ho

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ho"

Languages (43)

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Translingual

Etymology

Abbreviation of English Hiri Motu.

Symbol

ho

(international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Hiri Motu.

English

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /həʊ/
(US) IPA^(key): /hoʊ/, /hoʔ/
Audio (Australia): (file)
Rhymes: -əʊ
Homophones: hoe, hoh

Etymology 1

From Middle English ho, hoo (interjection), from Old English hō, probably from Old Norse hó! (interjection, also, a shepherd's call). Compare Dutch ho, German ho, Old French ho! (“hold!, halt!”).

Interjection

ho

(nautical) Used to attract attention to something sighted, usually by lookouts.
Sail ho! ― Another boat is visible!

Land ho! ― Land is visible!

Man ho! ― A town is visible!

heave-ho
halloo; hey; a call to excite attention, or to give notice of approach.
- c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:
  What noise there, ho?
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vi]:
  Ho! who's within?
- 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
  O ho, O ho! Would't had been done!
- 1597, [Joseph Hall], “(please specify the page)”, in Virgidemiarum, Sixe Bookes. First Three Bookes, of Tooth-lesse Satyrs. […], London: […] Thomas Creede, for Robert Dexter, →OCLC:
  Ho! all ye females that would live unshent, / Fly from the reach of Cyned's regiment.
- 1886, Peter Christen Asbj&oslash￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 93:
  "That was a shot! But the captain will be glad! Ho, ho, here we are!" he cried till it was re-echoed from all the hills around.
- 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 11:
  "So I catch you. You stealer! Ho! Ho!"
- 1936, Norman Lindsay, The Flyaway Highway, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 24:
  "How such swooning daughters can do it, constantly fainting and having hysterics, is a mystery to me," said Muriel Jane. "Ho, they're a pretty sly lot," said Silvander Dan.
(rare) Said accompanying a vigorous attack.
- 1900, Ching Foo, the Yellow Dwarf; Or the Bradys and the Opium Smokers, page 2:
  "I'll hit you again, you thief !” he cried angrily, shaking “Ho-ho-ho!” he croaked.
- 1955, John Sack, From Here to Shimbashi - Volume 637, page 172:
  It was quite an astonishing show. Colonel Paul Malone of the U.S. Army kept thwacking away with all his might and main, shouting "Ho!"
- 1999, Mona the Vampire, "Attack of the Living Scarecrow" (season 1, episode 1a):
  Mona: Hee! Ha! Ho! Ha! The brain buffet is closed, buddy! Take that! And this!
- 2008, Daniel Hellmund, The Answer for Laria, page 93:
  Ho! Take that vile Foresythe!” He snapped his wrist, clicking the stick against the bowed sides of a barrel.

Derived terms

Translations

nautical: attention grabber

Finnish: ohoi (fi)
Russian: эй (ru) (ej)
Swedish: ohoj (sv), åhoj (sv)
Ukrainian: гей (uk) (hej)

hey

Latin: heus
Russian: гей (ru) (gej), эгей (ru) (egej), (antiquated, poetic) гой (ru) (goj) (with a second person pronoun)
Spanish: ey (es)
Ukrainian: гей! (uk) (hej!), аго́в! (uk) (ahóv!)

Noun

ho

A stop; a halt; a moderation of pace.
- 1604 (date written), Tho[mas] Dekker, [Thomas Middleton], The Honest Whore. […] (4th quarto), London: […] Nicholas Okes for Robert Basse, […], published 1616, →OCLC, Act I, scene ii, signature I3, verso:
  O I, a plague on ’em, there’s no ho with ’em, they’re madder then^{[sic – meaning than]} March hares.

References

1996, T.F. Hoad, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Etymology, Oxford University Press, →ISBN

Etymology 2

Pronunciation spelling of whore in non-rhotic accents with the dough–door merger, such as some varieties of African-American Vernacular English; compare mo (“more”), fo' (“for; four”). The noun first appears c. 1964, whereas the verb first appears c. 1972.

Alternative forms

'ho, hoe

Noun

ho (plural hos or hoes or (humorous, nonstandard) heaux) (US, vulgar, slang)

(derogatory) A whore; a sexually promiscuous woman; in general use as a highly offensive term of abuse for a woman with connotations of loose sexuality.
Bros before hoes!
- 2001, “Psycho”, in Toxicity, performed by Serj Tankian with System of a Down:
  So you want to see the show? You really don't have to be a ho.
- 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 204:
  They was saying the jawn freaked out and called the cops cause all her sorority sistahs started ragging on her and calling her a stank ho for fucking half the basketball team.
- 2010, Dennis Shields, God Went Fishing‎^[2], page 69:
  "You looking for one of my ho's?" the diminutive man asked Sigmund.
  "A hoe?" Sigmund asked, wondering why the little man wished to sell him farming equipment in the city.
  "You know, a ho. A tute. A honey, A righteous bit of poontang, my brother," he said.
  "I don't follow," Sigmund said.
  "Indubitably, I means a ho, a whore. I can tell you is a player. You want a whore?" he asked.
(offensive) A woman in general; a bitch.

Synonyms

See also Thesaurus:promiscuous woman

Derived terms

Translations

whore

Afrikaans: please add this translation if you can
Albanian: please add this translation if you can
Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
Catalan: puta (ca), prostituta (ca)
Czech: kurva (cs) f, děvka (cs) f
Danish: hore c
Dutch: hoer (nl)
Esperanto: putino (eo)
Finnish: horo (fi)
French: pute (fr) f
German: Hure (de) f
Hebrew: please add this translation if you can
Hindi: please add this translation if you can
Hungarian: kurva (hu), ribanc (hu)
Icelandic: hóra (is) f
Indonesian: please add this translation if you can
Italian: please add this translation if you can
Japanese: please add this translation if you can
Kazakh: please add this translation if you can
Korean: 똥치 (ttongchi)
Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
Macedonian: please add this translation if you can
Malay: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian: hore (no) f
Polish: kurwa (pl) f
Portuguese: puta (pt), prostituta (pt), vadia (pt)
Romanian: curvă (ro) f, târfă (ro) f, bagaboantă
Russian: шлю́ха (ru) f (šljúxa)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: please add this translation if you can

Latin: please add this translation if you can
Slovak: kurva f
Slovene: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: puta (es) f, prostituta (es) f
Swedish: hora (sv) c
Tagalog: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: orospu (tr), fahişe (tr)
Ukrainian: ку́рва (uk) (kúrva)
Vietnamese: đĩ (vi), phò (vi)

woman

Afrikaans: please add this translation if you can
Albanian: please add this translation if you can
Bulgarian: пичка (bg) f (pička)
Catalan: please add this translation if you can
Czech: kunda (cs)
Danish: please add this translation if you can
Dutch: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: muija (fi), ämmä (fi)
French: please add this translation if you can
German: please add this translation if you can
Greek: please add this translation if you can
Hebrew: please add this translation if you can
Hindi: please add this translation if you can
Hungarian: pina (hu)
Icelandic: please add this translation if you can
Indonesian: please add this translation if you can
Italian: fica (it) f
Japanese: please add this translation if you can
Kazakh: please add this translation if you can
Korean: please add this translation if you can
Latvian: please add this translation if you can
Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
Macedonian: please add this translation if you can
Malay: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian: fitte (no) c
Polish: dupa (pl) f
Portuguese: gaja (pt), puta (pt) (more vulgar and offensive)
Romanian: pizdă (ro) f
Russian: пизда́ (ru) f (pizdá)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: пичка f

Latin: pička (sh) f
Slovak: kunda
Slovene: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: please add this translation if you can
Swedish: brutta (sv) c
Tagalog: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: please add this translation if you can
Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can
Vietnamese: đĩ (vi)

Verb

ho (third-person singular simple present hoes, present participle hoeing, simple past and past participle hoed)

(US, ambitransitive, slang, vulgar) To act as a ho, to prostitute.
- 2003 November 18, Greywolf Johnson, “Do you know any of these? <g>”, in alt.strange.days‎^[3] (Usenet):
  She holds down a decent job during the day, but is secretly hoeing around with at least 5 different trifling men.

Etymology 3

From Middle English howe, houwe, hoȝe, from Old English hogu and hoga, from Proto-Germanic *hugô, *hugiz, *huguz (“mind, thought, understanding”), akin to Old High German hugu, hugi (Middle High German hüge), Old Saxon hugi (Middle Dutch höghe, Dutch heug), Old Norse hugr, Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌲𐍃 (hugs).

Alternative forms

hoe

Noun

ho (plural hos)

(obsolete) Care, anxiety, trouble, sorrow.
- 1567, George Turberville, “A. Sani di Cure Aunsweres”, in Heroycall Epistles of Ovid, 155v:
  Though there bee A thousand cares that heape my hoe.
- 1798, Charlotte Turner Smith, The Young Philosopher, I. 195:
  Him that..this gentlewoman is in such a hoe about.
- 1869-70, William Barnes, “The Widow’s House”, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect‎^[4]:
  But by day to the zun they must rise
  To their true lives o' tweil an' ov ho.
- 1875, William Douglas Parish, A Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect‎^[5] (at cited word):
  I doänt see as you've any call to putt yourself in no such terrible gurt hoe over it.

Etymology 4

From Middle English howen, hoȝen, hogien, from Old English hogian, hugian, from Proto-Germanic *hugjaną. Cognate with Middle Scots huik, Old High German hucken, Old Saxon huggjan, Dutch heugen, Old Norse hyggja, Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hugjan).

Alternative forms

hoe

Verb

ho

(obsolete) To care, be anxious, to long.
- 1787, Francis Grose, “Ho”, in A Provincial Glossary: […]:
  To ho for anything, to long for any thing. Berks.
- [1846, James Orchard Halliwell, “HO”, in A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases, Proverbs, and Ancient Customs, from the Fourteenth Century. […], volume I (A–I), London: John Russell Smith, […], →OCLC, page 451, column 2:
  (3) To long for anything; to be careful and anxious. West.]
- 1869–1870, William Barnes, The Bells of Alderburnham, Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect:
  But still ’tis happiness to know ¶ That there’s a God above us; ¶ An’ he, by day an’ night do ho ¶ Vor all ov us an’ love us.
- 1874, Thomas Hardy, “Concurritur—Horæ Momento”, in Far from the Madding Crowd. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, page 289:
  “Oh ’tis true enough, faith. I can’t understand Farmer Boldwood being such a fool at his time of life as to ho and hanker after thik woman in the way ’a do, and she not care a bit about en.”
- [1888, Barzillai Lowsley, A Glossary of Berkshire Words and Phrases (Publications of the English Dialect Society; 56), London: English Dialect Society, page 91:
  HO.—To long for, to care greatly for.]

Anagrams

OH, oh, Oh, -oh, Oh.

Akan

Etymology

From ɛho.

Pronoun

ho

self, oneself

Usage notes

Preceded by personal pronouns

References

LearnAkan (2018–present), “self”, in LearnAkanDictionary.com (overall work in English)

Anambé

Verb

ho

go

References

Maria Risolêta Silva Julião, L'expression de personne en Anambé du Cairari (2010)

Asturian

Alternative forms

hom
hon

Etymology

Clipping of home.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈo/ [ˈo]
Rhymes: -o
Syllabification: ho

Interjection

ho

friendly interjection used at the end of a phrase when speaking to someone, man, "bro"
¿Sabíes eso, ho?
Did you know that, man?

Vamos pa mio casa, ho
Let's go to my place, man
used closing the sentence to bolster the attention of the listener; emphatic
¡Apara yá, ho!
Stop (it) already, man!

Usage notes

This interjection is used very frequently in Asturian, more than English man, as such when translating to English many instances of "ho" would not be translated.
Although "ho" was originally the adult male form, the children equivalent being nin, "ho" is now used extensively for either, without taking into account the receptor's gender or age, while "nin" has largely retained its connotations.
"Ho" is usually only used at the end of phrases, "home" is used at the beginning.

Eso ye lo qu'hai de facer, ho ― That's what you gotta do, man

Home, eso ye lo qu'hai de facer ― Man, that's what you gotta do

Breton

Determiner

ho (requires hard mutation)

your pl
ho preudeur ― your brothers

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin hoc. Compare Occitan o and ac.

Pronunciation

(Eastern) IPA^(key): /u/, /əw/
(Western) IPA^(key): /u/, /ew/, /o/
(Valencia) IPA^(key): /ew/, /u/, /o/

Pronoun

ho (enclitic and proclitic)

it (direct object); replaces the demonstrative pronouns açò, això and allò
replaces an independent clause (one which could grammatically form a sentence on its own)
replaces an adjective or an indefinite noun which serves as the predicate of ésser, esdevenir, estar or semblar

Usage notes

Ho cannot be used with either en or hi.
ho is the reinforced (reforçada) form of the pronoun. It is used before verbs.
Ho sabem. ― We know that.
-ho is the full (plena) form of the pronoun. It is normally used after verbs.
Puc fer-ho. ― I can do it.

Deixa-ho. ― Leave it.

Declension

Catalan personal pronouns and clitics
number	person		nominative	proclitic		enclitic		possessive
number	person		nominative	accusative	dative	accusative	dative	possessive
singular	1st	standard	jo, mi³	em, m’		-me, ’m		meu
	1st	majestic¹	nós	ens		-nos, ’ns		nostre
	2nd	standard	tu	et, t’		-te, ’t		teu
		formal¹	vós	us		-vos, -us		vostre
		very formal²	vostè	el, l’	li	-lo, ’l	-li	seu
	3rd	m	ell	el, l’	li	-lo, ’l	-li	seu
		f	ella	la, l’⁴	li	-la	-li	seu
		n	―	ho	li	-ho	-li	seu
plural
	1st		nosaltres	ens		-nos, ’ns		nostre
	2nd	standard	vosaltres	us		-vos, -us		vostre
	2nd	formal²	vostès	els		-los, ’ls		seu
	3rd	m	ells	els		-los, ’ls		seu
	3rd	f	elles	les	els	-les	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd reflexive			si	es, s’		-se, ’s		seu
adverbial	ablative/genitive		―	en, n’	―	-ne, ’n	―
adverbial	locative		―	hi	―	-hi	―

¹ Behaves grammatically as plural. ² Behaves grammatically as third person.
³ Only as object of a preposition. ⁴ Not before unstressed (h)i-, (h)u-.

Derived terms

proclictic

enclitic

Chickasaw

Pronoun

ho

they

Czech

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈɦo]
Audio: (file)

Pronoun

ho m or n

accusative of on
Synonym: jej
accusative of ono

Danish

Interjection

ho

(onomatopoeia) Signifies a hearty laugh.

Esperanto

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ho/
Audio 1: (file)
Audio 2: (file)
Audio 3: (file)
Rhymes: -o
Syllabification: ho

Etymology 1

Noun

ho (accusative singular ho-on, plural ho-oj, accusative plural ho-ojn)

The name of the Latin script letter H/h.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Yiddish האָ (ho).

Interjection

ho

oh

Finnish

Etymology

Compare Karelian ho. An interjection that is found in many languages.^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈho/, [ˈho̞]
Rhymes: -o
Syllabification^(key): ho
Hyphenation^(key): ho

Interjection

ho

synonym of oho

References

^ Erkki Itkonen, Ulla-Maija Kulonen, editors (1992–2000), Suomen sanojen alkuperä [The Origin of Finnish Words]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online version; note: also includes other etymological sources; this source is labeled "SSA 1992–2000"), Helsinki: Institute for the Languages of Finland/Finnish Literature Society, →ISBN

French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /o/
Audio (France (Vosges)): (file)

Interjection

ho

Used by tamers to calm the animal they are taming, especially horses; whoa
Ho ! Tout doux ! ― Whoa! Easy!
Used to express surprise or shock
Ho mon Dieu ! ― Oh my God!

Galician

Etymology

From home (“man”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɔ/

Interjection

ho!

used closing the sentence to bolster the attention of the listener; emphatic
Para, ho! ― Stop!

Non o volvo facer! Non ho! ― I'm not doing this again! No way!

References

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

Hanunoo

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *həqə (“yes; expression of agreement”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈhuʔ/ [ˈhoʔ]
Rhymes: -uʔ
Syllabification: ho

Interjection

hô (Hanunoo spelling ᜱᜳ)

yes (word used to indicate agreement or acceptance)

Alternative forms

ho'

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈhu/ [ˈho]
Rhymes: -u
Syllabification: ho

Pronoun

ho (Hanunoo spelling ᜱᜳ) (literary)

1st person nominative pronoun: I; me
Synonyms: ako, (literary) kaa

Alternative forms

hom

Ido

Etymology

Borrowed from Esperanto ho, from Yiddish האָ (ho).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ho/
Rhymes: -o
Hyphenation: ho

Interjection

ho

oh

Italian

Alternative forms

o (misspelling)
ò (obsolete)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɔ/^*
(some parts of Central Italy) IPA^(key): /ˈɔ/^°^[1]
Rhymes: -ɔ

Verb

ho

first-person singular present indicative of avere and (obsolete) havere

References

^ “ho” in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Japanese

Romanization

ho

The hiragana syllable ほ (ho) or the katakana syllable ホ (ho) in Hepburn romanization.

Lower Sorbian

Preposition

ho

obsolete spelling of wó

Middle English

Etymology 1

Probably from Old Norse hó! (interjection, also, a shepherd's call).

Alternative forms

hoo

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /hɔː/

Interjection

ho

stop, hold

Descendants

English: ho
Yola: ho

References

“hō, interj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Pronoun

ho

alternative form of who (“who”, nominative)

Etymology 3

Pronoun

ho

alternative form of he (“he”)

Etymology 4

Pronoun

ho

alternative form of heo (“she”)

Etymology 5

Pronoun

ho

alternative form of he (“they”)

Etymology 6

Noun

ho

alternative form of hough (“hough, hock”)

Etymology 7

Noun

ho

alternative form of hough (“promontory”)

Etymology 8

Noun

ho

alternative form of o (“one”)

Mizo

Etymology 1

Adjective

ho

Etymology 2

Verb

ho

to be in charge, look after

Derived terms

hotu

Muong

Alternative forms

hò

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /hɔ¹/

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Pronoun

ho

(Mường Bi) I; me

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /huː/, [huː]
Rhymes: -uː
Homophone: hu
Hyphenation: ho

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Norse hó (“call, exclamation”). Further origin uncertain; probably an expressive interjection.

Compare English ho.

Interjection

ho

aha, oh; used, often repeatedly, to express relief, pride, pleasure, discovery, recognition, or similar feelings
Ho, nå husker jeg det! ― Aha, now I remember!
- 1874, Henrik Ibsen, Peer Gynt, page 171:
  Ho, nu husker jeg kallen! Det er s’gu Bøjgen
  Aha, now I remember the fellow! Why, it's the Bøyg!
hah, pah; used, often repeatedly, to express mocking superiority, scorn, mockery, or schadenfreude
Ho, så sikker du var på at du hadde rett! ― Hah, you were so sure you were right!
- 1874, Henrik Ibsen, De unges forbund, page 6:
  det var vore lokale forholde han snakked for! Ho-ho!
  It was our local conditions he was talking about! Ha-ha!
haha, ho-ho; used, especially repeatedly, to represent hearty or mocking laughter
Synonyms: ha, he, hi

Ho, ho, ho! lo han høyt. ― “Ho, ho, ho!” he laughed loudly.
ho, hey; a call used, often repeatedly, to attract someone's attention
Ho! Er det noen der? ― Ho! Is anyone there?
- 1837, Henrik Wergeland, Bragur: Visebog for Normænd, De hvilende Jægere, page 155:
  Herover! Ho! Her er en Plet
  Over here! Ho! Here is a spot.

Derived terms

hoe (“to shout “ho”; call out”)
hoho (“ho-ho; repeated exclamation or laughter”)

Etymology 2

Inherited from Middle Norwegian ho (“she”), from Old Norse hon (“she”), from Proto-Germanic *hēnō (“she”). The Middle Norwegian form developed through the regular loss of final -n in hon.

Compare Norwegian Nynorsk ho, Icelandic hún, Faroese hon, Danish hun and Swedish hon (“she”).

Pronoun

ho (accusative henne, genitive hennes)

(nonstandard, dialectal) she; formerly an officially permitted Bokmål side form of hun (“she”), still common in dialectal and dialect-influenced writing
Ho kommer snart. ― She is coming soon.
- 1979, Gerd Brantenberg, Sangen om St. Croix, page 139:
  ho var ille nydelig
  she was extremely lovely
- 2012, Line Nyborg, Du vet ikke hvem jeg er:
  du knoter sånn, sier ho. Du må ikke glemme dialekta di
  you speak so affectedly, she says. You mustn't forget your dialect

Usage notes

Ho was removed from the official Bokmål norm in the 2005 spelling reform. It remains widespread in Norwegian dialects, but current standard Bokmål uses hun (“she”) as the subject form and henne (“her”) as the object form.

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

ho

imperative of hoe (“to shout or call “ho””)

References

“ho” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
“ho” in Norwegian Academy Dictionary (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /huː/, [hu̞ː]
(Selbu) IPA^(key): [hũ̞ː]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hón, from Proto-Germanic *hēnō (compare *ainaz). Cognate with Icelandic hún, Danish hun and Swedish hon.

Alternative forms

Dialectal forms

hu
hon, hun (Nordfjord, with stress)
hon (Bergen)
hån (Saltenmål, with stress)
hona (Hallingdal, vald, with stress)
’a (east, Trøndelag, without stress)

Pronoun

ho (accusative ho or henne, genitive hennar)

she, it (third person singular, feminine)
Ho er bestevenninna mi. ― She is my best friend.
her
Synonym: henne

Eg ser ho. ― I see her.

Usage notes

Unlike other Scandinavian languages, Nynorsk ho is used to refer not only to feminine persons, but any feminine noun. E.g.: Boka er god. Eg likar ho. (“The book is good. I like it.”)

In some dialects, ho may precede a female given name or a definite singular feminine noun. E.g: e(r) ho mang(e) ho klokka no? (“what time is it now?”); det er ho Stine som kjem jo! (“It is Stine who is coming (over there)!”)

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

hoe

Noun

ho f (definite singular hoa, indefinite plural hoer, definite plural hoene)

female
Hoa legg egga oppe i eit tre. ― The female lays the eggs up in a tree.

References

“ho” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Etymology 1

Inflection of hōn.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /xoː/, [hoː]
Rhymes: -oː

Verb

hō

first-person singular present indicative of hōn

Etymology 2

Probably from Old Norse hó! (interjection, also, a shepherd's call). Compare Dutch ho, German ho, Old French ho! (“hold!, halt!”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /xo/, [ho]
Rhymes: -o

Interjection

ho

Call of attention
hey!

Descendants

Middle English: ho, hoo
- English: ho
- Yola: ho

Old Irish

Conjunction

ho

alternative spelling of ó

Preposition

ho [with dative]

alternative spelling of ó

Old Javanese

Alternative forms

hwa

Etymology 1

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

Particle

ho

an exclamation

Derived terms

aho

Etymology 2

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

Noun

ho

areca, coconut palm

Derived terms

ho rwi

Etymology 3

Inherited from Proto-Austronesian *hawan (“atmosphere, space between earth and sky”).

Root

ho

clear

Derived terms

Orya

Noun

ho

water

References

Clemens Voorhoeve (1975), Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, →DOI, page 110

Paraguayan Guarani

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Tupian *t͡so

Proto-Tupi-Guarani *t͡so

Paraguayan Guarani ho

Inherited from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *t͡so.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ho/

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Rhymes: -o

Verb

ho (active, intransitive, irregular)

to go
Che aháta che rógape.
I am going home.

Conjugation

(che) aha
(nde) reho
(ha'e) oho
(ñande) jaha
(ore) roho
(peẽ) peho
(ha'ekuéra) oho

References

Britton, A. Scott (2005), “ho”, in Guaraní Concise Dictionary (overall work in English), New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., →ISBN, page 33
Canese, Natalia Krivoshein de; Alcaraz, Feliciano Acosta (2016), “ho”, in Ñe’ẽryru [Dictionary] (overall work in Spanish), Asunción: Instituto Superior de Lenguas, →ISBN, page 30, column 1

Purisimeño

Alternative forms

ʼoʼo̥

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.) Compare Barbareño ʼoʼ, Ineseño ʼoʼ, and Ventureño ʼoʼ.

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

ho

water

References

Timothy Paul Henry-Rodriguez (2021), “ho”, in Purisimeño-English, English-Purisimeño Lexicon: Final Edition‎^[6], page 10

Pyu (Myanmar)

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kV-sum.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɦɔː/

Numeral

3 (three)

Romanian

Interjection

ho

Used to calm or stop a domestic animal, especially horses; whoa.
Ho! Ușor! ― Whoa! Easy!
(vulgar) Used to calm down a person.
Ho! Nu mai țipa ! ― Whoa! Stop screaming!

Slovak

Alternative forms

jeho, neho, oň (after prepositions)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɦɔ/, [ɦɔ]
Rhymes: -ɔ

Pronoun

ho

genitive/accusative of on and ono

Swedish

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:

ho

Wikipedia ^sv

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈhuː/
Rhymes: -uː

Etymology 1

Noun

ho c

a trough; a long container for feeding or watering animals.
a sink; often mounted to a wall; especially a kitchen sink or a washing sink.
Synonym: diskho

Declension

Declension of ho
		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	ho	hos
singular	definite	hon	hons
plural	indefinite	hoar	hoars
plural	definite	hoarna	hoarnas

Derived terms

Etymology 2

See vem.

Pronoun

ho

(archaic) who
- 1541, Gustav Vasa Bible, Esaiah, 40:13-14
  Hoo vnderwisar HERRANS anda/ och hwadh rådhgiffuare lärer honom? Hwem fråghar han om rådh, then honom förstånd giffuer/ och lärer honom rettzens wägh/ och lärer honom klookheet och wijsar honom förståndzens wägh?
  (1873 edition) Ho undervisar Herrans Anda; och hvad rådgifvare lärer honom? Hvem frågar han om råd, den honom förstånd gifver, och lärer honom rättsens väg, och lärer honom klokhet, och viser honom förståndsens väg?
  Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
Ho äst du?
Who art thou?

Usage notes

In earlier Swedish, ho was the nominative case form of vem (spelt hvem), corresponding to the difference between English who and whom. Unlike in English, where the oblique form gives way to the nominative, the reverse has happened in Swedish.

Related terms

vem

Etymology 3

See hon.

Pronoun

ho

(dialectal) alternative form of hon (“she”)

References

“ho”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
“ho”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
“ho”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Tagalog

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈhoʔ/ [ˈhoʔ]
Rhymes: -oʔ
Syllabification: ho

Particle

hô (Baybayin spelling ᜑᜓ)

(familiar) honorific particle used while speaking to one's superior, elder, or guest
Synonym: po

Taga-saan naman ho kayo? ― Where are you from, sir/madam?

Usage notes

The word does not appear at a beginning of a sentence unless used alone.
The word ho is used more in informal, familiar or conversational contexts than po. In some dialects, this is not observed and may even be more used than po.

Derived terms

Related terms

oho

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈho/ [ˈho]
Rhymes: -o
Syllabification: ho

Interjection

ho (Baybayin spelling ᜑᜓ)

used to stop a horse, usually repeated

Anagrams

Oh, oh

Toba Batak

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)kahu, compare Malay kau and Tetum ó.

Pronoun

ho

you

Tooro

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ho/

Pronoun

ho

class 16 of -o: it

Derived terms

-aho (“its (class 16)”)

Uzbek

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic حَاء (ḥāʔ).

Noun

ho

the Arabic letter ح

Declension

Declension of ho
	singular	plural
nominative	ho	holar
genitive	honing	holarning
dative	hoga	holarga
definite accusative	honi	holarni
locative	hoda	holarda
ablative	hodan	holardan
similative	hodek	holardek

Possessive forms of ho
1^st person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	hoim	holarim
genitive	hoimning	holarimning
dative	hoimga	holarimga
definite accusative	hoimni	holarimni
locative	hoimda	holarimda
ablative	hoimdan	holarimdan
similative	hoimdek	holarimdek

2^nd person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	hoing	holaring
genitive	hoingning	holaringning
dative	hoingga	holaringga
definite accusative	hoingni	holaringni
locative	hoingda	holaringda
ablative	hoingdan	holaringdan
similative	hoingdek	holaringdek

3^rd person singular
	singular	plural
nominative	hoi	holari
genitive	hoining	holarining
dative	hoiga	holariga
definite accusative	hoini	holarini
locative	hoida	holarida
ablative	hoidan	holaridan
similative	hoidek	holaridek

1^st person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	hoimiz	holarimiz
genitive	hoimizning	holarimizning
dative	hoimizga	holarimizga
definite accusative	hoimizni	holarimizni
locative	hoimizda	holarimizda
ablative	hoimizdan	holarimizdan
similative	hoimizdek	holarimizdek

2^nd person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	hoingiz	holaringiz
genitive	hoingizning	holaringizning
dative	hoingizga	holaringizga
definite accusative	hoingizni	holaringizni
locative	hoingizda	holaringizda
ablative	hoingizdan	holaringizdan
similative	hoingizdek	holaringizdek

3^rd person plural
	singular	plural
nominative	hoi	holari
genitive	hoining	holarining
dative	hoiga	holariga
definite accusative	hoini	holarini
locative	hoida	holarida
ablative	hoidan	holaridan
similative	hoidek	holaridek

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [hɔ˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [hɔ˧˧]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [hɔ˧˧]
Audio (Hà Nội): (file)

Etymology 1

From Proto-Vietic *hɔː.

Verb

ho • (呼)

to cough

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Combining form

ho

reduplicant of hay, only used in hay ho

Warao

Noun

ho

water

Descendants

Hosororo

References

Languages of hunter-gatherers and their neighbors, citing Andrés Romero-Figueroa, Warao, Lincom Studies in Native American Linguistics 06 (1997, Munich/ Newcastle: Lincom Europa)

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English ho, from Old Norse hó.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /hɔː/

Interjection

ho

ho
- 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 13, page 90:
  Ha-ho! be mee coshes, th'ast ee-pait it, co Joane;
  Hey-ho! by my conscience, you have paid it, quoth John;

Derived terms

ha-ho

References

Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 90

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /hó/

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Verb

hó

(transitive, of liquids) to boil
(intransitive, of liquids) to become gaseous, to become boiled
to form bubbles or lather
to roar with noise
òkún ń hó yee; ọ̀sà ń mì lẹ̀gbẹ̀ ― The sea was roaring; the lagoon was swaying majestically

Derived terms

híhó (“boiling”)
hógùdùgùdù
hóyaya
èhó (“something that is boiled”)
ìhó (“the act of boiling”)

Related terms

bọ́ (“to cook in boiling water”)

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

fó (Igbomina)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /hó/

Verb

hó

(transitive) to peel off the skin or bark of something
Synonym: bó

Derived terms

ahó
híhó (“peeling”)
hójẹ
hóṣu (“to peel yam”)
ìhó (“the act of peeling”)

Zhuang

Etymology

Cognate with Bouyei hol (“garlic”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

(Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /ho˨˦/
Tone numbers: ho¹
Hyphenation: ho

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Noun

ho (1957–1982 spelling ho)

garlic
Synonym: suenq

Derived terms

gyaeujho

[1] Erkki Itkonen, Ulla-Maija Kulonen, editors (1992–2000), Suomen sanojen alkuperä [The Origin of Finnish Words]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online version; note: also includes other etymological sources; this source is labeled "SSA 1992–2000"), Helsinki: Institute for the Languages of Finland/Finnish Literature Society, →ISBN

[2] “ho” in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

[1]

[1]

		first person	second person	reflexive	third person
		first person	second person	reflexive	masculine	feminine	neuter
singular	nominative	eg, je¹	du	—	han	ho	det, dat²
	accusative	meg	deg	seg	han, honom¹	ho, henne	det, dat²
	dative²	meg	deg	seg	honom¹	henne	di²
	genitive	min	din	sin	hans	hennar, hennes¹	dess³
plural	nominative	me, vi, mid²	de, dokker, did², I²	—	dei
	accusative	oss, okker²	dykk, dokker, øder²	seg	dei, deim²
	dative²	oss, okker²	dykk, dokker, øder²	seg	deim²
	genitive	vår, okkar²	dykkar, dokkar, ødar²	sin	deira, deires¹

class	person	independent	possessive	subject concord	object concord	combined forms
class	person	independent	possessive	subject concord	object concord	na	ni
class 1	first	nyowe, nye	-ange	n-	-n-	nanyowe, nanye	ninyowe, ninye
	second	iwe	-awe	o-	-ku-	naiwe	niiwe
	third	uwe	-e	a-	-mu-	nawe	nuwe
class 2	first	itwe	-aitu	tu-	-tu-	naitwe	niitwe
	second	inywe	-anyu	mu-	-ba-	nainywe	niinywe
	third	bo	-abo	ba-	-ba-	nabo	nubo
class 3		gwo	-agwo	gu-	-gu-	nagwo	nugwo
class 4		yo	-ayo	e-	-gi-	nayo	niyo
class 5		lyo	-alyo	li-	-li-	nalyo	niryo
class 6		go	-ago	ga-	-ga-	nago	nugo
class 7		kyo	-akyo	ki-	-ki-	nakyo	nikyo
class 8		byo	-abyo	bi-	-bi-	nabyo	nibyo
class 9		yo	-ayo	e-	-gi-	nayo	niyo
class 10		zo	-azo	zi-	-zi-	nazo	nizo
class 11		rwo	-arwo	ru-	-ru-	narwo	nurwo
class 12		ko	-ako	ka-	-ka-	nako	nuko
class 13		two	-atwo	tu-	-tu-	natwo	nutwo
class 14		bwo	-abwo	bu-	-bu-	nabwo	nubwo
class 15		kwo	-akwo	ku-	-ku-	nakwo	nukwo
class 16		ho	-aho	ha-	-ha-	naho	nuho
class 17		(kwo)	N/A	ha- (...-yo)	-ha-	N/A	nukwo
class 18		(mwo)	-amwo	ha- (...-mu)	-ha-	N/A	numwo
reflexive		-enyini, -onyini	—		-e-	—

Translingual

Etymology

Symbol

See also

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Interjection

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

References

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

Noun

Etymology 4

Alternative forms

Verb

Further reading

Anagrams

Akan

Etymology

Pronoun

Usage notes

References

Anambé

Verb

References

Asturian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Interjection

Usage notes

Breton

Determiner

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Pronoun

Usage notes

Declension

Derived terms

Chickasaw

Pronoun

Czech

Pronunciation

Pronoun

Danish

Interjection

See also

Esperanto

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

See also

Etymology 2

Interjection

See also

Further reading

Finnish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Interjection

References

French

Etymology

Pronunciation

Interjection

Further reading

Galician

Etymology

Pronunciation