jo

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English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation

  • (Scotland) IPA(key): /d͡ʒoː/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -oː

Etymology 1

From Scots jo (joy), from Middle English joye, from Old French joie, from Late Latin gaudia, neuter plural (mistaken as feminine singular) of Latin gaudium (joy), from gaudēre (to be glad, rejoice). Doublet of joy and gaudy (Oxford college reunion).

Noun

jo (plural jos)

  1. (Scotland) Darling, sweetheart.
    • 1711, traditional, published by James Watson, Old Long Syne:
      On Old long syne my Jo,
      on Old long syne,
      That thou canst never once reflect,
      on Old long syne.
    • My Jo Janet (traditional Scottish song)
      Keek into the draw-well, Janet, Janet;
      There ye'll see your bonnie sel',
      My jo, Janet.
Alternative forms

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Japanese .

Noun

jo (plural jo)

  1. The staff used in the Japanese martial art of jodo or jojutsu.

Anagrams

Albanian

Etymology

Likely a babble word, compare Turkish yok (no), and its derivates in other Balkanic languages such as Romanian ioc, Macedonian јок (jok). Comparison with German ja (yes) is semantically hard to explain.

Pronunciation

Determiner

jo

  1. negates non-verbal phrases: no, not

Synonyms

See also

References

  1. ^ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “jo”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 159

Basque

Etymology

Unknown.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (Navarro-Lapurdian) /ɟo/
 

  • Rhymes: -o
  • Hyphenation: jo

Verb

jo du (imperfect participle jotzen, future participle joko, short form jo, verbal noun jotze)

  1. to hit, strike, punch
  2. (music) to play
    Gitarra jo nahi dut.I want to play the guitar.
  3. to knock, rap
    Gizon itsusi batek etxeko atea jo du.An ugly man knocked on the door.
  4. to crash
  5. to head, go
  6. to blow (the wind)
    Synonym: ibili

Further reading

  • "jo" in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia , euskaltzaindia.eus
  • jo” in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia , euskaltzaindia.eus

Bavarian

Etymology

Cognate with Icelandic , Swedish jo. Equivalent to standard High German doch.

Pronunciation

Particle

jo

  1. yes (in response to a negative question).
    Woids es ned na fuat heid? Jo, owa's wedda is a weng schlecht.
    Wolltet ihr nicht noch heute furt? Doch, aber das Wetter is etwas schlecht.

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan jo~io~yo, from Vulgar Latin (attested from the sixth century), from Latin ego, from Proto-Italic *egō, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂; akin to Greek εγώ (egó), Sanskrit अहम् (aham), all from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂. Compare Occitan jo, Spanish yo, French je, Italian io.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

jo (strong)

  1. I
  2. (after certain prepositions) me

Declension

Synonyms

  • mi (after most prepositions)

Noun

jo m (uncountable)

  1. ego (the self)
    Synonym: ego

References

Czech

Etymology

Compare Polish jo.

Pronunciation

Particle

jo

  1. (colloquial) yeah, yep
    Synonym: ano
    Antonym: ne

Further reading

  • jo in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
  • jo in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Dalmatian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin ubi. Compare Romanian iuo, Italian ove, French , Old Spanish o.

Pronunciation

Adverb

jo

  1. where

Danish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle Low German jo. Used like Swedish ju, German ja (adverb) / je (conjunction).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (unstressed in context)

Adverb

jo

  1. as you know or should know; sometimes vaguely translatable as after all or obviously
    • 2015, Henriette E. Møller, Jelne, Gyldendal A/S, →ISBN:
      Jeg ved ikke, hvad de talte om, hendes sind blev så mørkt, jeg kunne jo ikke rigtigt snakke med hende.
      I do not know of what they spoke, her mind became so dark, I could not really talk with her, as you should be able to see.
    • 2009, Sven Arvid Birkeland, I krigens kølvand: danske skæbner efter 2. verdenskrig, Gyldendal A/S, →ISBN, page 479:
      Han gik jo ikke i krig i håb om, at det skulle blive den store sejr
      After all, he did not go to war in the hopes of achieving great victory.
    • 2016, Anita Krumbach, Dorte Lilmose, Hanne Kvist, Helle Perrier, Iben Mondrup, Louis Jensen, Ronnie Andersen, Sissel Bergfjord, Svend Åge Madsen, Tomas Lagermand Lundme, Det du ikke ved: Noveller for unge, Gyldendal A/S, →ISBN:
      Jeg mener, at selv ens eget navn eller alder KAN man jo ikke være 100 procent sikker på er Dennis/17, vel?
      I mean, one obviously cannot even be 100% sure that one's own name or age are Dennis and 17, can one?

Conjunction

jo

  1. the
    Jo mere jeg løber, desto trættere bliver jeg.
    The more I run, the more tired I become.
Usage notes

jo ... desto ..., jo ... des ... are common constructions.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse jaur.

Pronunciation

Interjection

jo

  1. yes (used to contradict a negative statement or negatively phrased question) (often followed by I do, he is, etc. in English to indicate contradiction rather than affirmation); identical in usage to the French si. Contrasts with ja which confirms positive statements or positively phrased questions.
    Du elsker mig ikke, gør du vel? — Jo!
    You don't love me, do you? — Yes, I do!
    Jeg har ikke gjort noget! — Jo!
    I didn't do anything! — Yes, you did!
Usage notes

Negatively phrased questions like Kommer du ikke?, Du kommer ikke, vel?, Du kommer ikke? ("Are you not coming?", "You are not coming, are you?", "You are not coming?") must be answered with jo to indicate that the speaker is, in fact, coming; they cannot be answered with ja ("yes").

References

Dutch

Etymology

From English yo.

Interjection

jo

  1. hi
    Ey! - Jo! - Hey! - Hi!
  2. bye
    Later! - Jo! - Later! - Bye!
  3. you too
    Fijn weekend! - Jo! - Have a nice weekend! - You too!

Esperanto

Pronunciation

Noun

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

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter J.

See also

Finnish

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *jo, borrowed from Proto-Germanic *ju, compare Gothic 𐌾𐌿 (ju, already), Old High German ju (already). Cognates include Estonian ju, Votic jo, Veps jo, Ingrian jo, Karelian jo. (ju”, in Eesti etümoloogiasõnaraamat [Estonian Etymological Dictionary] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2012).

Pronunciation

Adverb

jo

  1. already (prior to some time; so soon)
    Luin kirjan jo loppuun.
    I already finished the book.
  2. now, already (emphasizing word)
    (impatiently) Tule jo!
    Come now!

Derived terms

Further reading

  • jo”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

Friulian

Etymology

Inherited from Late Latin eo, from Classical Latin egō̆.

Pronoun

jo

  1. I

See also

German

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

Alteration of ja (yes) or the respective dialectal cognates. Compare English yo.

Pronunciation

Interjection

jo

  1. (colloquial, dialectal) yes, yeah, well; expresses agreement in a hesitant or ponderous manner.

Etymology 2

From the respective dialectal words for yes in about half of Northern and Central Germany and all of Western Germany (compare Low German ja, jo). Possibly from Proto-Germanic *ja (yes, thus, so), possibly from an unrecorded root. The form with /oː/ must have existed in the Middle Ages already, since the word often partakes in the same sound shifts as words with /oː/ from other sources, cf. Swedish jo, Middle English yo (> English yo).

Pronunciation

Interjection

jo

  1. (colloquial) yes; expresses firm agreement.
Derived terms

Ingrian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *jo. Cognates include Finnish jo and Estonian ju.

Pronunciation

Adverb

jo

  1. already
    • 1936, N. A. Iljin and V. I. Junus, Bukvari iƶoroin șkouluja vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 25:
      Kiko ja Miko jo uijuut.
      Kiko and Miko are already swimming.
  2. Emphasises the sentence.
    • 1936, N. A. Iljin and V. I. Junus, Bukvari iƶoroin șkouluja vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 64:
      Jo nyt mahan lukkia.
      Now I can read.

References

  • Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 105

Italian

Pronoun

jo

  1. (obsolete) Alternative form of io

Japanese

Romanization

jo

  1. Rōmaji transcription of じょ
  2. Rōmaji transcription of ジョ
  3. Rōmaji transcription of ぢょ
  4. Rōmaji transcription of ヂョ

Karelian

Regional variants of jo
North Karelian
(Viena)
jo
South Karelian
(Tver)
jo

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *jo. Cognates include Finnish jo and Veps jo.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈjo/
  • Hyphenation: jo

Adverb

jo

  1. already

Interjection

jo

  1. (North Karelian) yes

Synonyms

  • (yes): (North Karelian) kyllä, (South Karelian) da

References

  • A. V. Punzhina (1994) “jo”, in Словарь карельского языка (тверские говоры) [Dictionary of the Karelian language (Tver dialects)], →ISBN
  • Pertti Virtaranta, Raija Koponen (2009) “jo”, in Marja Torikka, editor, Karjalan kielen sanakirja, Helsinki: Kotus, →ISSN
  • P. M. Zaykov et al. (2015) Venäjä-Viena Šanakirja [Russian-Viena Karelian Dictionary], →ISBN

Kashubian

Etymology

Borrowed from German jo.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈjɔ/
  • Hyphenation: jo

Interjection

jo

  1. yes
    Jo, mògã to zrobic.Yes, I can do it.
    Jo, jô jem tam béł.Yes, I have been there.

Further reading

  • jo”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022
  • Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “tak”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi

Konabéré

Pronunciation

Noun

jo

  1. water

Alternative forms

Further reading

Lashi

Pronunciation

Verb

jo

  1. to be
  2. to exist

References

  • Hkaw Luk (2017) A grammatical sketch of Lacid, Chiang Mai: Payap University (master thesis)

Latvian

Pronunciation

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.

Conjunction

jo

  1. because
  2. for

Particle

jo

  1. the... the...
    jo vairāk naudas, jo labākthe more money the better

Lithuanian

Pronunciation

Determiner

jo

  1. his (3rd person singular masculine possessive)

Pronoun

jo m

  1. third-person singular genitive of jis

Particle

jo

  1. (colloquial) yeah

Livonian

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

Perhaps borrowed from Latvian jo (because, yet (more)), /juo/.

Pronunciation

Preposition

jo

  1. more; used with adjectives to form comparatives

Etymology 2

Perhaps borrowed from Latvian jau (yet, already, after all). However, compare also Finnish jo (already), thus ultimately a common Finnic borrowing from Proto-Germanic *ju that has likely been contaminated by the more figurative senses of Latvian jau, with the latter ultimately a distant cognate of the initial Germanic borrowing.

Pronunciation

Preposition

jo

  1. yet, already, after all
    • Tiit-Rein Viitso, Valts Ernštreits (2012–2013), Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz, Tartu, Rīga: TÜ, LVA
      mōnigļikizt, ne jo lǟbõd mōzõ
      bumblebees, they are already migrating to their burrows (lit. "going inside of earth")
      amād jo ītist äb peļļõt
      not everyone makes the same (lit. "everyone after all doesn't earn the same")

Usage notes

  • LĒL only lists jo without listing any instances of juo. Livonian-Latvian-Livonian dictionary, in turn, only lists juo for the comparative forming preposition sense.
  • LĒL doesn't explicitly list the second sense that seems to exactly mirror Latvian jau (including the more figurative applications.) Such a function, however, is inferred from the many usage examples available in the dictionary. As a translation of Latvian jau (strictly in its temporal sense) LĒL lists jõbā (already), cf. Estonian juba.

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

Particle

jo

  1. yes (word used to show agreement or acceptance)

Verb

jo

  1. third-person singular present of byś

Pronoun

jo

  1. accusative of wóno

Alternative forms

  • njo (after preposition)

Further reading

  • Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928) “jo”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
  • Starosta, Manfred (1999) “jo”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

Adverb

jo

  1. yes

See also

Verb

jo

  1. second-person singular imperative of joen

Murui Huitoto

Etymology

Cognates include Minica Huitoto jo and Nüpode Huitoto jo.

Pronunciation

Root

jo

  1. house

Derived terms

References

  • Katarzyna Izabela Wojtylak (2017) A grammar of Murui (Bue): a Witotoan language of Northwest Amazonia., Townsville: James Cook University press (PhD thesis), page 127

North Frisian

Alternative forms

  • djo (Helgoland)
  • ja (Sylt and Mooring)

Etymology

Compare West Frisian hja.

Pronoun

jo

  1. they

Northern Sami

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Adverb

jo

  1. already
  2. now

Further reading

  • Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages, Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Old Norse jaur.

Adverb

jo

  1. yes; in disagreement with the last speaker's negative statement.
    Du har ikke pusset tennene vel? - Jo, det har jeg.
    You haven't brushed your teeth, have you? - Yes, I have.
  2. yes or no; expressing doubt. (colloquial)
    Vil du være med? - Jo...
    Do you want to join? - I'm not sure...
Usage notes

Ja can be interpreted as an agreement with the person replied to. Jo is used instead of ja if this agreement could cause ambiguity. In example 1, agreement with the person asking the question would be the opposite of a confirmation that one actually did brush the teeth. As such ja would be ambiguous. The answer jo removes the possibility of agreement with the speaker.

Related terms

Etymology 2

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

From Old Norse gjóðr.

Noun

jo m (definite singular joen, indefinite plural joer, definite plural joene)

  1. a skua, seabird of family Stercorariidae.
Derived terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse jór, from Proto-Germanic *ehwaz.

Noun

jo m (definite singular joen, indefinite plural joar, definite plural joane)

  1. a horse (only used in given names)
Related terms

Male given names:

Female given names:

Etymology 2

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

From Old Norse gjóðr.

Alternative forms

  • gjod (alternative spelling)

Noun

jo m (definite singular joen, indefinite plural joar, definite plural joane)

  1. a skua, seabird of family Stercorariidae.
Derived terms

Etymology 3

From Norwegian Bokmål jo, from Danish jo.

Adverb

jo

  1. Alternative form of jau

Etymology 4

Compare Swedish ju.

Adverb

jo

  1. Used to indicate an expectation of common understanding, or that what is said is an obvious fact – “as you well know,” “of course.”
    Synonym: no
    Han kom jo aldri
    But he never came though
    Ikkje rart at du fekk ølskummet over heile golvet. Ein skal jo ikkje slå på ølboksen fyri ein opnar den!
    It’s not weird that you’ve got the beer foam all-over the floor. You shouldn’t punch the beer can before you open it, y’know!

References

Occitan

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Inherited from Late Latin eo, from Classical Latin egō̆.

Pronoun

jo (Gascony)

  1. I

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin iugum.

Noun

jo m

  1. yoke

Old French

Pronoun

jo

  1. (Old Northern French) Alternative form of je

Old Frisian

Pronoun

  1. Alternative form of , accusative/dative of

Inflection

Plautdietsch

Adverb

jo

  1. yes

Polish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /jɔ/
  • Rhymes:
  • Syllabification: jo

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *(j)azъ.

Pronoun

jo

  1. (dialectal) Alternative form of ja (I)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German jo.

Particle

jo

  1. (colloquial or dialectal) yeah, yep
    Synonyms: tak, ano, no, hej
    Antonym: nie

Further reading

  • jo in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian hiā. Cognates include West Frisian hja and North Frisian jo.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

jo (oblique hier)

  1. they

See also

References

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

Slovincian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈjɔ/
  • Syllabification: jo

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *(j)azъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ēź-, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂. Cognates include Kashubian , Polish ja, Silesian .

Pronoun

jo

  1. I (first-person pronoun)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German ja (yes; yes!), from Middle High German ja, from Old High German ja, jā, from Proto-Germanic *ja (yes), from Proto-Indo-European *yē (already). Compare Kashubian jo (yes; yes!), Silesian ja (yes), regional Polish ja (yes).

Interjection

jo

  1. yes!

References

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈxo/
  • Rhymes: -o
  • Syllabification: jo

Etymology 1

Interjection

¡jo!

  1. stop, whoa (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof)
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Euphemistic clipping of joder (fuck).

Interjection

¡jo!

  1. (euphemistic) Used to express surprise, amazement, or confusion
    ¡Jo!I never heard anything like that before. / Are you serious? / Boy!

Further reading

Swahili

Etymology

Possibly from English yo.

Pronunciation

Interjection

jo

  1. (Sheng) added for emphasis to the end of a sentence
    Manze jo!Oh man!

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish , from Old Norse jaur.

Pronunciation

Interjection

jo

  1. yes; used as a disagreement to a negative statement or a negatively phrased question.
    Du har inte borstat tänderna, eller hur? - Jo, det har jag.
    You haven't brushed your teeth, have you? - Yes, I have.
  2. yes (more generally, in a similar vein to jodå – see its usage notes)
    – Är det du som är han? – Jo, det är jag.
    – Are you that guy? – Yep, that's me.
  3. (with an excited, rising tone) Expresses having an insight; oh
    Jo(ooo)! Nu kom jag på hur man löser pusslet.
    O(ooo)h! I figured out how to solve the puzzle now.
  4. A filler, at the start of an utterance.
    Jo, det är så att det är en grej som jag måste berätta för er
    So, there is something that I have to tell you ("So, it is such that there is a thing that I have to tell you," with some common stalling wording)

Usage notes

Ja (yes) can be interpreted as an agreement with the person replied to. Jo is used instead of ja if this agreement could cause ambiguity. In the example above agreement with the person asking the question would be the opposite of a confirmation that one actually did brush the teeth. As such ja would be ambiguous. The answer jo removes the possibility of agreement with the speaker. In Swedish dialects spoken in northern Sweden and Finland, it is however not uncommon for the word jo to be used in place of ja in all cases, at least in spoken language.

Related terms

References

Anagrams

Veps

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *jo.

Adverb

jo

  1. already

References

  • Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “уж, уже”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎, Petrozavodsk: Periodika

Votic

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *jo.

Pronunciation

  • (Luutsa, Liivtšülä) IPA(key): /ˈjo/,
  • Rhymes: -o
  • Hyphenation: jo

Adverb

jo

  1. already
  2. (with negative) any more

Particle

jo

  1. An emphatic intensifying particle.

References

  • Hallap, V., Adler, E., Grünberg, S., Leppik, M. (2012) “jo”, in Vadja keele sõnaraamat [A dictionary of the Votic language], 2nd edition, Tallinn

West Frisian

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Old Frisian , from Proto-West Germanic *iwwiz, from Proto-Germanic *izwiz, dative/accusative of *jūz, from Proto-Indo-European *yū́.

Pronoun

jo

  1. you (second person singular nominative formal pronoun)
Usage notes

Though it is a singular pronoun, jo takes the plural conjugation of verbs.

Inflection

Further reading

  • jo”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Etymology 2

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

Determiner

jo

  1. your (second-person singular formal possessive determiner)
Further reading
  • jo”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Ye'kwana

Pronunciation

Postposition

jo

  1. (with following directional suffix -nno) indicates a point of origin

Usage notes

This postposition also infrequently occurs without -nno, in which case it is not clear whether it inflects at all and its meaning is difficult to determine.

References

  • Cáceres, Natalia (2011) Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana, Lyon, pages 277–278

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Proposed to be derived from Proto-Yoruboid *jó, compare with Igala

Pronunciation

Verb

  1. (intransitive) to dance
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Possibly from Proto-Yoruboid *jó, cognate with Igala

Pronunciation

Verb

  1. (ergative) to burn
  2. (transitive) to sting; to irritate

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

Verb

  1. to drip
Derived terms