forms nouns, often colloquial or pejorative, designating a type of person.
  ‎cōci- + ‎-ō → ‎cōciō m (“broker”)
  
  ‎centuria (“century”) + ‎-ō → ‎centuriō m (“centurion”)
  1. attached to verb stems, forms agent nouns
    Synonyms: -a¹, -tor
    
    ‎combibere (“to drink together”) + ‎-ō → ‎combibō m (“drinking buddy”)
    
    ‎vāpulāre (“to get beaten”) + ‎-ō → ‎vāpulō m (“who gets frequently flogged”)
    
    ‎errāre (“to wander, roam”) + ‎-ō → ‎errō m (“wanderer, vagabond”)
  2. attached to noun stems, forms nicknames meaning "one who has a prominent (or overly large)"
    ‎caput (“head”) + ‎-ō → ‎capitō m (“one who has a (too) large head”)
  3. attached to noun stems, forms nouns meaning "dealer in" or "worker in"
    Synonym: -ārius
    
    ‎linteum (“linen”) + ‎-ō → ‎linteō m (“one who deals in or works with linen”)
    
    ‎restis (“rope”) + ‎-ō → ‎restiō m (“one who makes or sells rope”)
2. also forms names, especially cognomina.
  ‎aquila (“eagle”) + ‎-ō → ‎Aquilō (“the North wind”)
  
  ‎incubāre (“to lie on top”) + ‎-ō → ‎Incubō (“a spirit that watches over buried treasures”)
  
  ‎cūria (“curia”) + ‎-ō → ‎Cūriō
  
  ‎cicer (“chickpea”) + ‎-ō → ‎Cicerō
  
  ‎vārus (“bow-legged”) + ‎-ō → ‎Varrō
  
  ‎catus (“clever, shrewd”) + ‎-ō → ‎Catō
  
  ‎conger (“sea-eel”) + ‎-ō → ‎Congriō (“name of a cook in Plautus”)
3. (Late Latin) also added as an ending to some inanimate nouns.
  ‎cōleus (“testicle”) + ‎-ō → ‎cōleō m (“testicle”)

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	-ō	-ōnēs
genitive	-ōnis	-ōnum
dative	-ōnī	-ōnibus
accusative	-ōnem	-ōnēs
ablative	-ōne	-ōnibus
vocative	-ō	-ōnēs

Derived terms

Descendants

Franco-Provençal: -on
French: -on
- → English: -oon
Italian: -one
Portuguese: -ão
Romanian: -oi, -oni
Sicilian: -uni, -una
Spanish: -ón

References

“-ō¹” on page 1,210/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

Etymology 2

From a Proto-Indo-European n-stem suffix (or suffixes), as in Etymology 1, but without leveling of the vowel length alternations from ablaut. The ending -ō, -inis, with short -i- in the oblique stem because of ablaut, is not a productive suffix by itself in historical Latin. However, it appears as the final component of various productive feminine noun suffixes: -āgō f, -īgō f, -ūgō f, -tūdō f, -ēdō f (e.g. dulcēdō, dulcēdinis f). There are also a handful of nouns where -ō, -inis is directly attached to a verbal root. Finally, -ō, -inis appears as an ending in some nouns, masculine and feminine, that effectively function as simple, underived words in Latin: e.g. margō, marginis m or f; virgō, virginis f; cardō, cardinis m. It is usually preceded by either the consonant -d- or -g-.

Suffix

-ō f or m (genitive -inis); third declension

(rare, unproductive) Used as an ending of a few nouns derived from verbs
‎prōpāgō (“to propagate”) + ‎-ō, -inis → ‎prōpāgō, prōpāginis f (“offspring”)

‎compingō (“to attach, bind”) + ‎-ō, -inis → ‎compāgō, compāginis f (“fastening”)

‎aspergō (“to scatter, sprinkle, strew”) + ‎-ō, -inis → ‎aspergō, asperginis f (“a sprinkling, besprinkling”)

‎offendō (“to hit; commit an offence”) + ‎-ō, -inis → ‎offendō, offendinis f (“an offence”)

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	-ō	-inēs
genitive	-inis	-inum
dative	-inī	-inibus
accusative	-inem	-inēs
ablative	-ine	-inibus
vocative	-ō	-inēs

Derived terms

Latin terms suffixed with -o (in-stem noun)

Etymology 3

From Proto-Italic *-ōd, an ablative suffix, derived from Proto-Indo-European *-éad.

Suffix

-ō (superlative -issimē or -issimō)

forms adverbs
prīmus + -ō → prīmō

tūtus + -ō → tūtō

Derived terms

References

“-ō²” on page 1,210/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

Etymology 4

From Proto-Italic *-āō, from denominative verbs with *-eh₂-yé-ti, in which the first person singular ends in *-eh₂-yóh₂ > intermediate phase **-ājō with accent shift > Proto-Italic *-āō (e.g., laudō, dōnō, pugnō, cūrō). Cognates of the whole first conjugation in the present in Latin and Proto-Italic include Proto-Germanic *-ōną (referring to the whole conjugation in which the infinitive is *-ōną), Ancient Greek -άω (-áō, contracted verb), -अयति (-ayati) (for the causative in Sanskrit), Proto-Celtic *-āti and Proto-Balto-Slavic *-ā́ˀtei (whence the infinite Proto-Slavic *-ati, referring again to the whole conjugation).

Etymologically, this denominative suffix was not used to form all first-conjugation verbs. It can be distinguished in origin from the following types that happened to fall together with it phonetically:

Verbs from roots in *-h₁- (e.g. flō).
Verbs from roots in *-h₂- (e.g. for, nō, hiō, domō, iuvō).
Verbs from roots in *-h₃- (e.g. dō, lavō, arō).
In one exceptional case, by sound laws acting on *-h₂ + stative suffix *-éh₁-ye-ti, whence *-h₂-éh₁-ye-ti. This case is the verb stō: *sth₂-éh₁-ye-ti > *staēō > stō).

Suffix

-ō (present infinitive -āre, perfect active -āvī, supine -ātum); first conjugation

suffixed to nouns or adjectives. Originally a-stem nouns. Later extended to nouns with other stems. Forms regular first-conjugation verbs
‎cūra + ‎-ō → ‎cūrō

‎dōnum + ‎-ō → ‎dōnō

‎laus (oblique stem in laud-) + ‎-ō → ‎laudō

‎multa + ‎-ō → ‎multō

‎nūndinae + ‎-or → ‎nūndinor (deponent)

Conjugation

Conjugation of -ō (first conjugation)

indicative		singular				plural
indicative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	-ō	-ās		-at	-āmus	-ātis		-ant
	imperfect	-ābam	-ābās		-ābat	-ābāmus	-ābātis		-ābant
	future	-ābō	-ābis		-ābit	-ābimus	-ābitis		-ābunt
	perfect	-ī	-istī		-it	-imus	-istis		-ērunt, -ēre
	pluperfect	-eram	-erās		-erat	-erāmus	-erātis		-erant
	future perfect	-erō	-eris		-erit	-erimus	-eritis		-erint
	sigmatic future¹	-āssō	-āssis		-āssit	-āssimus	-āssitis		-āssint
passive	present	-or	-āris, -āre		-ātur	-āmur	-āminī		-antur
	imperfect	-ābar	-ābāris, -ābāre		-ābātur	-ābāmur	-ābāminī		-ābantur
	future	-ābor	-āberis, -ābere		-ābitur	-ābimur	-ābiminī		-ābuntur
	perfect	-ātus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	-ātus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	-ātus + future active indicative of sum
	sigmatic future¹	-āssor	-āsseris		-āssitur	—	—		—
subjunctive		singular				plural
subjunctive		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	-em	-ēs		-et	-ēmus	-ētis		-ent
	imperfect	-ārem	-ārēs		-āret	-ārēmus	-ārētis		-ārent
	perfect	-erim	-erīs		-erit	-erīmus	-erītis		-erint
	pluperfect	-issem	-issēs		-isset	-issēmus	-issētis		-issent
	sigmatic aorist¹	-āssim	-āssīs		-āssīt	-āssīmus	-āssītis		-āssint
passive	present	-er	-ēris, -ēre		-ētur	-ēmur	-ēminī		-entur
	imperfect	-ārer	-ārēris, -ārēre		-ārētur	-ārēmur	-ārēminī		-ārentur
	perfect	-ātus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	-ātus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular				plural
imperative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	—	-ā		—	—	-āte		—
active	future	—	-ātō		-ātō	—	-ātōte		-antō
passive	present	—	-āre		—	—	-āminī		—
passive	future	—	-ātor		-ātor	—	—		-antor
non-finite forms		infinitive				participle
non-finite forms		active		passive		active		passive
present		-āre		-ārī, -ārier²		-āns		—
future		-ātūrum esse		-ātum īrī		-ātūrus		-andus
perfect		-isse		-ātum esse		—		-ātus
future perfect		—		-ātum fore		—		—
perfect potential		-ātūrum fuisse		—		—		—
verbal nouns		gerund					supine
		genitive	dative		accusative	ablative	accusative		ablative
		-andī	-andō		-andum	-andō	-ātum		-ātū

Conjugation of -ō (first conjugation, verbs with the perfect infix -āv-)

indicative		singular				plural
indicative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	-ō	-ās		-at	-āmus	-ātis		-ant
	imperfect	-ābam	-ābās		-ābat	-ābāmus	-ābātis		-ābant
	future	-ābō	-ābis		-ābit	-ābimus	-ābitis		-ābunt
	perfect	-āvī	-āvistī, -āstī³		-āvit, -āt³	-āvimus, -āmus³	-āvistis, -āstis³		-āvērunt, -ārunt, -āvēre³
	pluperfect	-āveram, -āram³	-āverās, -ārās³		-āverat, -ārat³	-āverāmus, -ārāmus³	-āverātis, -ārātis³		-āverant, -ārant³
	future perfect	-āverō, -ārō³	-āveris, -āris³		-āverit, -ārit³	-āverimus, -ārimus³	-āveritis, -āritis³		-āverint, -ārint³
	sigmatic future¹	-āssō	-āssis		-āssit	-āssimus	-āssitis		-āssint
passive	present	-or	-āris, -āre		-ātur	-āmur	-āminī		-antur
	imperfect	-ābar	-ābāris, -ābāre		-ābātur	-ābāmur	-ābāminī		-ābantur
	future	-ābor	-āberis, -ābere		-ābitur	-ābimur	-ābiminī		-ābuntur
	perfect	-ātus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	-ātus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	-ātus + future active indicative of sum
	sigmatic future¹	-āssor	-āsseris		-āssitur	—	—		—
subjunctive		singular				plural
subjunctive		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	-em	-ēs		-et	-ēmus	-ētis		-ent
	imperfect	-ārem	-ārēs		-āret	-ārēmus	-ārētis		-ārent
	perfect	-āverim, -ārim³	-āverīs, -ārīs³		-āverit, -ārit³	-āverīmus, -ārīmus³	-āverītis, -ārītis³		-āverint, -ārint³
	pluperfect	-āvissem, -āssem³	-āvissēs, -āssēs³		-āvisset, -āsset³	-āvissēmus, -āssēmus³	-āvissētis, -āssētis³		-āvissent, -āssent³
	sigmatic aorist¹	-āssim	-āssīs		-āssīt	-āssīmus	-āssītis		-āssint
passive	present	-er	-ēris, -ēre		-ētur	-ēmur	-ēminī		-entur
	imperfect	-ārer	-ārēris, -ārēre		-ārētur	-ārēmur	-ārēminī		-ārentur
	perfect	-ātus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	-ātus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular				plural
imperative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	—	-ā		—	—	-āte		—
active	future	—	-ātō		-ātō	—	-ātōte		-antō
passive	present	—	-āre		—	—	-āminī		—
passive	future	—	-ātor		-ātor	—	—		-antor
non-finite forms		infinitive				participle
non-finite forms		active		passive		active		passive
present		-āre		-ārī, -ārier²		-āns		—
future		-ātūrum esse		-ātum īrī		-ātūrus		-andus
perfect		-āvisse, -āsse³		-ātum esse		—		-ātus
future perfect		—		-ātum fore		—		—
perfect potential		-ātūrum fuisse		—		—		—
verbal nouns		gerund					supine
		genitive	dative		accusative	ablative	accusative		ablative
		-andī	-andō		-andum	-andō	-ātum		-ātū

Conjugation of -ō (first conjugation, verbs with the perfect infix -u-)

indicative		singular				plural
indicative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	-ō	-ās		-at	-āmus	-ātis		-ant
	imperfect	-ābam	-ābās		-ābat	-ābāmus	-ābātis		-ābant
	future	-ābō	-ābis		-ābit	-ābimus	-ābitis		-ābunt
	perfect	-uī	-uistī		-uit	-uimus	-uistis		-uērunt, -uēre
	pluperfect	-ueram	-uerās		-uerat	-uerāmus	-uerātis		-uerant
	future perfect	-uerō	-ueris		-uerit	-uerimus	-ueritis		-uerint
	sigmatic future¹	-āssō	-āssis		-āssit	-āssimus	-āssitis		-āssint
passive	present	-or	-āris, -āre		-ātur	-āmur	-āminī		-antur
	imperfect	-ābar	-ābāris, -ābāre		-ābātur	-ābāmur	-ābāminī		-ābantur
	future	-ābor	-āberis, -ābere		-ābitur	-ābimur	-ābiminī		-ābuntur
	perfect	-ātus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	-ātus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	-ātus + future active indicative of sum
	sigmatic future¹	-āssor	-āsseris		-āssitur	—	—		—
subjunctive		singular				plural
subjunctive		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	-em	-ēs		-et	-ēmus	-ētis		-ent
	imperfect	-ārem	-ārēs		-āret	-ārēmus	-ārētis		-ārent
	perfect	-uerim	-uerīs		-uerit	-uerīmus	-uerītis		-uerint
	pluperfect	-uissem	-uissēs		-uisset	-uissēmus	-uissētis		-uissent
	sigmatic aorist¹	-āssim	-āssīs		-āssīt	-āssīmus	-āssītis		-āssint
passive	present	-er	-ēris, -ēre		-ētur	-ēmur	-ēminī		-entur
	imperfect	-ārer	-ārēris, -ārēre		-ārētur	-ārēmur	-ārēminī		-ārentur
	perfect	-ātus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	-ātus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular				plural
imperative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	—	-ā		—	—	-āte		—
active	future	—	-ātō		-ātō	—	-ātōte		-antō
passive	present	—	-āre		—	—	-āminī		—
passive	future	—	-ātor		-ātor	—	—		-antor
non-finite forms		infinitive				participle
non-finite forms		active		passive		active		passive
present		-āre		-ārī, -ārier²		-āns		—
future		-ātūrum esse		-ātum īrī		-ātūrus		-andus
perfect		-uisse		-ātum esse		—		-ātus
future perfect		—		-ātum fore		—		—
perfect potential		-ātūrum fuisse		—		—		—
verbal nouns		gerund					supine
		genitive	dative		accusative	ablative	accusative		ablative
		-andī	-andō		-andum	-andō	-ātum		-ātū

¹At least one use of the Old Latin "sigmatic future" and "sigmatic aorist" tenses is attested, which are used by Old Latin writers; most notably Plautus and Terence. The sigmatic future is generally ascribed a future or future perfect meaning, while the sigmatic aorist expresses a possible desire ("might want to"). It is also attested as having a rare sigmatic future passive indicative form ("will have been"), which is not attested in the plural for any verb.
²The present passive infinitive in -ier is a rare poetic form which is attested.
³At least one rare poetic syncopated perfect form is attested.

Attested Archaic Latin forms are the third-person singular perfect active indicative -ed and the third-person singular future active imperative -ātōd.

Derived terms

Latin terms suffixed with -o (denominative)

Descendants

(from infinitive -āre:)

Aragonese: -ar
Aromanian: -au, -ari
Asturian: -ar
Catalan: -ar
Corsican: -à
Emilian: -èr
Franco-Provençal: -ar
Friulian: -â
Italian: -are
Istriot: -à
Ligurian: -ar
Lombard: -à
Neapolitan: -à, -are
Occitan: -ar
Old French: -er, -ier
- Middle French: -er
  - French: -er
- Gallo: -ieu
- → Middle High German: -ieren
  - German: -ieren, -iren (obsolete, used alternatively until ca. 1900)
    - → Bulgarian: -ирам (-iram)
    - → Russian: -ировать (-irovatʹ)
      - →⇒ Georgian: -ირება (-ireba)
    - → Serbo-Croatian: -irati
- Norman: -yi (Jersey)
Old Galician-Portuguese: -ar
- Galician: -ar
- Portuguese: -ar
Romagnol: -êr
Romanian: -a, -are
Romansh: -ar, -er
Sardinian:
- Campidanese: -ai
- Logudorese: -are
Sicilian: -ari
Spanish: -ar
Venetan: -ar
Borrowings:
- → English: -ate
- → Ido: -ar

References

Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN
“-ō³” on page 1,210/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

Etymology 5

Some third-conjugation verbs show a shift to the first declension in composition, such as pellō, pellere vs. -pellō, -pellāre (in compellō, compellāre and interpellō, interpellāre) or sternō, sternere vs. cōnsternō, cōnsternāre. Schrijver (1991) derives the simplex third-conjugation versions from nasal presents in *-n-H-ti of the type *tl-n-h₂-ti > *tl̥năti > tollit (arguing that Proto-Indo-European present forms in *-né-H-ti, showing the full grade of the suffix, were replaced by paradigmatic leveling) and proposes that the compounds were derived by addition of the thematic suffix *-ye-/-yo- to *-nă-, forming *-năye-/-năyo-. In this case, the Proto-Italic form would be *-aō. Traditionally, these compound verbs in -āre were explained as "intensive" forms alongside cases like occupō, occupāre, but Schrijver argues that the latter are clearly denominative while the former are clearly not.^[1]

Suffix

-ō (present infinitive -āre, perfect active -āvī, supine -ātum); first conjugation

suffixed to third-conjugation verbs in composition, forms regular first-conjugation verbs
com- + pellō (pres. act. inf.: pellere) + -ō → compellō (pres. act. inf.: compellāre)

prō- + flīgō (pres. act. inf.: flīgere) + -ō → prōflīgō (pres. act. inf.: prōflīgāre)

Derived terms

Latin terms suffixed with -o (compound verb)

References

^ Schrijver, Peter C. H. (1991), The Reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European Laryngeals in Latin (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 2), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 411

Etymology 6

From Proto-Italic *-ō, from at least two sources:

Proto-Indo-European thematic *-e-ti in which the first person singular ends in *-oh₂ (e.g., agō < *h₂éǵeti; coquō < *pékʷeti; discō < *di-dḱ-ské-ti)
Proto-Indo-European athematic *-ti, in which the first person singular ends in *-mi (e.g., dūcō < *déwkti; edō < *h₁édti; linquō < *linékʷti)

Alternative forms

-iō

Suffix

-ō (present infinitive -ere, perfect active -ī, supine -tum); third conjugation

(unproductive) ending of most third conjugation verbs

Conjugation

Conjugation of -ō (third conjugation)

indicative		singular				plural
indicative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	-ō	-is		-it	-imus	-itis		-unt
	imperfect	-ēbam	-ēbās		-ēbat	-ēbāmus	-ēbātis		-ēbant
	future	-am	-ēs		-et	-ēmus	-ētis		-ent
	perfect	-ī	-istī		-it	-imus	-istis		-ērunt, -ēre
	pluperfect	-eram	-erās		-erat	-erāmus	-erātis		-erant
	future perfect	-erō	-eris		-erit	-erimus	-eritis		-erint
	sigmatic future¹	-ō	-is		-it	-imus	-itis		-int
passive	present	-or	-eris, -ere		-itur	-imur	-iminī		-untur
	imperfect	-ēbar	-ēbāris, -ēbāre		-ēbātur	-ēbāmur	-ēbāminī		-ēbantur
	future	-ar	-ēris, -ēre		-ētur	-ēmur	-ēminī		-entur
	perfect	-tus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	-tus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	-tus + future active indicative of sum
	sigmatic future¹	-or	-eris		-itur	—	—		—
subjunctive		singular				plural
subjunctive		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	-am	-ās		-at	-āmus	-ātis		-ant
	imperfect	-erem	-erēs		-eret	-erēmus	-erētis		-erent
	perfect	-erim	-erīs		-erit	-erīmus	-erītis		-erint
	pluperfect	-issem	-issēs		-isset	-issēmus	-issētis		-issent
	sigmatic aorist¹	-im	-īs		-īt	-īmus	-ītis		-int
passive	present	-ar	-āris, -āre		-ātur	-āmur	-āminī		-antur
	imperfect	-erer	-erēris, -erēre		-erētur	-erēmur	-erēminī		-erentur
	perfect	-tus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	-tus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular				plural
imperative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	—	-e		—	—	-ite		—
active	future	—	-itō		-itō	—	-itōte		-untō
passive	present	—	-ere		—	—	-iminī		—
passive	future	—	-itor		-itor	—	—		-untor
non-finite forms		infinitive				participle
non-finite forms		active		passive		active		passive
present		-ere		-ī		-ēns		—
future		-tūrum esse		-tum īrī		-tūrus		-endus, -undus
perfect		-isse		-tum esse		—		-tus
future perfect		—		-tum fore		—		—
perfect potential		-tūrum fuisse		—		—		—
verbal nouns		gerund					supine
		genitive	dative		accusative	ablative	accusative		ablative
		-endī	-endō		-endum	-endō	-tum		-tū

¹At least one use of the Old Latin "sigmatic future" and "sigmatic aorist" tenses is attested, which are used by Old Latin writers; most notably Plautus and Terence. The sigmatic future is generally ascribed a future or future perfect meaning, while the sigmatic aorist expresses a possible desire ("might want to"). It is also attested as having a rare sigmatic future passive indicative form ("will have been"), which is not attested in the plural for any verb.

Etymology 7

Dative from Old Latin -ōi, from Proto-Italic *-ōi, from Proto-Indo-European *-oey. Ablative from Old Latin -ōd.

Suffix

-ō

dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of -us

Etymology 8

Borrowed from Paleo-Balkan. Compare Albanian -ónjë, Aromanian -oanje, -oanji, -onje and Romanian -oaie, all forming feminine equivalent of nouns.

Suffix

-ō f (genitive -ōnis); third declension

form feminine equivalents of given names of central Dalmatia
‎Aplis m + ‎-o → ‎Aplo f

‎Baezus m + ‎-o → ‎Baezo f

‎Dasant- m + ‎-o → ‎Dasto f

‎Ditus m + ‎-o → ‎Dito f

‎Paius m + ‎-o → ‎Paio f

‎Vendes m + ‎-o → ‎Vendo f

References

Katičić, Radoslav (1976), Ancient Languages of the Balkans, The Hague; Paris: Mouton, page 180

Lithuanian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *-ā; compare Latvian -a, Proto-Slavic *-a (“id”). From the Proto-Indo-European thematic masculine ablative ending *-ōd, with regular Balto-Slavic loss of final d. Compare Sanskrit -आत् (-āt), Latin -ō and Ancient Greek ὄπ-ω (óp-ō, “whence”). In Balto-Slavic, the genitive merged with the ablative. The original genitive was retained, however, in West Baltic; compare Old Prussian -as, presumably from Proto-Indo-European *-os; compare Hittite 𒀸 (-as).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [²ˈ-oː]
Rhymes: -oː
Syllabification: -õ

Suffix

-õ

Used to form genitive singulars of masculine a-stem nouns.
Used to form genitive singulars of masculine a-stem adjectives.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [-oː]
Syllabification: -o

Suffix

-o

Used to form third person present tense forms in third declension verbs.
Used to form third person past tense forms in first declension verbs.

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [²ˈ-oː]
Rhymes: -oː
Syllabification: -õ

Suffix

-õ

An illative suffix.
‎namas + ‎-o → ‎namo

Synonyms

-op
-on, -yn, -ėn

Lower Sorbian

Suffix

-o

-ly (used to turn an adjective into an adverb of manner)

Synonyms

-je

Derived terms

Lower Sorbian terms suffixed with -o

Mokilese

Suffix

-o

Third person singular demonstrative suffix, equivalent to yon or that (specifically, an object far from both the speaker and listener)
‎rais (“rice”) + ‎-o → ‎raisso (“that rice over there, yon rice”)

Usage notes

This suffix typically triggers gemination of the final consonant of the noun to which it is applied, if there is one.

References

Harrison, Sheldon P.; Albert, Salich Y. (1977), Mokilese-English Dictionary‎^[3], Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii, →ISBN, page 30
Harrison, Sheldon P. (1976), Mokilese Reference Grammar‎^[4], Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii

Murui Huitoto

Etymology

Cognate with Minica Huitoto -o and Nüpode Huitoto -o.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [-ɔ]

Classifier

-o

Classifier for long, flexible objects.

Derived terms

Murui Huitoto terms suffixed with -o

nuio

References

Katarzyna Izabela Wojtylak (2017), A grammar of Murui (Bue): a Witotoan language of Northwest Amazonia.‎^[5], Townsville: James Cook University press (PhD thesis), page 194

Northern Kurdish

Etymology

From earlier *ûy, cognate with Persian ـویه, Middle Persian *-ōē, from Old Iranian *-avya- /au̯i̯a/. Originally was a suffix only for pet names. Compare also Armenian -ո (-o).

Pronoun

Central Kurdish	ﯚ، ـە

-o

Masculine singular vocative suffix
mêr > mêro
man!

ker > kero
jackass!
Forms familiar or pet names
Birahîm > Biro
Abraham > Abe

Ûsiv > Ûso
Joseph > Joe
Gives the definitive sense to a familiar subject
Camêro nizane çi bike jî
The chap doesn't even know what to do

Kero em xapandin
The dumbass deceived us
Intensifies curses and cusswords
Malxerabo!
Goddamn!

Min kîrê keran di quzê diya te kiro!
May I put a donkey dick in your mother's cunt

Derived terms

-ok

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse -u, indefinite neuter nominative/accusative plural ending; Old Norse -un, definite neuter nominative/accusative plural ending.

Suffix

-o

Used to make plural indefinite and definite forms for some neuter nouns
‎auga (“eye”) + ‎-o → ‎augo (“(the) eyes”)

‎hjarta (“heart”) + ‎-o → ‎hjarto (“(the) hearts”)

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

-ù (“Hordland”)
-ò (“Ryfylke”)

Suffix

-o

(non-standard since 1917) Used to make singular definite form for some weak feminine nouns
‎kyrkja (“church”) + ‎-o → ‎kyrkjo (“the church”)

‎gjenta (“girl”) + ‎-o → ‎gjento (“the girl”)

Etymology 3

From Old Norse -u, ending for the third person indicative plural of strong verbs.

Suffix

-o

(archaic, nonstandard) Used to mark plural form for strong verbs in past tense
‎ganga (“walk (pl)”) + ‎-o → ‎gingo (“walked (pl)”)

‎finna (“find (pl)”) + ‎-o → ‎funno (“found (pl)”)

Etymology 4

From Old Norse -u and -um, ending for the indefinite dative singular and plural respectively.

Suffix

-o

(no longer productive) Used in various fossilized adverbial phrases.
Synonym: -e

Derived terms

Nynorsk dative phrases

Old Dutch

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *-ō, from Proto-Germanic *-ô.

Suffix

-o

Forms adverbs from adjectives.

Inflection

Declension of -o (masculine an-stem noun)

case	singular	plural
nominative	-o	-on
accusative	-on	-on
genitive	-in	-ono
dative	-in	-on

Derived terms

Category Old Dutch terms suffixed with -o (adverb) not found

Descendants

Middle Dutch: -e

Etymology 2

From Proto-West Germanic *-jō, from Proto-Germanic *-jô.

Suffix

-o

Forms agent nouns from verbs.

Inflection

Declension of -o (masculine an-stem noun)

case	singular	plural
nominative	-o	-on
accusative	-on	-on
genitive	-in	-ono
dative	-in	-on

Derived terms

Old Dutch terms suffixed with -o (agent noun)

aftercumo

leido

Old English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /o/

Suffix

-o

(Anglian, Kentish) alternative form of -e, as used to form the first person singular present indicative of strong verbs and class I weak verbs
alternative form of -u

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin -um, from Proto-Indo-European *-os.

Suffix

-o

forms the masculine of nouns and adjectives

Derived terms

Old Galician-Portuguese terms suffixed with -o

bogio

Descendants

Galician: -o
Portuguese: -o

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin -ō.

Suffix

-o

a suffix indicating the first-person singular present indicative of verbs
‎amar (“to love”) + ‎-o → ‎amo (“[I] love”)

‎querer (“to want”) + ‎-o → ‎quero (“[I] want”)

Descendants

Galician: -o
Portuguese: -o

Old High German

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *-ō.

Suffix

-o

Forms adverbs from adjectives.

Descendants

Middle High German: -e

Etymology 2

From Proto-West Germanic *-ō. Cognate to Old English -a, in ǣta (“eater”), Old Norse -i, Gothic -𐌰 (-a), in 𐌽𐌿𐍄𐌰 (nuta, “fisher”). In some cases, the root appears in the zero-grade as in boto (from biotan).

Suffix

-o m

used to form masculine agents from verbs
‎geban (“to give”) + ‎-o → ‎gëbo (“giver”)

‎sprehhan (“to speak”) + ‎-o → ‎sprëhho (“speaker”)

‎biotan (“to offer, send, command”) + ‎-o → ‎boto (“messenger”)

‎ziohan (“to pull, lead”) + ‎-o → ‎herizogo (“army leader”)

‎sagēn (“to say”) + ‎-o → ‎fora-sago (“prophet”)
used to form attributive nouns from adjectives
‎perht (“bright”) + ‎-o → ‎Perhto (given name)

‎snel (“quick”) + ‎-o → ‎Snello (given name)
used to form proper nouns from nouns
‎haim (“home”) + ‎-o → ‎Haimo (given name)

‎liuti (“people”) + ‎-o → ‎Liutto (given name)

‎walt (“authority”) + ‎-o → ‎Uualto (given name)

‎hūs (“house”) + ‎-o → ‎hūso (place name) (in compounds)

Declension

Most nouns with this suffix follow the n-declension, like hano (“cock”), namo (“name”), gomo (“man”).

Descendants

Middle High German: -e
- German: -e

In Middle High German, the suffix is often replaced by -er (whence German -er), as in Middle High German gëber instead of Old High German gëbo. Only a few German words still have a final -e that results from Old High German -o, while place names often have -en leveled out from the accusative or dative cases.

Old Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *-o (“neuter suffix”). In Proto-Slavic, indefinite neuter adjectives were used as adverbs, but because Polish neuter adjectives descend from the definite neuter, the indefinite neuter suffix was fossilized as the adverbial suffix. Compare Old Polish -e.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /ɔ/
IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ɔ/

Suffix

-o

forms adverbs from adjectives
‎barzy + ‎-o → ‎barzo

Derived terms

Old Polish terms suffixed with -o

Descendants

Polish: -o

Old Saxon

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *-ô.

Suffix

-o

Forms adverbs from adjectives.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *-ô. Cognate to Old English -a, in ǣta (“eater”), Gothic -𐌰 (-a), in 𐌽𐌿𐍄𐌰 (nuta, “fisher”).

Suffix

-o m

used to form masculine agents from verbs and nouns
‎gevan (“to give”) + ‎-o → ‎gevo (“giver”)

‎beddi (“bed”) + ‎-o → ‎gibeddio (“bedfellow”)

Descendants

Middle Low German: -e

Polish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔ/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -ɔ
Syllabification: -o
Homophones: o, o-, -o-

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Slavic *-o

Old Polish -o

Polish -o

Inherited from Old Polish -o.

Suffix

-o

forms adverbs from adjectives
‎beztroski + ‎-o → ‎beztrosko
forms diminutives, softening the previous consonant
‎dziad + ‎-o → ‎dziadzio

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Slavic *-ętь

Old Polish -ą

Polish -ą

Polish -o

Humorous alteration of -ą.

Suffix

-o

(nonstandard, grammatically incorrect or dialectal, humorous) forms third person plural of verbs; -ą
‎być + ‎-o → ‎so

‎znać + ‎-o → ‎znajo

‎chcieć + ‎-o → ‎chco

Portuguese

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): (stressed on the penultimate syllable) /u/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): (stressed on the penultimate syllable) /u/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese -o, from Latin -um.

Suffix

-o m (noun-forming suffix, plural -os)
-o (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -a, masculine plural -os, feminine plural -as)

forms masculine singular nouns and adjectives

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese -o, from Latin -ō, -eō, -iō. Compare Galician and Spanish -o.

Suffix

-o (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)

a suffix indicating the first-person singular present indicative of -ar
‎amar (“to love”) + ‎-o → ‎amo (“[I] love”)
a suffix indicating the first-person singular present indicative of -er
‎comer (“to eat”) + ‎-o → ‎como (“[I] eat”)
a suffix indicating the first-person singular present indicative of -ir
‎unir (“to unite”) + ‎-o → ‎uno (“[I] unite”)

Romani

Suffix

-o

Forms the nominative singular of vocalic oikoclitic masculine nouns
Forms the nominative masculine singular of vocalic oikoclitic adjectives
Attaches to the perfective stem to form the third-person singular masculine past tense of intransitive verbs

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Proto-Slavic *-o, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *-a, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂.

Suffix

-o

Vocative singular (feminine)
‎mamă (“mother”) + ‎-o → ‎mamo

‎focă (“seal”) + ‎-o → ‎foco

Usage notes

This form of the vocative is informal, especially when referring to a person. The nominative/accusative ending is preferred.

Related terms

-e (vocative used for masculine and neuter adjectives or nouns)

Serbo-Croatian

Suffix

-o

forms adverbs from adjectives
‎primjeran + ‎-o → ‎primjerno

‎naporan + ‎-o → ‎naporno

‎budan + ‎-o → ‎budno

‎dobar + ‎-o → ‎dobro

Derived terms

Somali

Alternative forms

(dialectal) ― -oh

Etymology 1

Apparently from earlier *-tah,^[1] a compound of *-t (feminine marker) + *ʔax (“to be”) (whence ah).

Cognate with Tunni -to, Dabarre -etə, Aweer -tə, Rendille -o, Jiiddu -dhé, Oromo -ota.

Suffix

-ó f

Used to form regular plurals of nouns.
‎geed + ‎-o → ‎geedo

Suffix

-o f (plural -oyin)

Feminine ending
Antonym: -e

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Afroasiatic *-t (“middle voice affix”). Cognate with Jiiddu -dh, Blin -t-.

Suffix

-o

Middle voice suffix

Derived terms

soco (“walk”)
yumbo (“immerge”)

References

^ Kraska, I. (1992). From verb to clitic and nominal suffix: The Somali -e, -o nouns. Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 22(1), pages 89-106

Spanish

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin -um, accusative of -us.

Suffix

-o m (noun-forming suffix, plural -os)

Used with a stem to form a masculine singular noun.
‎azafata (“female flight attendant”) + ‎-o → ‎azafato (“male flight attendant”)

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin -ō.

Suffix

-o (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)

suffix indicating the first-person singular present indicative of verbs

Etymology 3

From the first conjugation third person singular preterite marker -ó, itself from Late Latin *-āut, from Latin -āvit, with loss of stress.

Suffix

-o (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)

suffix indicating the third-person singular preterite indicative of most irregular verbs

Swahili

Etymology 1

Other scripts
Ajami	ـوُ

Etymology tree

Proto-Bantu *-ò

Proto-Sabaki *-o

Swahili -o

Inherited from Proto-Sabaki *-o, from Proto-Bantu *-ò.

In Sabaki, cognate with Ngazidja Comorian -o and Giryama -o. Other Bantu cognates include Zulu -o and Chichewa -o.

Suffix

-o

suffix used in nominal forms of verbs in the absence of a more specific suffix (such as -aji), in conjunction with a noun class prefix
‎-penda (“to love”) + ‎-o → ‎upendo (“love”)

‎-enda (“to go”) + ‎-o → ‎mwendo (“motion”)
wa class_(II), m class_(III), and u class_(XI) relative marker
(archaic, Northern Swahili, poetry) relative marker for any noun class
- 18th century, Abdallah bin Ali bin Nasir, Al-Inkishafi‎^[6], stanza 13:
  اَوُرَكِيْبُوُ جُوَ نِمَاسِ ، كَكُلَ خَسَرَ اُخَسِرِيِ
  Aurakibuo jua ni-mwasi, kwa-kula khasara ukhasiriye.
  The one who rides it, know you are a rebel; you harm yourself.

Derived terms

Swahili terms suffixed with -o (nominal)

fuo

kao

Etymology 2

Suffix

-o

nonce suffix added for rhyming and scansion purposes
- (Can we date this quote?), K. Amri Abedi, Ukitaka moyo wangu:
  Ukitaka moyo wangu, ni tayari kukupao
  If you want my heart, I am ready to give it to you

References

Thilo C. Schadeberg (1989), “The three relative constructions in Swahili (Kisanifu)”, in Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations‎^[7], pages 33–40: “The concordless morpheme -o- frequently replaces the [relative concord] in old/northern/poetic Swahili[.]”

Swedish

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Swedish -u, -o, from Old Norse -u.

Suffix

-o

(archaic) dative suffix

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Possibly from Tavringer Romani -o, a masculine ending for nouns, cf. buro (“non-Traveller, farmer”), bölo (“bull”).

Compare Icelandic -ó.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʊ/
When combined the stress is always on the first syllable.

Suffix

-o

(colloquial) Combines with an (often clipped) word to create a noun referring to a person with a related property. Gives a familiar and to some extent diminutive nuance.
‎fylla (“drunkenness”) + ‎-o → ‎fyllo (“drunkard”)

‎fet (“fat”) + ‎-o → ‎fetto (“a fatty”)

‎snygg (“handsome”) + ‎-o → ‎snyggo (“handsome (noun)”)

‎puckad (“stupid”) + ‎-o → ‎pucko (“a stupid person”)

‎lycklig (“lucky, fortunate”) + ‎-o → ‎lyllo (“a fortunate person”)

Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from Northern Kurdish -o (masculine vocative suffix). Doesn't appear in common Turkish speech until the last few decades.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /o/

Suffix

-o

(Internet slang) added arbitrarily to words to form slang words
‎aşk + ‎-o → ‎aşko

‎erkek + ‎-o → ‎erko

‎günaydın + ‎-o → ‎güno

‎şaka + ‎-o → ‎şako

‎sik + ‎-o → ‎sikko
used to form shortened nicknames
‎Abdullah + ‎-o → ‎Apo

‎İbrahim + ‎-o → ‎İbo

‎Mukaddes + ‎-o → ‎Muko

Usage notes

When used on a word with more than one syllable, the word is first clipped before the suffix is added.
- ‎günaydın + ‎-o → ‎güno rather than *günaydıno

Derived terms

Turkish terms suffixed with -o

Apo

Volapük

Suffix

-o

adverb ending
-wise (in the matter of; with regard to)

Derived terms

Volapük terms suffixed with -o

sio

zuo

Welsh

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔ/

Etymology 1

Suffix

-o

used to form pet names
‎Dai + ‎-o → ‎Deio

‎Gwen + ‎-o → ‎Gwenno

‎Iorwerth + ‎-o → ‎Iolo

Etymology 2

Suffix

-o

(literary) verb suffix for the third-person singular present subjunctive

Etymology 3

From Middle Welsh -aw, from Proto-Brythonic *-ọβ̃.

Suffix

-o

Forms verbnouns from verb stems.
Synonyms: -i, -u

Usage notes

This suffix is mostly used for verbs where the stem ends in the consonant i (though for some such verbs, such as cynnig, the verbnoun is given by dropping the i from the stem) or the vowel in the last syllable is i, u, eu, or wy.^[1]

Derived terms

Welsh terms suffixed with -o

duo

tio

uno

Related terms

-io (Forms verbnouns from verbs and other parts of speech)

References

^ Morris Jones, John (1913), A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative, Oxford: Clarendon Press, § 202 iv

[1] Schrijver, Peter C. H. (1991), The Reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European Laryngeals in Latin (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 2), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 411

[2] Kraska, I. (1992). From verb to clitic and nominal suffix: The Somali -e, -o nouns. Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 22(1), pages 89-106

[3] Morris Jones, John (1913), A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative, Oxford: Clarendon Press, § 202 iv

[1]

[1]

[1]

class	subject concord		object concord	relative
class	affirmative	negative	object concord	relative
m_(I)	a-, yu-	ha-, hayu-	-m-, -mw-, -mu-	-ye
wa_(II)	wa-	hawa-	-wa-	-o
m_(III)	u-	hau-	-u-	-o
mi_(IV)	i-	hai-	-i-	-yo
ji_(V)	li-	hali-	-li-	-lo
ma_(VI)	ya-	haya-	-ya-	-yo
ki_(VII)	ki-	haki-	-ki-	-cho
vi_(VIII)	vi-	havi-	-vi-	-vyo
n_(IX)	i-	hai-	-i-	-yo
n_(X)	zi-	hazi-	-zi-	-zo
u_(XI)	u-	hau-	-u-	-o
ku_(XV/XVII)	ku-	haku-	-ku-	-ko
pa_(XVI)	pa-	hapa-	-pa-	-po
mu_(XVIII)	m-, mw-, mu-	ham-, hamw-, hamu-	-mu-	-mo

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Suffix

Usage notes

Derived terms

See also

Etymology 2

Suffix

Derived terms

Etymology 3

Suffix

Derived terms

Derived terms

Afar

Pronunciation

Suffix

Derived terms

References

Albanian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Suffix

Etymology 2

Particle

Blackfoot

Suffix

Derived terms

References

Dutch

Etymology

Suffix

Derived terms

Esperanto

Etymology

Pronunciation

Suffix

Further reading

Finnish

Etymology

Suffix

Usage notes

Declension

Derived terms

See also

Further reading

Franco-Provençal

Pronoun

French

Etymology

Pronunciation

Suffix

See also

Suffix

Derived terms

Garo

Etymology

Suffix

Synonyms

See also

Gothic

Romanization

Ido

Etymology

Suffix

Ingrian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Suffix

Declension

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Suffix

Declension

Derived terms

Italian

Etymology 1

Suffix