1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin 2010, p. 255:
‘Never heard of him,’ he smiled. ‘On your way, bo.’
Etymology 3
From Japanese棒(bō), from Middle Chinese棒(bǽwng, “staff, club”) (compare modern Chinese棒(bàng)).
Noun
bo (pluralbos)
(martial arts) A quarterstaff, especially in an oriental context.
Anagrams
OB, Ob, Ob., ob, ob-, ob.
Afrikaans
Etymology
From Dutchboven
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /bʊə/
Adverb
bo
above
Preposition
bo
above
Catalan
Etymology
From Old Occitanbon, from Latinbonus, from Old Latinduenos, later duonus, from Proto-Italic*dwenos, from Proto-Indo-European*dew-(“to show favor, revere”). Numerous cognates include French bon and Portuguese bom.
Pronunciation
(Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA(key): /ˈbɔ/
Rhymes: -ɔ
Adjective
bo (femininebona, masculine pluralbons, feminine pluralbones)
good
Usage notes
The form bon is used as the masculine singular form when the adjective precedes the noun, and bo is used in all other cases.
Derived terms
Related terms
bondat
See also
bé, ben
Further reading
“bo” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Cebuano
Noun
bo
arm wrestling
Verb
bo
to arm-wrestle
Cimbrian
Etymology 1
From Middle High Germanwā, from Old High Germanwār, hwār, from Proto-West Germanic*hwār, from Proto-Germanic*hwar(“where”). Cognate with Germanwo, Englishwhere.
Adverb
bo
(Luserna, interrogative) where
Alternative forms
ba (Sette Comuni)
References
“bo” in Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Ünsarne Börtar [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Conjunction
bo
(Sette Comuni) the ... the
References
“bo” in Martalar, Umberto Martello; Bellotto, Alfonso, Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo, 1974
Cuiba
Noun
bo
home, house
Czech
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic*bo. Compare Polishbo.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): [ˈbo]
Conjunction
bo
(dialectal) as, since, because
Synonyms
neboť
Further reading
bo in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu
bo in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
From Old Norsebúa(“to reside”), from Proto-Germanic*būaną, cognate with Norwegianbo, bu, Swedishbo, Germanbauen, Dutchbouwen, Gothic𐌱𐌰𐌿𐌰𐌽(bauan).
Verb
bo (present tensebor, past tenseboede, past participleboet)
to live, reside, dwell
Inflection
Dutch
Etymology
Clipping of boterham.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /boː/
Rhymes: -oː
Noun
bom (pluralbo's, diminutiveboken)
(Belgium) sandwich
Duvle
Noun
bo
fire
Further reading
Bill Palmer, The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area (→ISBN, 2017), page 531, table 95, Comparative basic vocabulary in Lakes Plain Languages
Esperanto
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /bo/
Hyphenation: bo
Audio:
Homophone: bo-
Noun
bo (accusative singularbo-on, pluralbo-oj, accusative pluralbo-ojn)
The name of the Latin-script letter B.
See also
(Latin-script letter names)litero; a, bo, co, ĉo, do, e, fo, go, ĝo, ho, ĥo, i, jo, ĵo, ko, lo, mo, no, o, po, ro, so, ŝo, to, u, ŭo, vo, zo
Friulian
Etymology
From Latinbōs, bōvem, probably through Vulgar Latin*boem.
Noun
bom (pluralbûs)
ox
Synonyms
nemâl
See also
taur
vacje
Galician
Alternative forms
bon
boo(dated)
Etymology
From Old Galician and Old Portuguesebõo, from Latinbonus. Cognate with Portuguesebom and Spanishbueno.
“bo” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006-2012.
“bo” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006-2013.
“bo” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
“bo” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.
Guinea-Bissau Creole
Etymology 1
From Portuguesevós. Cognate with Kabuverdianubo.
Pronoun
bo
you (second person singular).
you (second person plural)
Etymology 2
From Portuguesebom. Cognate with Kabuverdianubon.
Adjective
bo
good
Gunwinggu
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ˈpo/
Noun
bo
water
liquid
Derived terms
References
Lynette Frances Oates, A Tentative Description of the Gunwinggu Language (1964)
Steven and Narelle Etherington, Kunwinjku Kunwok: A Short Introduction to Kunwinjku Language and Society (third edition, 1998)
Italian
Interjection
bo
Alternative spelling of boh
Japanese
Romanization
bo
Rōmaji transcription of ぼ
Rōmaji transcription of ボ
Kabuverdianu
Etymology
From Portuguesevós.
Pronoun
bo
you (second person singular).
Kalasha
Etymology
From Sanskritबहु(bahu), from Proto-Indo-European*bʰn̥ǵʰús. Cognate with Hindiबहुत(bahut).
Adverb
bo
very
Adjective
bo
many, a lot
Louisiana Creole French
Etymology
Compare Haitian Creolebo.
Verb
bo
to kiss
References
Alcée Fortier, Louisiana Folktales
Mandarin
Romanization
bo (Zhuyin˙ㄅㄛ)
Pinyin transcription of 卜
Pinyin transcription of 啵
Pinyin transcription of 噃
Pinyin transcription of 蔔
bo
Nonstandard spelling of bō.
Nonstandard spelling of bó.
Nonstandard spelling of bǒ.
Nonstandard spelling of bò.
Usage notes
English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.
Mawes
Noun
bo
water
Further reading
Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics)
Mawes Swadesh List
Nabak
Noun
bo
pig
References
Corinna Handschuh, A typology of marked-S languages
Northern Kurdish
Pronunciation
Rhymes: -oː
Preposition
bo
for
Derived terms
ji bo
bo çi
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Middle Low Germanbehof (compare with behov)
Noun
bo (indeclinable) (idiomatic use only)
(uncountable, usually with ha) a need
Usage notes
A noun not commonly used.
Synonyms
behøve
trenge
ha bruk for
Related terms
behov
Etymology 2
From Danishbo, from Old Norsebú(“settled area, town”) (compare alternative form bu). Akin to bod(“store room, booth”) and the verb bo(“to live”).
From Danishbo, from Old Norsebúa(“to prepare, finish, make preparations, equip”), cognate with Old Englishbūan, Old Frisian buwa, Old Saxonbūan and Old High Germanbūan (whence Germanbauen).
Alternative forms
bu(Nynorsk also)
Verb
bo (imperativebo, present tensebor, simple pastbodde, past participlebodd, present participleboende)
to live(have permanent residence), stay
to be, to dwell, to be in
(Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson)
(literally: "you have no idea what really dwells in her")
Synonyms
(to live, have residence):holde hus (holde til huse), holde til husere, kampere, leve, losjere, oppholde seg, residere, tilbringe
(to dwell in, be in):finnes, rommes, skjule seg, være, være til stede
Derived terms
(Noun and verb)
References
“bo” in The Ordnett Dictionary
“bo” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
search on "bo" on Ordtak.no - web site containing quotes and citations
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Middle Low Germanbehof (compare behov)
Noun
bo (indeclinable) (idiomatic use only)
(uncountable, usually with ha) a need
Usage notes
A noun not commonly used.
Synonyms
behøve
trenge
turve
ha bruk for
Related terms
behov
References
“bo” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old Norse
Alternative forms
bú(“Old West Norse”)
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic*būą.
Noun
bon
(Old East Norse) dwelling
Late 10th century, Karlevi Runestone
Papiamentu
Alternative forms
abo(synonym)
Etymology
From Portuguesevós and Spanishvos and Kabuverdianubo.
Pronoun
bo
you (second person singular)
Determiner
bo
your
Polish
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic*bo.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /bɔ/
Conjunction
bo
because, for
Synonyms:ponieważ, gdyż, bowiem, albowiem, dlatego że, jako że
or (else)
Particle
bo
emphasizes the statement, usually in phrases of opposite meanings, or introduces a rhetorical question, denying its literal meaning
Further reading
bo in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
bo in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Slovene
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /bóː/
Verb
bọ̑
third-person singular future of bíti
Spanish
Alternative forms
vo
Interjection
bo
(Uruguay, colloquial) hey, mate, dude
Synonym:che
Sranan Tongo
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /bo/
Etymology 1
Contraction of ben and o.
Particle
bo
Marker for the irrealis mood.
Etymology 2
From Englishbow.
Noun
bo
bow, arch
Related terms
alenbo(“rainbow”)
Swedish
Pronunciation
IPA(key): [buː]
Etymology 1
From Old Norsebúa, from Proto-Germanic*būaną.
Verb
bo (presentbor, preteritebodde, supinebott, imperativebo)
(intransitive) live; dwell; reside; to have permanent residence
Conjugation
Related terms
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
bon
nest; the place where certain animals live, in particular birds.
(poetic, extended from sense 1) a home
1893, Elias Sehlstedt, Visa
Usage notes
The use of "bo" as a shorthand for "bostad" and "boende" (housing) goes back at least to the 1920s, for example in the name of trade expos like "Bygge och Bo" (1925).
Declension
Alternative form for the definite singular: bot/bots.
Related terms
See also
gryt
kula
näste
råtthål
Tasmanian
Pronoun
bo
I
Synonyms
narrar
References
N.J.B. Plomley, A word-list of the Tasmanian aboriginal languages[1], 1976
Venetian
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin*boem, from Latinbos, bovem.
Noun
bom (invariable)
ox
Vietnamese
Pronunciation
(Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔɓɔ˧˧]
(Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɓɔ˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ʔɓɔ˧˧]
Etymology 1
From Frenchbore.
Noun
bo
boron
Etymology 2
Verb
bo
Alternative form of boa(“to leave a tip”)
Welsh
Alternative forms
byddo
Verb
bo
(literary)third-person singular present subjunctive of bod