. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
you have here. The definition of the word
will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Translingual
Symbol
or
( international standards ) ISO 639-1 language code for Odia .
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English or ; partially contracted from other , auther , from Old English āþor , āwþer , āhwæþer ( "some, any, either"; > either ) ; and partially from Middle English oththe , from Old English oþþe , from Proto-Germanic *efþau ( “ or ” ) .
Pronunciation
Conjunction
or
Connects at least two alternative words , phrases , clauses , sentences , etc. , each of which could make a passage true .
You may either stay or come.
He might get cancer, or be hit by a bus, or God knows what.
( logic ) An operator denoting the disjunction of two propositions or truth values . There are two forms, the inclusive or and the exclusive or .
Counts the elements before and after as two possibilities .
Otherwise ( a consequence of the condition that the previous is false ) .
It's raining! Come inside or you'll catch a cold!
1897 December (indicated as 1898 ), Winston Churchill , chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode , New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company ; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd. , →OCLC , page 46 :No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.
Connects two equivalent names.
Usage notes
( connecting alternative terms ) : When not implied by the meaning of the conjoins , it is generally ambiguous whether “or” is intended in an exclusive or inclusive sense. In speech, various means may be used to convey exclusivity, such as stress on the word “or” or a rising intonation before it.[ 1] In a formal or technical register, and/or may be used to specify inclusivity.
Translations
conjunction
Afrikaans: of (af)
Albanian: ose (sq) , apo (sq) , a (sq)
Ambonese Malay: or
Amharic: ወይስ ( wäys )
Arabic: أَو (ar) ( ʔaw ) , أَم (ar) ( ʔam ) ( in questions ) , إِمَّا ( ʔimmā )
Hijazi Arabic: أَو ( ʔaw ) , ولا ( walla )
Moroccan Arabic: ولا ( walla ) , أولا ( ʔawla ) , إما ( ʔimma )
North Levantine Arabic: أَو (ar) ( ʔaw ) , ولا ( walla )
South Levantine Arabic: أَو ( ʔaw ) , ولا ( willa )
Aragonese: u (an)
Aramaic:
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܝܲܢ ( yan ) , ܐܵܘ ( āw )
Classical Syriac: ܐܘ ( ʾaw )
Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אוֹ ( ʾô )
Armenian: կամ (hy) ( kam )
Aromanian: icã
Assamese: বা ( ba ) , নে ( ne ) ( interrogative )
Asturian: o (ast)
Azerbaijani: ya (az) , və ya (az) , yoxsa (az) , yaxud (az)
Bashkir: йәки ( yəki ) , йә ( yə ) , әллә ( əllə )
Basque: edo (eu) , ala (eu)
Belarusian: або́ (be) ( abó ) , ці (be) ( ci ) , альбо́ ( alʹbó )
Bengali: বা (bn) ( ba ) , অথবা (bn) ( othoba ) , কিংবা (bn) ( kiṅba )
Breton: pe (br)
Bulgarian: и́ли (bg) ( íli ) , или́ (bg) ( ilí )
Burmese: သို့မဟုတ် (my) ( sui.ma.hut )
Carpathian Rusyn: ці ( ci ) , або́ ( abó )
Catalan: o (ca) , o bé (ca)
Cebuano: o
Chechen: я ( ja )
Chinese:
Cantonese: 定係 / 定系 (yue) ( ding6 hai6 )
Hokkien: 抑是 (zh-min-nan) , 抑 (zh-min-nan)
Mandarin: 或 (zh) ( huò ) , 或者 (zh) ( huòzhě ) ; 還是 / 还是 (zh) ( háishi ) ( in questions )
Chukchi: эвытԓым ( ėvytḷym ) , ԓымэвыр ( ḷymėvyr ) , ԓымӈэвыр ( ḷymṇėvyr )
Chuvash: е ( e )
Cornish: po
Crimean Tatar: ya
Czech: nebo (cs)
Danish: eller (da)
Dhivehi: ނުވަތަ ( nuvata )
Dutch: of (nl)
Egyptian: usually null; sometimes (r-pw )
Esperanto: aŭ (eo)
Estonian: või (et) , ehk (et)
Faroese: ella (fo)
Finnish: tai (fi) ( inclusive in question clauses ) , vai (fi) ( exclusive, only in question clauses ) , eli (fi) ( connects two equivalent names )
French: ou (fr)
Old French: ou
Galician: ou (gl)
Georgian: ანუ ( anu ) , ან ( an )
German: oder (de)
Alemannic German: oder
Gothic: 𐌰𐌹𐌸𐌸𐌰𐌿 ( aiþþau )
Greek: ή (el) ( í ) , είτε (el) ( eíte )
Ancient: ἤ ( ḗ )
Gujarati: કે ( ke )
Hawaiian: ā ... paha , a i ʻole
Hebrew: אוֹ (he) ( 'o )
Hiligaynon: ukon
Hindi: या (hi) ( yā ) , क (hi) ( ka ) , व (hi) ( va ) , अथवा (hi) ( athvā )
Hungarian: vagy (hu)
Icelandic: eða (is)
Ido: od (io) , o (io)
Ilocano: wenno
Indonesian: atau (id)
Interlingua: o (ia)
Irish: nó
Italian: o (it) , od (euphonic alt. form used before a vowel, especially "o" ), oppure (it)
Japanese: または (ja) ( mata wa ) (又は (ja) ), あるいは (ja) ( arui wa ) , か (ja) ( ka ) , それとも (ja) ( soretomo )
Javanese: utawa (jv) , utawi (jv) , atawa
Kalmyk: эс гиҗ ( es gij )
Kannada: ಅಥವಾ (kn) ( athavā )
Kashubian: abò
Kazakh: не (kk) ( ne ) , немесе ( nemese ) , я (kk) ( ä ) , яки ( äki )
Khmer: ឬ (km) ( rɨɨ )
Komi-Zyrian: либӧ ( ľibö )
Korean: 또는 (ko) ( ttoneun ) , 혹은 (ko) ( hogeun ) , (이)나 (ko) ( (i)na ) , 아니면 ( animyeon )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: یا ( ya ) , یان ( yan )
Northern Kurdish: an (ku) , yan (ku)
Kyrgyz: же (ky) ( je )
Lao: ບໍ້ ( bǭ ) , ຫລື ( lư̄ ) , ຫຼື ( lư̄ )
Latgalian: ci , voi , aba
Latin: aut (la) , seu (la) , vel (la) , sīve (la) , -ve
Latvian: vai (lv) , jeb
Limburgish: óf
Lithuanian: arba (lt)
Livonian: või
Low German:
Dutch Low Saxon: of (nds)
German Low German: oder (nds)
Lü: ᦢᧁᧈᦅᦸᧉ ( ḃaw¹koa² ) , ᦣᦴᧉᦞᦱᧈ ( huu²vaa¹ )
Luxembourgish: oder (lb)
Macedonian: или ( ili )
Malagasy: na (mg) , sa (mg)
Malay: atau (ms)
Malayalam: ഒ (ml) ( o ) ( as suffix on all terms ) , അഥവാ (ml) ( athavā ) , അല്ലെങ്കിൽ (ml) ( alleṅkil )
Maltese: jew (mt)
Maori: rānei
Marathi: किंवा (mr) ( kiuvā )
Mari:
Eastern Mari: але ( aĺe )
Mongolian: эсвэл (mn) ( esvel ) , буюу (mn) ( bujuu )
Navajo: éí doodaiiʼ éí , doodaiiʼ
Neapolitan: o
Nepali: वा (ne) ( wā )
Nigerian Pidgin: or
Northern Sami: dahje ( inclusive in question clauses ) , vai ( exclusive, only in question clauses )
Northern Thai: ᨣᩤ , ᨣᩤᩅ᩵ᩤ
Norwegian: eller (no)
Bokmål: ellers (no) (otherwise)
Nynorsk: elles (otherwise)
Occitan: o (oc)
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: или ( ili )
Old East Slavic: чи ( či ) , или ( ili )
Old English: oþþe
Old Prussian: angar , adder
Old Tupi: konipó
Ottoman Turkish: ویا ( veya )
Pannonian Rusyn: лєбо ( ljebo )
Pashto: که (ps) ( ka ) , لا ( lâ ) , يا (ps) ( yâ )
Persian: یا (fa) ( yâ )
Polabian: ar
Polish: albo (pl) ( xor-type ) , lub (pl) ( or-type ) , czy (pl) , bądź (pl) ( literary ) , tudzież (pl) ( literary )
Portuguese: ou (pt)
Punjabi: ਜਾਂ (pa) ( jā̃ )
Quechua: icha
Rapa Nui: o
Romanian: ori (ro) , sau (ro)
Russian: и́ли (ru) ( íli ) , ли́бо (ru) ( líbo ) , а́ли (ru) ( áli ) ( dated or folklore ) , чи (ru) ( či ) ( West or South Russia, Ukraine )
Sanskrit: वा (sa) ( vā )
Sardinian: o
Scots: or
Scottish Gaelic: no , neo , air neo
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: и̏ли
Roman: ȉli (sh)
Shan: ဢမ်ႇၼၼ် ( ʼàm nǎn )
Sindhi: یا ( yā )
Sinhalese: හෝ ( hō )
Slovak: alebo (sk) , abo
Slovene: àli (sl)
Slovincian: abô
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: abo
Upper Sorbian: abo (hsb)
Southern Ohlone: yuta
Spanish: o (es) , ( before words beginning in 'o-' or 'ho-' ) u (es)
Sudovian: ader
Swahili: au
Swedish: eller (sv)
Tagalog: o
Tai Dam: ꪭꪳꪫ꪿ꪱ
Tajik: ё (tg) ( yo )
Tamil: அல்லது (ta) ( allatu )
Tatar: яки ( yaki ) , яисә ( yaisä ) , я ( ya )
Telugu: లేదా (te) ( lēdā ) , గాని (te) ( gāni )
Thai: หรือ (th) ( rʉ̌ʉ )
Tocharian A: epe
Tocharian B: epe
Turkish: veya (tr) , ya da (tr)
Turkmen: ýa , ýada
Udmurt: яке ( jake )
Ugaritic: 𐎜 ( ủ /ʾō/ )
Ukrainian: чи (uk) ( čy ) , або́ (uk) ( abó )
Urdu: یا (ur) ( yā )
Uyghur: ياكى (ug) ( yaki )
Uzbek: yoki (uz)
Vietnamese: hay (vi) , hay là , hoặc (vi)
Vilamovian: ober
Volapük: (before consonants) u (vo) , (before vowels) ud (vo)
Welsh: neu
West Frisian: of (fy)
Yagnobi: ё ( yo )
Yakut: эбэтэр ( ebeter )
Yiddish: אָדער ( oder )
Yup'ik: wallu
Zazaki: ya ki , ya zi
Zhuang: rox , roxnaeuz
See also
Etymology 2
From Etymology 1 (sense 2 above).
Noun
or (plural ors )
( logic , electronics ) Alternative form of OR
See also
Etymology 3
From late Middle English or ( “ gold ” ) , borrowed from Middle French or ( “ yellow ” ) , from Old French or , from Latin aurum ( “ gold ” ) . Doublet of aurum .
Pronunciation
Noun
or (countable and uncountable , plural ors )
( heraldry ) The gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms .
1909 , Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, A Complete Guide to Heraldry :The metals are gold and silver, these being termed "or " and "argent".
1889 , Charles Norton Elvin, A Dictionary of Heraldry :In engraving, "Or " is expressed by dots.
or:
Synonyms
( gold or yellow tincture ) : o. , Or
Au ( chemical symbol for gold )
Translations
Adjective
or (not comparable )
( heraldry ) Of gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms.
Synonyms
Translations
of yellow or gold tincture on a coat of arms
Etymology 4
From Late Old English ār , from Old Norse ár . Compare ere .
Adverb
or
( obsolete ) Early (on).
( obsolete ) Earlier , previously .
Preposition
or
( now archaic or dialect ) Before ; ere . Followed by "ever" or "ere".
1611 , The Holy Bible, (King James Version ), London: Robert Barker , , →OCLC , Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 :Or euer the siluer corde be loosed, or the golden bowle be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountaine, or the wheele broken at the cisterne. Then shall the dust returne to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall returne vnto God who gaue it.
1834 , Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner :I looked to heaven, and tried to pray; But or ever a prayer had gusht, A wicked whisper came, and made My heart as dry as dust.
1906 , Lord Dunsany [i.e. , Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], Time and the Gods , London: William Heineman, →OCLC , page 3 :And Time went forth into the worlds to obey the commands of the gods, yet he cast furtive glances at his masters, and the gods distrusted Time because he had known the worlds or ever the gods became.
References
^ Huddleston, Rodney (1988 ) English Grammar: An Outline , Cambridge University Press, →ISBN , pages 198–99
Anagrams
Aromanian
Etymology
From Latin ōrō . Compare Daco-Romanian ura , urez .
Verb
or first-singular present indicative (past participle uratã )
to pray
Synonyms
Basque
Etymology
1103; variant of hor , from Proto-Basque *hoŕ . Mostly replaced by zakur .
Pronunciation
Noun
or anim
dog
Declension
Declension of or (animate, ending in tap -r )
Synonyms
Further reading
“or ”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy ], Euskaltzaindia
“or ”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary ], Euskaltzaindia , 1987–2005
Catalan
Etymology
From Latin aurum , from Proto-Italic *auzom , from Proto-Indo-European *h₂é-h₂us-o- ( “ glow ” ) , from *h₂ews- ( “ to dawn, become light, become red ” ) .
Pronunciation
Noun
or m (plural ors )
gold
( heraldry ) or
Derived terms
French
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle French or , from Old French or , from Latin aurum , from Proto-Italic *auzom , from Proto-Indo-European *h₂é-h₂us-o- ( “ glow ” ) , from *h₂ews- ( “ to dawn, become light, become red ” ) .
Noun
or m (plural ors )
gold
( heraldry ) or ( yellow in heraldry )
Derived terms
Descendants
See also
Etymology 2
From Old French ore , from Vulgar Latin hā horā , alteration of hāc horā ( “ (in) this hour ” , ablative ) . Compare Spanish ahora , Portuguese agora .
Adverb
or
( obsolete ) now , presently
Conjunction
or
yet , however , now , that said , as it happens (introduces the second term in a syllogism )
Usage notes
This is often used to introduce contrasting information (like English however ). However, the information need not be contrasting, but can simply be supplemental information that leads to a subsequent conclusion (similar to English as it happens ).
Further reading
Ido
Etymology
Borrowing from French or , Italian ora and Spanish ahora .
Pronunciation
Conjunction
or
now , but ( in argument )
Usage notes
Or expresses not only a sequence of two propositions, but induces a new argument, a further premise, explanation, motive. When the premise (motive) follows the conclusion, nam is used instead.
Italian
Adverb
or (apocopated )
Apocopic form of ora ( “ now ” ) , used almost exclusively in the forms or ora ( “ just now ” ) and or sono ( “ ago ” ) .
Derived terms
Anagrams
Japanese
Particle
or( オア ) • (oa )
Alternative form of オア ( “ or ” )
Middle English
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old English ōr , from Proto-West Germanic *ōʀ , from Proto-Germanic *ōsaz , form Proto-Indo-European *h₃éh₁os ( “ mouth ” ) .
Pronunciation
Noun
or
( Early Middle English , hapax ) beginning , start
Etymology 2
Determiner
or
( chiefly Early Middle English and West Midland ) Alternative form of here ( “ their ” )
Etymology 3
Noun
or
Alternative form of ore ( “ honour ” )
Etymology 4
Noun
or
Alternative form of ore ( “ ore ” )
Etymology 5
Determiner
or
Alternative form of your
Middle French
aur ( alternate Latinized spelling )
Etymology
From Old French or .
Noun
or m (uncountable )
gold ( metal )
gold ( color )
Descendants
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Old Norse ǫlr , órir .
Noun
or f or m (definite singular ora or oren , indefinite plural orer , definite plural orene )
an alder (tree of genus Alnus )
Synonyms
References
“or” in The Bokmål Dictionary .
Norwegian Nynorsk
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Old Norse ǫlr , órir . Akin to English alder .
Noun
or f (definite singular ora , indefinite plural orer , definite plural orene )
or m (definite singular oren , indefinite plural orar , definite plural orane )
an alder (tree of genus Alnus )
Etymology 2
From Old Norse ór .
Preposition
or
out of
from
1956 , Olav H. Hauge , Gjer ein annan mann ei beine :Han kom or fjellet, skulde heim, [ …] . He came from the mountain, was heading home .
References
“or” in The Nynorsk Dictionary .
Old English
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *ōzô , *ōsaz , from Proto-Indo-European *h₃éh₁os ( “ mouth ” ) .
Pronunciation
Noun
ōr n
origin , beginning
Descendants
Middle English: or ( early, hapax )
References
Old French
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Latin aurum .
Noun
or oblique singular , m (oblique plural ors , nominative singular ors , nominative plural or )
gold ( metal )
gold ( color )
( by extension ) blond(e) color
Descendants
Middle French: or , aur ( alternate Latinized spelling )
Walloon: ôr
Etymology 2
See ore .
Adverb
or
Alternative form of ore
Old Frisian
Pronunciation
Adjective
ōr
Old West Frisian form of ōther
References
Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009 ) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary , Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN
Romanian
Pronunciation
Verb
(ele /ei ) or (modal auxiliary , third-person plural form of vrea , used with infinitives to form presumptive tenses )
(they) might
Verb
or (modal auxiliary , ? form of avea , used with ? to form ? tenses )
( informal , sometimes proscribed ) Variation of o in the third person plural.
Or să vină într-un minut.They will come in a minute.
Adverb
or
Alternative form of ori
Romansch
Etymology
From Latin aurum .
Noun
or m
( Sutsilvan , Puter , Vallader ) gold
Scots
Etymology
A variant of ere , obsolete in modern English.
Conjunction
or
before or until ( only in certain senses )
It'll nae be lang or A gang ma holiday. - It'll not be long until/ before I go on holiday
Usage notes
Not archaic, but rare amongst young people.
Scottish Gaelic
Etymology
Possibly from Old Irish amar ( “ song, singing ” ) . See òran .
Noun
or m (genitive singular ora , plural ora or orthachan or orrachan or orthannan )
hymn , incantation , petition , prayer
Synonyms
Verb
or (past dh’or , future oridh , verbal noun oradh , past participle orte )
chant , sing
Tha Màiri ag oradh . ― Mary is singing .
Swedish
Etymology
Related to orna ( “ moldy, spoiled by mites ” ) , Danish oret , of obscure ultimate origin. Compare oren ( “ impure, dirty, unclean, rotten ” ) .[ 1]
Noun
or n
any mite in the superfamily Acaroidea , order Astigmata
Usage notes
Popular as a crossword entry.
Declension
See also
References
^ “or ”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (in Swedish), 1937
Anagrams
Tocharian A
Etymology
From Proto-Indo-European *dóru , with unexplained loss of initial */d/. Compare Tocharian B or .
Noun
or n
wood
Tocharian B
Etymology
From Proto-Indo-European *dóru , with unexplained loss of initial */d/. Compare Tocharian A or .
Noun
or n
wood
Yola
Conjunction
or
Alternative form of ar
1867 , GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY , page 78 :Wich ad wough bethther kwingokee or baagchoosee vursth? Whether had we better churn or bake first?
1867 , “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY , number 9, page 88 :Na, now or neveare! w' cry't t' Tommeen, Nay, now or never! we cry'd to Tommy,
1867 , “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY , number 11 , page 88 :Up caame ee ball, an a dap or a kewe Up came the ball, and a tap or a shove
1867 , “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY , number 4, page 104 :Hea pryet ich mought na ha chicke or hen, He prayed I might not have chicken nor hen,
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