From Middle Englishho, hoo(interjection), probably from Old Norsehó!(interjection, also, a shepherd's call). Compare Germanho, Old Frenchho !(“hold!, halt!”).
Interjection
ho
(nautical) Used to attract attention to something sighted, usually by lookouts.
halloo; hey; a call to excite attention, or to give notice of approach
(Can we date this quote by Bishop Joseph Hall and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
Ho! all ye females that would live unshent, / Fly from the reach of Cyned's regiment.
Translations
Noun
ho
A stop; a halt; a moderation of pace.
(Can we date this quote by Decker and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
There is no ho with them.
References
1996, T.F. Hoad, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Etymology, Oxford University Press, →ISBN
Etymology 2
Pronunciation spelling of whore in a non-rhotic accent with the dough-door merger, which is found in some varieties of African American Vernacular English. Compare mo(“more”), fo'(“for; four”).
Alternative forms
hoe
Noun
ho (pluralhosorhoes)
(slang, euphemistic) A whore; a sexually promiscuous woman; in general use as a highly offensive name-calling word for a woman with connotations of loose sexuality.
2010 God Went Fishing 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.
Synonyms
See also Thesaurus:promiscuous woman
Translations
Etymology 3
From Middle Englishhowe, houwe, hoȝe, from Old Englishhogu and hoga, from Proto-Germanic*hugô, *hugiz, *huguz(“mind, thought, understanding”), akin to Old High Germanhugu, hugi (Middle High Germanhüge), Old Saxonhugi (Middle Dutchhöghe, Dutchheug ), Old Norsehugr, Gothic𐌷𐌿𐌲𐍃(hugs).
Alternative forms
hoe
Noun
ho (pluralhos)
(obsolete) Care, anxiety, trouble, sorrow.
1567, G. Turberville tr. A. Sani di Cure Aunsweres in tr. Ovid Heroycall Epist. 155v:
Though there bee A thousand cares that heape my hoe.
1798, C. Smith, Young Philosopher I. 195:
Him that..this gentlewoman is in such a hoe about.
1869-70, William Barnes, The Widow’s House, Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect:
But by day to the zun they must rise To their true lives o' tweil an' ov ho.
1875, W. D. Parish Dict. Sussex Dial (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 Englishhowen, hoȝen, hogien, from Old Englishhogian, hugian, from Proto-Germanic*hugjaną. Cognate with Middle Scots huik, Old High Germanhucken, Old Saxonhuggjan, Dutchheugen, Old Norsehyggja, Gothic𐌷𐌿𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽(hugjan).
Alternative forms
hoe
Verb
ho
(obsolete) To care, be anxious, long.
1787, F. Grose, Provinc. Gloss (at cited word):
To ho for anything, to long for any thing. Berks.
1847-78, J. O. Halliwell, Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words:
Ho...to long for anything; to be careful and anxious. West.
1869-70, 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, T. Hardy, Far from Madding Crowd II. xxiii. 289:
To ho and hanker after thik woman.
1888, B. Lowsley, Gloss. Berks. Words & Phrases:
Ho, to long for; to care greatly for.
Anagrams
OH, oh
Catalan
Pronunciation
(Eastern) IPA(key): /u/, /əw/
(Western) IPA(key): /u/, /ew/, /o/
(Valencian) IPA(key): /ew/, /u/, /o/
Etymology
From Latinhoc.
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.
Declension
Contraction
Chickasaw
Pronoun
ho
they
Czech
Pronunciation
IPA(key): [ˈɦo]
Pronoun
hom, n
accusative of on
Synonym:jej
accusative of ono
Danish
Interjection
ho
(onomatopoeia)Signifies a hearty laugh.
See also
ha, he, hi, hæ, hø, hår
Esperanto
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ho/
Hyphenation: ho
Audio:
Noun
ho (accusative singularho-on, pluralho-oj, accusative pluralho-ojn)
The name of the Latin-script letter H.
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
Interjection
ho
oh
French
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /o/
Interjection
ho
Used by tamer to calm the animal they are taming, especially horses; whoa.
Used to express surprise or shock.
Galician
Etymology
From home(“man”).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ˈɔ/
Interjection
ho!
used closing the sentence to bolster the attention of the listener; emphatic
References
“ho” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006-2013.
“ho” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
“ho” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.
Guaraní
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ho/
Verb
ho (active, intransitive, irregular)
to go
Che ahata che rógape.
I am going home.
Conjugation
(che) aha
(nde) reho
(ha'e) oho
(ñande) jaha
(ore) roho
(peẽ) peho
(ha'ekuéra) oho
Italian
Alternative forms
o (misspelling)
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ɔ/
Rhymes: -ɔ
Verb
ho
first-person singular present indicative of avere(“I have”)
Japanese
Romanization
ho
Rōmaji transcription of ほ
Rōmaji transcription of ホ
Lower Sorbian
Preposition
ho
Obsolete spelling of wó
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old Englishhwā
Pronoun
ho
who
Etymology 2
From Old Englishhē, from Proto-Germanic*hiz(“this, this one”).
Pronoun
ho
Alternative form of he
References
“he, (pron.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 6 May 2018.
Etymology 3
Pronoun
ho
Alternative form of heo
References
“he, pron. (2)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 10 June 2018.
Etymology 4
From Old Englishhīe, hī.
Pronoun
ho
Alternative form of he
References
“he, pron. (3)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 12 June 2018.
Norwegian Bokmål
Alternative forms
hun
Etymology
From Old Norsehon.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /huː/
Pronoun
ho (accusativehenne, genitivehennes)
(nonstandard, since 2005)she(third person singular, feminine)
Norwegian Nynorsk
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /huː/ (example of pronunciation)
Etymology 1
From Old Norsehon.
Pronoun
ho (accusativehoorhenne, genitivehennar)
Pronoun
ho
she, it (third person singular, feminine)
her
Synonym:henne
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.”)
Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 110
Romanian
Interjection
ho
Used to calm or stop a domestic animal, especially horses; whoa.
(vulgar)Used to calm down a person.
Slovak
Pronunciation
IPA(key): [ɦo]
Pronoun
ho
short genitive/accusative singular of on
short genitive/accusative singular of ono
Synonyms
(long form):jeho
(prepositional form):neho
Swedish
Noun
hoc
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.
Declension
Related terms
Pronoun
ho
(obsolete) who
(dialectal) she
See also
hon
vem
Tagalog
Particle
ho
(Batangas) a honorific particle
Synonym:po(Manila, Standard Tagalog, other dialects)
Vietnamese
Etymology
From Proto-Vietic*hɔː.
Pronunciation
(Hà Nội) IPA(key): [hɔ˧˧]
(Huế) IPA(key): [hɔ˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [hɔ˧˧]
Verb
ho • (呼, 𤵡)
to cough
Derived terms
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)
Zhuang
Etymology
Cognate with Bouyeihol(“garlic”).
This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.