bo

English Online Dictionary. What means bo‎? What does bo mean?

Translingual

Symbol

bo

1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Tibetan.

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /bəʊ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /boʊ/
• Rhymes: -əʊ
• Homophones: beau, Bo, bow

Etymology 1

Imitative.

Alternative forms

• boh, boo

Interjection

bo

1. An exclamation used to startle or frighten.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Probably a shortening of boy.

Noun

bo (plural bos)

1. (US, slang) Fellow, chap, boy.

Etymology 3

From Japanese 棒 (bō), from Middle Chinese 棒 (bˠʌŋ^X, “staff, club”) (compare modern Chinese 棒 (bàng)).

Noun

bo (plural bos)

1. (martial arts) A quarterstaff, especially in an oriental context.

See also

Anagrams

• OB, Ob, Ob., ob, ob-, ob.

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch boven.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʊə/

Adverb

bo

1. above

Preposition

bo

1. above

Binongan Itneg

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: bo

Particle

bó

1. yes

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin bonus, from Old Latin duenos, later duonus, from Proto-Italic *dwenos. Numerous cognates include French bon and Portuguese bom.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈbɔ]
• Rhymes: -ɔ

Adjective

bo (feminine bona, masculine plural bons, feminine plural bones)

1. 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.
• “bo” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Cebuano

Noun

bo

1. arm wrestling

Verb

bo

1. to arm-wrestle

Cimbrian

Etymology 1

From Middle High German wā, from Old High German wār, hwār, from Proto-West Germanic *hwār, from Proto-Germanic *hwar (“where”). Cognate with German wo, English where.

Adverb

bo

1. (Luserna, interrogative) where

   Bo lebetar? ― Where do you live?

Alternative forms

• ba (Sette Comuni)

References

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole 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

1. (Sette Comuni) the ... the

References

• “bo” in Martalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo

Cornish

Pronunciation

(Revived Late Cornish) IPA^(key): /ˈboː/

Verb

bo

1. third-person singular present subjunctive of bos

Mutation

Cuiba

Noun

bo

1. home, house

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech bo, from Proto-Slavic *bo. Compare Polish bo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbo]

Conjunction

bo

1. (dialectal) as, since, because

   Synonym: neboť

Further reading

• “bo”, in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu (in Czech)
• “bo”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /boː/, [b̥oːˀ]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse bú, from Old Norse búa (“to reside”).

Noun

bo n (singular definite boet, plural indefinite boer)

1. estate (the property of a deceased person)
2. den, nest
3. abode, home

Inflection

Etymology 2

From Old Norse búa (“to reside”), from Proto-Germanic *būaną, cognate with Norwegian bo, bu, Swedish bo, German bauen, Dutch bouwen, Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌿𐌰𐌽 (bauan).

Verb

bo (present tense bor, past tense boede, past participle boet)

1. to live, reside, dwell

Conjugation

Dutch

Etymology

Clipping of boterham.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /boː/
• Rhymes: -oː

Noun

bo m (plural bo's, diminutive boke n)

1. (Belgium) sandwich

Duvle

Noun

bo

1. 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

• Homophone: bo-

Noun

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

1. The name of the Latin-script letter B/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

Fala

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese bõo, from Latin bonus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbo/
• Rhymes: -o
• Syllabification: bo

Adjective

bo (feminine boa, masculine plural bos, feminine plural boas)

1. good

Usage notes

• In Lagarteiru, when preceding a feminine noun as part of a noun phrase, the masculine forms are used.

Derived terms

Related terms

References

• Valeš, Miroslav (2021) Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)‎^[1], 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN

Fijian

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *baʀoq, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *baʀəq.

Noun

bo

1. (medicine) boil

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin bōs, bōvem, probably through Vulgar Latin *boem.

Noun

bo m (plural bûs)

1. ox

Synonyms

• nemâl

See also

• taur
• vacje

Galician

Alternative forms

• bon
• bó
• boo (dated)

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese bõo, from Latin bonus. Cognate with Portuguese bom and Spanish bueno.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈboː/

Adjective

bo (feminine boa, masculine plural bos, feminine plural boas)

1. good

   Antonyms: malo, mao

Derived terms

• aboar
• boanza
• Bonome
• Boo

Related terms

• ben

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “bo”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “bo”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “bo”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “bo”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology 1

From Portuguese vós. Cognate with Kabuverdianu bo.

Pronoun

bo

1. you (second person singular).
2. you (second person plural)

Etymology 2

From Portuguese bom. Cognate with Kabuverdianu bon.

Adjective

bo

1. good

Gunwinggu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpo/

Noun

bo

1. water
2. 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

1. Alternative spelling of boh

Anagrams

• Ob.

Japanese

Romanization

bo

1. The hiragana syllable ぼ (bo) or the katakana syllable ボ (bo) in Hepburn romanization.

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese vós.

Pronoun

bo

1. you (second person singular).

Kalasha

Etymology

From Sanskrit बहु (bahu), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰn̥ǵʰús. Cognate with Khowar بو (bo), Hindi बहुत (bahut).

Adverb

bo

1. very

Adjective

bo

1. many, a lot

Louisiana Creole

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bo/
• Rhymes: -o

Etymology 1

Inherited from French beau (“handsome, fine, attractive; boyfriend”).

Adjective

bo m (feminine bèl)

1. handsome, beautiful, pretty

   Synonyms: joli, vayan

   Antonyms: lèd, vilin

Noun

bo

1. (a) boyfriend

   Synonyms: boyfrìnn, lamour

   Coordinate terms: amoureu, amoureuz, bèl, blond, fyanse, gèlfrènn, kalènn, malin, négrès

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.) Compare Saint Dominican Creole French bobo, Haitian Creole bo.

Verb

bo

1. (transitive or intransitive) to kiss

   Synonyms: béké, embrasé

Noun

bo

1. (a) kiss

   Synonyms: bèk, nembrasad

References

• Alcée Fortier, Louisiana Folktales

Mandarin

Romanization

bo (bo⁵／bo⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄅㄛ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 卜
2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 啵
3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 噃
4. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蔔／卜

bo

1. Nonstandard spelling of bō.
2. Nonstandard spelling of bó.
3. Nonstandard spelling of bǒ.
4. Nonstandard spelling of bò.

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Mawes

Noun

bo

1. water

Further reading

• Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics)
• Mawes Swadesh List

Nabak

Noun

bo

1. pig

References

• Corinna Handschuh, A typology of marked-S languages

Northern Kurdish

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -oː

Preposition

bo

1. for

Derived terms

• ji bo
• bo çi

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle Low German behof (compare with behov).

Noun

bo (indeclinable) (idiomatic use only)

1. (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 Danish bo, from Old Norse bú (“settled area, town”) (compare alternative form bu). Akin to bod (“store room, booth”) and the verb bo (“to live”).

Alternative forms

• bu (Nynorsk also)

Noun

bo n (definite singular boet, indefinite plural bo, definite plural boa or boene)

1. one's home (mainly idiomatic)

2. estate

Synonyms

• (one's home): bolig, hjem/heim
• (estate): eiendom, gods

Derived terms

See combined section below.

Etymology 3

From Danish bo, from Old Norse búa (“to prepare, finish, make preparations, equip”), cognate with Old English būan, Old Frisian buwa, Old Saxon būan and Old High German būan (whence German bauen).

Alternative forms

• bu (Nynorsk also)

Verb

bo (imperative bo, present tense bor, simple past bodde, past participle bodd, present participle boende)

1. to live (have permanent residence), stay

2. 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 German behof (compare behov).

Noun

bo (indeclinable) (idiomatic use only)

1. (uncountable, usually with ha, uncommon) a need

Synonyms

• behøve
• trenge
• turve
• ha bruk for

Related terms

• behov

References

• “bo” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *bo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈbo/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈbo/

Conjunction

bo

1. because

Descendants

• Czech: bo

References

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “bo”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Old Norse

Alternative forms

• bú (“Old West Norse”)

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *būą.

Noun

bo n

1. (Old East Norse) dwelling
   • Late 10th century, Karlevi Runestone

Old Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *bo. First attested in the first half of the 14th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /bɔ/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /bɔ/

Conjunction

bo

1. (attested in Greater Poland) because

Descendants

• Polish: bo
• Silesian: bo

References

• Sławski, Franciszek (1958-1965) “bo”, in Jan Safarewicz, Andrzej Siudut, editors, Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), Kraków: Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego
• Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “bo”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
• Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “bo”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “bo”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Papiamentu

Alternative forms

• abo (synonym)

Etymology

From Portuguese vós and Spanish vos and Kabuverdianu bo.

Pronoun

bo

1. you (second person singular)

Determiner

bo

1. your

Peranakan Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from Hokkien 無／无 (bô, “not”).

Adverb

bo

1. not: negation particle

Derived terms

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish bo.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔ
• Syllabification: bo

Conjunction

bo

1. because, for (by or for the cause that)

   Synonyms: albowiem, boć, bowiem, dlatego że, gdyż, jako że, ponieważ

   Nie zadzwoniłem, bo spałem. ― I didn't call because I was sleeping.

   Bo nie. ― Because I said no.

   Bo tak. ― Because reasons.

2. or, or else, otherwise

   Synonyms: bo inaczej, inaczej, w przeciwnym razie, w przeciwnym wypadku

   Bo co? ― Or else what?

   Wstawaj już, bo spóźnisz się do szkoły! ― Get up now or you'll be late for school!

3. because (as is known, inferred, or determined from the fact that)

   On nie jest miły, bo nie chciał dać mi swoich ciasteczek. ― He isn't nice because he didn't want to give me his cookies.

4. (Kuyavia) or, either

   Synonym: albo

5. (Middle Polish) namely

   Synonym: mianowicie

6. (Middle Polish) The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
   1. also; even
7. (Middle Polish) The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:

Particle

bo

1. emphasizes the statement, usually in phrases of opposite meanings, or introduces a rhetorical question, denying its literal meaning

   Synonyms: bo i, bo niby

   Ładna, bo ładna, ale głupia. ― Well, she might be pretty, but she is also stupid.

   Bo to prawda? ― Is this really true?

   Bo ja wiem? ― How am I supposed to know that?

   Nigdy o tym nie mówiłem, bo i po co? ― I never talked about it because why would I?

2. (with ale) may very well, but, even though, despite

   Stary, bo stary, ale mocny. ― He very well may be old, but he's still strong.

   Trudno bo trudno, ale robi się łatwiej. ― It may very well be hard, but it's getting easier.

Usage notes

Combined forms for this word are uncommon and often formed for stylization.

Declension

Derived terms

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), bo is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 35 times in scientific texts, 5 times in news, 87 times in essays, 231 times in fiction, and 378 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 736 times, making it the 62nd most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

References

Further reading

• bo in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• bo in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “bo”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• “BO”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 2016 September 21
• “BO”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 2008 January 14
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “bo”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “bo”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “bo”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 178
• bo in Narodowy Fotokorpus Języka Polskiego
• Józef Bliziński (1860) “bo”, in Abecadłowy spis wyrazów języka ludowego w Kujawach i Galicyi Zachodniej (in Polish), Warszawa, page 620
• Oskar Kolberg (1867) “bo”, in Dzieła wszystkie: Kujawy (in Polish), page 268

Romagnol

Etymology

From Latin bōs (“cow, bull”).

Pronunciation

• (Central Romagnol): IPA^(key): [ˈbɔ]

• (Ville Unite):

Noun

bo m (plural bu) (Ville Unite)

1. ox

References

• Ercolani, Libero (1971) Vocabolario Romagnolo-Italiano, Monte di Ravenna, page 51

Silesian

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish bo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔ/
• Rhymes: -ɔ
• Syllabification: bo

Conjunction

bo

1. because

Particle

bo

1. emphasizes the statement, usually in phrases of opposite meanings, or introduces a rhetorical question, denying its literal meaning

Further reading

• bo in dykcjonorz.eu
• bo in silling.org

Slovene

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bóː/

Verb

bọ̑

1. third-person singular future of bíti

Spanish

Alternative forms

• vo

Interjection

bo

1. (Uruguay, colloquial) hey, mate, dude

   Synonym: che

Sranan Tongo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bo/

Etymology 1

Contraction of ben and o.

Particle

bo

1. Marker for the irrealis mood.

Etymology 2

From English bow.

Noun

bo

1. bow, arch

Related terms

• alenbo (“rainbow”)

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [buː]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse búa, from Proto-Germanic *būaną.

Verb

bo (present bor, preterite bodde, supine bott, imperative bo)

1. (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

bo n

1. a dwelling (of an animal), especially a bird's nest

2. (poetic, extended from sense 1) a home

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

References

• bo in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• bo in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• bo in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Tày

Pronunciation

• (Thạch An – Tràng Định) IPA^(key): [ɓɔ˧˧]
• (Trùng Khánh) IPA^(key): [ɓɔ˦˥]

Noun

bo

1. spathe

   bo mảy ― spathe of bamboo shoots

   bo làng ― spathe of areca palms

References

• Lương Bèn (2011) Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary]‎^[8][9] (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên

Venetan

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *boem, from Latin bos, bovem.

Noun

bo m (invariable)

1. ox

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɔ˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɔ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɔ˧˧]

Etymology 1

From French bore.

Noun

bo

1. boron

Etymology 2

Verb

bo

1. Alternative form of boa (“to leave a tip”)

Welsh

Alternative forms

• byddo

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -oː

Verb

bo

1. (literary) third-person singular present subjunctive of bod

Derived terms

• cyn bo hir

Mutation

West Makian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bo/

Noun

bo

1. penis

References

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[10], Pacific linguistics

Xhosa

Pronoun

-bo

1. Combining stem of bona.

Yale

Pronoun

bo

1. I (first-person singular personal pronoun)

Zaghawa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bo/

Noun

bo

1. bull
2. shepherd's crook
3. handle (of a tool, etc. - a stick to hold something with)

References

• Beria-English English-Beria Dictionary [provisional] ADESK, Iriba, Kobe Department, Chad

Zhuang

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 坡 (pʰuɑ).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /po˨˦/
• Tone numbers: bo¹
• Hyphenation: bo

Noun

bo (Sawndip forms 𡏋 or 圤 or 坡 or 𫭝, 1957–1982 spelling bo)

1. mountain slope; hillside; mountainside

Zulu

Pronoun

-bo

1. Combining stem of bona.