ons

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See also: öns, -ons, Ons, and ONS

English

Verb

ons

  1. (Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, transitive, colloquial) third-person singular simple present indicative of on

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Dutch ons, from Middle Dutch ons, from Old Dutch uns, from Proto-Germanic *uns, *unsiz.

Pronoun

ons

  1. we (subject)
    Ons is ’n familie.
    We are a family.
  2. us (object)

See also

Etymology 2

From Dutch ons, inflected onze, from Middle Dutch onse, from Old Dutch *unsa, from Proto-Germanic *unseraz.

Alternative forms

Determiner

ons

  1. our
    • 1921, “Die Stem van Suid-Afrika”, C.J. Langenhoven (lyrics), M.L. de Villiers (music), South Africa:
      Ruis die stem van ons geliefde, van ons land Suid-Afrika.
      Rises the voice of our beloved, of our country South Africa.

See also

Etymology 3

From Dutch ons, from Middle Dutch unce, from Latin uncia.

Noun

ons

  1. ounce (unit of measurement)

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɔns/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɔns

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch ons, from Old Dutch uns, from Proto-Germanic *uns, *unsiz.

Pronoun

ons (personal)

  1. us (objective form of wij or we)
    Geef ons heden ons dagelijks brood.
    Give us today our daily bread.
Descendants
  • Afrikaans: ons
  • Berbice Creole Dutch: ensi
  • Jersey Dutch: on̈s, on̈ns
  • Negerhollands: ons, oṅ
  • Skepi Creole Dutch: ons

Etymology 2

From Old Dutch *unsa, from Proto-Germanic *unseraz.

Determiner

ons (dependent possessive, independent possessive onze, inflected form onze)

  1. our (neuter)
    Geef ons heden ons dagelijks brood.Give us our daily bread
Usage notes

Only used with singular neuter nouns in dependent clauses; onze is used in all other situations as an independent possessive as well as with male and female nouns.

Inflection

Etymology 3

From Middle Dutch unce (1240), borrowed from Latin uncia (a twelfth of a pound) probably via Old French once.

Noun

ons n (plural onsen or onzen, diminutive onsje n)

  1. metric ounce (100 grams)
Usage notes

Prior to the law of 1820 that introduced the metric system in what then united both the Netherlands and Belgium a variety of measures ranging around ca 30 grams were known by this name. The law of 1820 attributed the name to the hectogram of 100 grams. In 1937 the IJkwet of the Netherlands officially abolished the term, but it is still commonly used.

Synonyms
Descendants
  • Caribbean Javanese: os
  • Papiamentu: òns

References

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch ons, from Middle Dutch unce (1240), borrowed from Latin uncia (a twelfth of a pound) probably via Old French once.

Noun

ons (first-person possessive onsku, second-person possessive onsmu, third-person possessive onsnya)

  1. metric ounce (100 grams)

References

Middle Dutch

Pronoun

ons

  1. accusative/dative of wi

Descendants

Middle English

Adverb

ons

  1. Alternative form of ones

Swedish

Noun

ons

  1. indefinite genitive plural of o

Anagrams

Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from French once.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈons/
  • Hyphenation: ons

Noun

ons (definite accusative onsu, plural onslar)

  1. ounce

Further reading

Volapük

Pronoun

ons

  1. (nominative plural of on) they (neuter or of mixed or unspecified gender)