do - synonyms, antonyms, definitions

do

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of do in English

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

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English don, from Old English dōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dōn, from Proto-Germanic *dōną, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, do, make”).

For senses 4 and 5, compare Old Norse duga, whence Danish du.

The past tense form is from Middle English didde, dude, from Old English dyde, *diede, an unexpected development from Proto-Germanic *dedǭ/*dedē (the expected reflex would be *ded), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰédʰeh₁ti, an athematic e-reduplicated verb of the same root *dʰeh₁-.

The meaningless use of do in interrogative, negative, and affirmative sentences (e.g. "Do you like painting?" "Yes, I do"), existing in some form in most Germanic languages, is thought by some linguists to be one of the Brittonicisms in English, calqued from Brythonic. It is first recorded in Middle English, where it may have marked the perfective aspect, though in some cases the meaning seems to be imperfective. In Early Modern English, any meaning in such contexts was lost, making it a dummy auxiliary, and soon thereafter its use became mandatory in most questions and negations.

Doublets include deed, deem, and -dom, but not deal.

Other cognates include, via Latin, English feast, festival, fair (“celebration”), via Greek, English theo-, theme, thesis, and Sanskrit दधाति (dadhāti, “to put”), धातृ (dhātṛ, “creator”) and धातु (dhātu, “layer, element, root”).

Pronunciation

(stressed) enPR: do͞o, IPA^(key): /duː/
- (UK) IPA^(key): /duː/
- (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /du/
- (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /dʉː/
(unstressed, before a consonant) IPA^(key): /də/
(unstressed, before a vowel) IPA^(key): /dʊ/
(colloquial; for some speakers, when "do" is unstressed and the next word starts with /j/) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒ/. See d'you.
Rhymes: -uː
Homophones: doo, Doubs, doux
Homophones: dew, due (yod-dropping)

Verb

do (third-person singular simple present does, present participle doing, simple past did, past participle done)

(auxiliary) A syntactic marker.
1. (auxiliary) A syntactic marker in a question whose main verb is not another auxiliary verb or be.
2. (auxiliary) A syntactic marker in negations with the indicative and imperative moods.
3. (auxiliary) A syntactic marker for emphasis with the indicative, imperative, and subjunctive moods.
4. (pro-verb) A syntactic marker that refers back to an earlier verb and allows the speaker to avoid repeating the verb; in most dialects, not used with auxiliaries such as be, though it can be in AAVE.
5. (auxiliary, archaic, dialectal) Used to form the present progressive of verbs.
(transitive) To perform; to execute.
Synonyms: accomplish, carry out, functionate
(obsolete, transitive) To cause, make (someone) (do something).
(intransitive, transitive) To suffice.
(intransitive) To be reasonable or acceptable.
(ditransitive) To have (as an effect).
(intransitive) To fare, perform (well or poorly).
1. (especially England, intransitive) To fare well; to thrive; to prosper; (of livestock) to fatten.
(transitive, chiefly in questions) To have as one's job.
(transitive) To perform the tasks or actions associated with (something).
(transitive) To cook.
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:cook
(transitive) To travel in, to tour, to make a circuit of.
(transitive) To treat in a certain way.
(transitive) To work for or on, by way of caring for, looking after, preparing, cleaning, keeping in order, etc.
(intransitive, obsolete) To act or behave in a certain manner; to conduct oneself.
(transitive) To spend (time) in jail. (See also do time)
Synonym: serve
(transitive) To impersonate or depict.
Synonyms: imitate, personate, take off
(transitive, with 'a' and the name of a person, place, event, etc.) To copy or emulate the actions or behaviour that is associated with the person or thing mentioned.
(transitive, slang) To kill.
Synonyms: do in, murder, off, rub out; see also Thesaurus:kill
(transitive, slang) To deal with for good and all; to finish up; to undo; to ruin; to do for.
(transitive, informal) To punish for a misdemeanor.
(transitive, slang) To have sex with. (See also do it)
Synonyms: go to bed with, sleep with; see also Thesaurus:copulate with
(transitive) To cheat or swindle.
Synonyms: defraud, diddle, mug off, rip off, scam; see also Thesaurus:deceive
(transitive) To convert into a certain form; especially, to translate.
(transitive, intransitive) To finish.
(stock exchange) To cash or to advance money for, as a bill or note.
(informal, transitive, ditransitive) To make or provide.
Synonyms: furnish, give, supply; see also Thesaurus:give
(informal, transitive) To injure (one's own body part).
(transitive) To take (a drug).
(transitive, in the form be doing [somewhere]) To exist with a purpose or for a reason.
(informal, transitive) To drive a vehicle at a certain speed, especially in regard to a speed limit.

Usage notes

In older forms of English, when the pronoun thou was in active use, and verbs used -est for distinct second-person singular indicative forms, the verb do had two such forms: dost, in auxiliary uses, and doest, in other uses. The past tense of both forms is didst.
Similarly, when the ending -eth was in active use for third-person singular present indicative forms, the form doth was used as an auxiliary, and the form doeth was used elsewhere.

Conjugation

Antonyms

don't

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

do (plural dos or do's or (uncommon) doos)

(UK, informal) A party, celebration, social function; usually of moderate size and formality.
Synonyms: get-together; see also Thesaurus:party
(informal) Clipping of hairdo.
Alternative form: 'do
(chiefly fossilized) Something that can or should be done.
Antonym: don't
(chiefly obsolete, fossilized in the UK) Something that has been done.
(archaic) Ado; bustle; stir; to-do; A period of confusion or argument.
Synonym: to-do
(obsolete, UK, slang) A cheat; a swindler.
(obsolete, UK, slang) An act of swindling; a fraud or deception.
(UK, slang) A homicide.

Usage notes

For the plural of the noun, the spelling dos would be correct; do's is often used for the sake of legibility, but is sometimes considered incorrect.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Coined by Italian musicologist Giovanni Battista Doni in 1635 as an easier-to-sing open-syllable revision to the solmization ut of Guido of Arezzo, from the first syllable of Latin Dominus (“The Lᴏʀᴅ”) (speculated by some to be an ulterior abbreviation of Giovanni Battista Doni) on the pattern of other Latinate solfège with the stated justification that God is the tonic and root of the world.

Alternative forms

doh, Do

Pronunciation

(UK) enPR: dō, IPA^(key): /dəʊ/
(US) enPR: dō, IPA^(key): /doʊ/
Rhymes: -əʊ
Homophones: doe, dough, d'oh

Noun

do (plural dos)

(music) A syllable used in solfège to represent the first and eighth tonic of a major scale.
Synonym: (archaic) ut

Translations

Etymology 3

Short for ditto.

Alternative forms

Adverb

do (not comparable)

(archaic) Abbreviation of ditto.

Etymology 4

Shortening of dozen.

Pronunciation

(UK) enPR: dō, IPA^(key): /dəʊ/
(US) enPR: dō, IPA^(key): /doʊ/

Numeral

The cardinal number occurring after el and before do one in a duodecimal system. Written 10, decimal value 12.

References

“do”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

O.D., OD, O&D, od, Od, O/D

Albanian

Alternative forms

don — Gheg

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /do/, [do], [dɔ]

Verb

second/third-person singular present indicative of dua; “you want/love”, “he/she/it wants/loves”

Atong (India)

Etymology

From Hindi दो (do).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /do/

Numeral

do (Bengali script দো)

Synonyms

ni
rongni
tu

References

van Breugel, Seino. 2015. Atong-English dictionary, second edition. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/487044/Atong_English_Dictionary. Stated in Appendix 3.

Bambara

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [dòꜜò]

Noun

group

References

2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Barai

Noun

water

References

The Papuan Languages of New Guinea (1986, →ISBN)

Bavarian

Etymology

From Middle High German doch, from Old High German doh, from Proto-West Germanic *þauh, from Proto-Germanic *þauh. Cognates include German doch, Dutch doch, Yiddish דאָך (dokh), Luxembourgish dach, English though, Old Norse þó, Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌿𐌷 (þauh).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /d̥oː/

Adverb

Expresses a contrast
1. Contradicts what may be believed and/or emphasises a certainty: certainly, but, really, just (always unstressed)
  Mia san do kane Trottln. ― We certainly are no idiots.
  
  Des Gschäft håd do zugsperrt. ― But the shop has closed down.
  
  Den kenn i do! ― I do know him.
  
  I wui do nur wissa, wo's då auße geht. ― I really just want to know where the exit is.
2. Emphasis on a different outcome than expected: after all, in the end (always stressed)
  Mia san do kane Trottln. ― We are no idiots after all.
  
  Des Gschäft håd do zugsperrt. ― The shop has closed down after all.
  
  I håb's versuacht, owa dånn do ned gschåfft. ― I've tried, but in the end I failed.

Boko

Numeral

Catalan

Etymology 1

From Latin dōnum (“gift”).

Pronunciation

(traditional) IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈdo]
(more commonly) IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈdɔ]

Noun

do m (plural dons)

gift
talent

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Italian do.

Pronunciation

(originally, Italianate) IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈdɔ]
(more commonly) IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈdo]

Noun

do m (plural dos)

(music) do (first note of diatonic scale)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈdo]

Verb

(obsolete) first-person singular present indicative of dar

Central Franconian

Etymology 1

From Old High German dār (“there”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dɔː/

Adverb

here; there; in this or that place

Etymology 2

From Old High German duo (“then”), variant of do, dō. Compare German da, Dutch toen.

Alternative forms

du, dunn (southern Moselle Francoinan)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /doː/ (traditional)
IPA^(key): /dɔː/ (now sometimes by conflation with etymology 1 under standard German influence)

Adverb

(Ripuarian, northern Moselle Franconian) then; back then (at a certain time in the past)

Etymology 3

From Old High German du.

Alternative forms

du (many dialects)
dou (some dialects of Moselle Franconian)
de (unstressed form)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /doː/

Pronoun

(few dialects, including Kölsch) thou; you (singular)

Chinese

Etymology

From English do. Resemblance to Taishanese 做 (du¹, “to do”) is probably coincidence.

Pronunciation

Verb

do (Hong Kong Cantonese)

to do
to work
(euphemistic) to have sex

Synonyms

做 (zou⁶)

Derived terms

References

Bolton, Kingsley, Hutton, Christopher (2005) A Dictionary of Cantonese Slang: The Language of Hong Kong Movies, Street Gangs and City Life, Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, →ISBN, page 100
English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech do, from Proto-Slavic *do.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈdo]

Preposition

do [with genitive]

into, in (to the inside of)
Vešel do místnosti. ― He walked into the room.

Dostala se jí voda do bot. ― Water got in her boots.
to, in (in the direction of, and arriving at; indicating destination)
Jdeme do obchodu. ― We are walking to the shop.

Přiletěli jsme do New Yorku. ― We arrived in New York.
until (up to the time of)
Zůstal tam až do neděle. ― He stayed there until Sunday.
by (at some time before the given time)
Ať jsi zpátky do desíti! ― Be back by ten o'clock!
to, in (physical blows "to" a body part)
Do hlavy ne! ― Don’t hit me in the head!

Oběť byla pobodána do břicha ― Victim has stab wounds to the stomach.
to, up to (extreme limit, all the way up to)
Budeme si to pamatovat do posledního dechu ― We will remember it till our last breath.

Dutch

Etymology

From Italian do (“the note”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /doː/
Hyphenation: do
Rhymes: -oː

Noun

do m or f (plural do's)

do, the musical note
(Belgium) C, the musical note

Synonyms

ut (archaic)

Esperanto

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [do]
Hyphenation: do

Etymology 1

Noun

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

The name of the Latin-script letter D/d.

Etymology 2

From French donc, possibly via apheresis of Latin ad tunc (see adonc). Compare Italian dunque, Romanian atunci, Spanish entonces.

Adverb

therefore, then, so (with conclusion), indeed, however

Fala

Alternative forms

du (Lagarteiru, Valverdeñu)

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese do, equivalent to de (“of”) +‎ o (masculine singular definite article).

Contraction

do m sg (plural dos, feminine da, feminine plural das)

(Mañegu) of the

References

Valeš, Miroslav (2021) Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)‎^[19], 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN

Faroese

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian do.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /toː/
Rhymes: -oː

Noun

do n (genitive singular dos, plural do)

(music) do

Declension

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /do/
Rhymes: -o

Noun

do m (plural do)

(music) do, the note 'C'
Synonym: ut

Galician

Etymology

From contraction of preposition de (“of, from”) + masculine definite article o (“the”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /d̪ʊ/

Contraction

do m (feminine da, masculine plural dos, feminine plural das)

of the; from the; 's
cabalo do demo ― demon's horse ("dragonfly")

Garo

Alternative forms

do·o (A·chik)

Etymology

Glottal stop loss of do·o

Noun

do (Mandi)

bird

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French dos (“back”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /do/

Noun

(anatomy) back

Hunsrik

Alternative forms

too (Wiesemann spelling system)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /toː/

Adverb

here
Synonyms: hie, hier

Die Fraa is nimmi do. ― The woman isn't here anymore.
then; so
Synonym: dann

Do sim-mer fortgesprung. ― Then we fled.

Ido

Adverb

so, therefore

Irish

Etymology 1

From confusion between Middle Irish ro- (in perfect), no- (in imperfect and conditional), and do- (of many verbs with that preverb), from Old Irish ro-, no-, to- respectively.

Alternative forms

d’ (used before vowels and lenited fh-)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /d̪ˠɔ/, /d̪ˠə/

Particle

do (triggers lenition)

(Munster, literary) prefixed before the preterite, imperfect and conditional forms of a verb
do mhol sé ― he praised

Etymology 2

Reanalysis of do (“past tense marker”) and the early modern unstressed preverb do- of verbs like do-gheibhim (“I get”), do-chím (“I see”) (and possibly also a- in a-tú (“I am”), a-deirim (“I say”)) in relative clauses as a relative marker.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /d̪ˠɔ/, /d̪ˠə/

Particle

do (triggers lenition)

(Munster, literary) relative marker (in direct relative clauses)
an cailín do mholann sé ― the girl that he praises

Usage notes

Before vowel sounds takes the form d’ and is often preceded by the reduced form a: a dh’, a d’:

an té a dh’éiríonn go moch, bíonn an rath air ― he who raises early has the prosperity; the early bird catches the worm

Etymology 3

From Old Irish do, from Proto-Celtic *do (“to, for”).

Alternative forms

d’ (used before vowel sounds)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /d̪ˠɔ/, /d̪ˠə/
(Connacht) IPA^(key): /ɡə/ (as if spelled go; do and go (“to, up to, until”) have largely become conflated in this dialect)
(Ulster, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ə/, (before ⟨a/á, o/ó, u/ú⟩) /ə.ɣ-/, (before ⟨e/é, i/í⟩) /ə.j-/

Preposition

do (plus dative, triggers lenition)

to, for
do chara ― to a friend, for a friend
used with the possessive determiners mo, do, bhur to indicate the direct object of a verbal noun, in place of ag after a form of bí in the progressive aspect
Tá sé do mo ghortú. ― It’s hurting me.

Bhí sé do d’fhiafraí. ― He was inquiring about you sg.

Bhí sibh do bhur gcloí. ― You pl were being overthrown.

Inflection

Derived terms

See also: Category:Irish phrasal verbs formed with "do"

Etymology 4

From Old Irish do, from Proto-Celtic *towe (“your, thy”); compare Welsh dy, Cornish dha, Breton da.

Alternative forms

d’ (used before vowel sounds)
t’ (nonstandard, used before vowel sounds)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /d̪ˠɔ/, /d̪ˠə/

Determiner

do (triggers lenition)

your (singular)

References

Italian

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

dò (rare)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdɔ/^*
Rhymes: -ɔ
Hyphenation: dò

Verb

first-person singular present indicative of dare

Etymology 2

Clipping of Doni, the surname of Giovanni Battista Doni. Coined in the 17th century to replace ut.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdɔ/^°, (traditional) /ˈdɔ/^*
Rhymes: -ɔ
Hyphenation: dò

Noun

do m

do (musical note)
C (musical note or key)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdɔ/^°, /ˈdɔ/^*, /ˈdɔh/, /ˈdɔʔ/
Rhymes: -ɔ, -ɔh, -ɔʔ
Hyphenation: dò

Noun

(archaic) Alternative form of doh

Anagrams

Japanese

Romanization

The hiragana syllable ど (do) or the katakana syllable ド (do) in Hepburn romanization.

Kashubian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *do.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdɔ/
Rhymes: -ɔ
Syllabification: do

Preposition

do [with genitive]

denotes allative movement; to, toward
denotes purpose; for, to
until, till, to
up to, as many as
denotes a deadline; by

Related terms

Ladin

Preposition

behind
Antonym: dant
before (time)

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *didō, from Proto-Indo-European *dédeh₃ti, from the root *deh₃- (“give”). The reduplication was lost in Latin in the present tense, but is preserved in the other Italic languages. A root aorist (from Proto-Indo-European *déh₃t) is preserved in Venetic 𐌆𐌏𐌕𐌏 (doto); the other Italic perfect forms reflect a reduplicated stative, *dedai. However, the root aorist possibly served as the source of the Latin present forms. Cognates include Ancient Greek δίδωμι (dídōmi), Sanskrit ददाति (dádāti), Old Persian 𐎭𐎭𐎠𐎬𐎢𐎺 (d-d-a-tu-u-v).

The derivatives of dō are not always easy to distinguish from those of -dō (“put”) < *dʰeh₁-.

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /doː/, [d̪oː]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /do/, [d̪ɔː]

Verb

dō (present infinitive dare, perfect active dedī, supine datum); first conjugation, irregular

to give
Synonym: dōnō
to impart, offer, render, present with
Synonyms: reddō, afferō
to afford, grant
Synonym: dōnō
to bestow, confer (on or upon)
Synonym: dōnō
to concede, surrender, yield, deliver, give up
Synonyms: dēdō, addīcō, concēdō, dēcēdō, committō, remittō, trādō, tribuō, dēferō, reddō, cēdō, permittō
to put
to adduce (e.g., a witness)

Conjugation

In Vulgar Latin, dō becomes *dao, by analogy with the root vowel -a-, but also by some elided third conjugation verbs like *vao, *vare (< vadō, vadere).

This table includes an archaic present subjunctive conjugation on a du- root that appears in the works of Plautus and Terence.

Derived terms

Descendants

References

Laz

Conjunction

Latin spelling of დო (do)

Ligurian

Alternative forms

dro (obsolete)

Etymology

de +‎ o

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /du/

Contraction

of the (masculine singular)

Limburgish

Etymology 1

Derived from Old High German doret. Compare German dort.

Alternative forms

da (Eupen)
dao (widespread variant)
dooe (Krefeld)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dɔː/
Hyphenation: do
Rhymes: -ɔː

Adverb

(Eupen, local) there, yonder
(Eupen, temporal) at that time (in the past); at the time, then
(Eupen) then, after that

Etymology 2

Unstressed form of dou.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /doː/
Hyphenation: do
Rhymes: -oː

Pronoun

(Eupen) Reduced form of dou (“you”)

Lower Sorbian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *do.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dɔ/

Preposition

do (with genitive)

to, into
do Chóśebuza ― to Cottbus

do jsy ― to the village, into the village

do wognja ― into the fire

do njebja ― to heaven

Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /do/, [doː]
- Rhymes: -oː

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *þar.

Adverb

there, in that place

Etymology 2

Verb

second-person singular imperative of doen

Nias

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *daʀaq, from Proto-Austronesian *daʀaq. Compare Malay darah, Ilocano dara.

Noun

do (mutated form ndro)

blood

References

Sundermann, Heinrich. 1905. Niassisch-deutsches Wörterbuch. Moers: Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, p. 52.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

Possibly an abbreviation of "do-hūs" ("do house") from Middle Low German dōn.

Noun

do m or n (definite singular doen or doet, indefinite plural doer or do, definite plural doene or doa)

a toilet, a loo
Synonyms: dass, toalett

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Noun

do m

do (the musical note)

References

“do” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Possibly an abbreviation of "do-hūs" ("do house") from Middle Low German dōn.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /duː/

Noun

do m or n (definite singular doen or doet, indefinite plural doar or do, definite plural doane or doa)

a toilet, a loo
Synonyms: dass, toalett

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Old Norse þó.

Adverb

anyhow, still, nevertheless

Etymology 3

From the name of musicologist Giovanni Battista Doni, who suggested replacing the original ut with an open syllable for ease of singing. First found in Italian.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /doː/
Homophone: då

Noun

do m (definite singular do-en, indefinite plural do-ar, definite plural do-ane)

(music) do, a syllable used in solfège to represent the second note of a major scale.

Coordinate terms

(scale of solfège): do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do

Etymology 4

Verb

(non-standard since 1917) past singular of døy

References

“do” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *do.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈdo/
IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈdo/

Preposition

do [with genitive]

Denotes allative movement; to, toward
Denotes illative movement; into, in
Denotes length of time; to, until
Denotes final period of time; by
Denotes period before something else; before; by
according to, in agreeance with
Denotes recepient of action; to
regarding
up to, as many as
Denotes purpose; for, to
because of

Descendants

Czech: do

References

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

Old English

Verb

dō

inflection of dōn:
1. first-person singular present indicative
2. singular present subjunctive

Old Galician-Portuguese

Contraction

do m sg (plural dos, feminine da, feminine plural das)

Contraction of de o (“of the, from the, -'s (masculine singular)”).

Old Irish

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *dū (“to”), from Proto-Indo-European *de. Unrelated to the prefix to-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [do]

Preposition

do (with dative; triggers lenition of a following consonant-initial noun)

to, for
indicates the subject of a verbal noun
- c. 800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 97^d10

Inflection

Combinations with a definite article:

don(d), dun(d) (“to/for the sg”)
donaib, dunaib (“to/for the pl”)

Combinations with a possessive determiner:

dom (“to/for my”)
dot (“to/for your sg”)
dia (“to/for his/her/their”)
diar (“to/for our”)

Combinations with a relative pronoun:

dia· (“to/for whom/which”)

Alternative forms

Pronoun

Alternative spelling of dó

Adverb

Alternative spelling of dó

Etymology 2

From Proto-Celtic *towe.

Alternative forms

du, tho, to
t’, th’ (before a vowel)

Determiner

do (triggers lenition)

your (singular)

Descendants

Middle Irish: do
- Irish: do
- Scottish Gaelic: do
- Manx: dty

Old Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *do. First attested in the 14th century.

Pronunciation

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

Preposition

do [with genitive]

denotes allative movement; to, toward
Synonym: ku
until
Synonym: ku
denotes a deadline; by
denotes duration; within
denotes purpose; for
denotes the subject of an address or action;

Descendants

Polish: do
Silesian: do, dō (before nasals)

References

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), “do”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Old Spanish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /do/

Etymology 1

From de +‎ o, from Latin dē (“from”) + ubi (“where”).

Adverb

where

Conjunction

where

Etymology 2

See lemma.

Verb

first-person singular present of dar

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

Compare German da.

Adverb

here

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish do.

Pronunciation

Rhymes: -ɔ
Syllabification: do

Preposition

do [with genitive]

denotes allative movement; to, toward
Synonym: (sometimes) na

Zwykle jeżdżę do pracy pociągiem. ― I usually go to work by train.

Chcę wrócić do domu. ― I want to go home. (literally, “I want to return to home.”)
denotes illative movement; into, in
Proszę włożyć mleko do lodówki. ― Please put the milk in the fridge.
denotes purpose; for, to
Zapomniałem szczoteczki do zębów. ― I forgot my toothbrush (literally, “I forgot brush for teeth.”)

Masz ochotę na coś do picia? ― Do you fancy something to drink?
denotes the subject of an address or action; to
Napisałam do ciebie list. ― I wrote you a letter.

Szymon w każdą sobotę dzwoni do mamy. ― Simon calls his mother every Saturday.
until, till, to
Do zeszłego miesiąca mieszkałem całe życie w Łodzi. ― Until last month I had lived in Łódź my entire life.

Pracujemy od dziewiątej do piątej. ― We work from nine to five.
up to, as many as
Grozi mu do sześciu lat więzienia. ― He could get up to six years' imprisonment.

Nasz syn ma tylko pięć lat, a już umie liczyć do stu. ― Our son is only five and can already count to 100.
denotes a deadline; by (indicates an intended deadline)
Mój szef chce, żebym do jutra skończył raport. ― My boss wants me to finish the report by tomorrow.

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), do is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 1245 times in scientific texts, 1326 times in news, 1088 times in essays, 1260 times in fiction, and 935 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 5854 times, making it the 9th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

References

Portuguese

Alternative forms

d'o (dated)

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese do, from de (“of, from”) + o (“the”). Akin to Galician do, Spanish del, and French du.

Pronunciation

(Madeira) IPA^(key): /dø/
Hyphenation: do

Contraction

do m sg (plural dos, feminine da, feminine plural das)

Contraction of de o (“of the, from the, -'s (masculine singular)”).

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:do.

Romanian

Etymology

From Italian do.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /do/

Noun

do m (plural do)

do (musical note)

Declension

Saterland Frisian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /doː/
Hyphenation: do
Rhymes: -oː

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form. Cognates include West Frisian de and German die.

Article

do (unstressed de)

plural of die

Etymology 2

From Old Frisian thā, from Proto-Germanic *þan. Cognates include West Frisian dan and German dann.

Adverb

then

References

Marron C. Fort (2015) “die”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN
Marron C. Fort (2015) “do”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

Scottish Gaelic

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (stressed) /t̪ɔ/, (unstressed) /t̪ə/
Hyphenation: do

Etymology 1

From Old Irish do. Cognates include Irish do.

Determiner

do (triggers lenition)

thy, your (singular)
Bha iongantach do ghràdh dhomh. ― Wonderful was thy love for me.

Etymology 2

From Old Irish do. Cognates include Irish do.

Preposition

do (+ dative, triggers lenition of consonants and Dh-prothesis of vowels, combined with the singular definite article dhan)

to
Bha e a' siubhal do Shasainn an-uiridh. ― He travelled to England last year.
for
Do dh'ar beatha, dhut, dhèanainn e. ― For our life, for thee, I would do it.

Usage notes

Before a word beginning with a vowel or fh, the form do dh' may be used:
Tha sinn a' dol do dh'Ìle. ― We are going to Islay.
If the definite article in the singular follows, it combines with do into dhan or don:
Fàilte don dùthaich. ― Welcome to the country.

Tha mi a' dol dhan bhùth. ― I'm going to the shop.

Inflection

Synonyms

Derived terms

an dèidh do
's urrainn do

Etymology 3

From Middle Irish ro-, from Old Irish ro-, from Proto-Celtic *ɸro-.

Particle

do (triggers lenition)

indicates the past tense of a verb
An do sgrìobh thu litir? ― Did you write a letter?

Cha do bhrist mi an uinneag. ― I didn't break the window.

Usage notes

Becomes dh' before a word beginning with a vowel or a lenited fh followed by a vowel.
Dh'fhàg an t-òran brònach mi. ― The song made me sad.

Dh'òl e am pinnt. ― He drank the pint.

An do dh'innis mi thu mar-thà. ― Did I not already tell you.
Usually omitted before a consonant except after particles such as an, cha etc.

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *do, from Proto-Indo-European *de, *do.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dô/

Adverb

dȍ (Cyrillic spelling до̏)

only, except
ni(t)ko do ja ― nobody but me, only me

ne jede ništa do komad hljeba/hleba ― he eats nothing except a piece of bread
around, approximately
do dva metra ― around two meters

do 5 kila ― around five kilograms
due to, because of
to je do hrane ― that's due to the food

Preposition

dȍ (Cyrillic spelling до̏) (+ genitive case)

up to, to, until, as far as, by
od Zagreba do Beograda ― from Zagreb to Belgrade

od jutra do mraka / od 5 do 10 sati ― from morning to night / from 5 to 10 o'clock

od vrha do dna ― from top to bottom

do r(ij)eke ― as far as the river

sad je pet do sedam ― now it's five minutes to seven

do poned(j)eljka ― by Monday

do sada ― so far, thus far, till now

do nedavna ― until recently

do dana današnjega ― to this very day

sve do ― as far as up to, all the way to

do kuda ― how far

do tuda ― thus far, up to here
before (= prȉje/prȅ)
do rata ― before the war
beside, next (to)
s(j)edi do mene ― sit next to me

jedan do drugoga ― side by side
(by extension, idiomatic and figurative meanings) up to one; interested in; feel like
nije mi do toga ― I don't feel like doing that

nije mi do sm(ij)eha ― I don't feel like laughing

njemu je samo do seksa ― he is only interested in sex

nije mi puno stalo do toga ― I'm not very much interested in that

nije do mene ― it's not up to me, it's no me to lame

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *dolъ.

Alternative forms

dȏl

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dôː/

Noun

dȏ m (Cyrillic spelling до̑)

(regional, Bosnia, Serbia) dale, small valley

Declension

Derived terms

dolìna

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Italian do.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dôː/

Noun

dȏ m (Cyrillic spelling до̑) (indeclinable)

(music) do

References

“do”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024
“do”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024
“do”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024

Silesian

Alternative forms

dō (before nasals)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish do.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdɔ/
Rhymes: -ɔ
Syllabification: do

Preposition

do [with genitive]

denotes allative movement; to, toward
Synonyms: ku, w
denotes maximum amount; to
until, till, to
denotes purpose; for, to
denotes benefactive beneficent; for
Synonym: dlŏ
denotes recepient of action; to
Synonym: dlŏ

Related terms

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *do.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdɔ/

Preposition

do [with genitive]

into, in, to, until

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *do.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dɔ/

Preposition

(with genitive) by (some time before the given time)
(with genitive) till

Spanish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdo/ [ˈd̪o]
Rhymes: -o
Syllabification: do

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian do.

Noun

do m (plural dos)

do (musical note)
C (musical note or key)

Etymology 2

From Old Spanish do, from de (“from”) + o (“where”).

Adverb

(obsolete) where
Synonym: (modern) donde

Pronoun

(obsolete) where
Synonym: (modern) donde

Derived terms

Taworta

Noun

fire

Turkish

Noun

C (musical note)

Venetan

Verb

first-person singular present indicative of dar (“I give”)

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 由.

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [zɔ˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [jɔ˧˧]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [jɔ˧˧]
Homophone: gio

Preposition

(neutral passive voice marker) by
because of; due to

Related terms

(passive voice marker) bị (negative), được (positive)

Volapük

Conjunction

though, although, even though

Welsh

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /doː/
Rhymes: -oː

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *tod, from Proto-Indo-European *tód (“that”).

Adverb

yes
indeed

Usage notes

Used to express an affirmative answer to verbs in the preterite (simple past) tense.
- In colloquial speech it can sometimes be heard as an answer to any question referring to the past (such as those in the perfect or pluperfect), but this is considered nonstandard.

Antonyms

naddo

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

da (colloquial)
deuaf, dof (literary)

Verb

first-person singular future colloquial of dod

Mutation

Etymology 3

Noun

Soft mutation of to.

Mutation

West Frisian

Etymology 1

From Old Frisian thū, from Proto-West Germanic *þū, from Proto-Germanic *þū, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /doː/
(unstressed) IPA^(key): /də/

Pronoun

(Clay) you, thou; informal second-person singular pronoun
Ik hâld fan dy. ― I love you.

Inflection

Alternative forms

dû (Wood)

Etymology 2

From Old Frisian *dūve, from Proto-West Germanic *dūbā.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /doː/

Noun

do c (plural dowen, diminutive doke)

pigeon, dove

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Italian do.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /doː/

Noun

do c (plural do's)

do (musical note)

West Makian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /d̪o/

Verb

(transitive) to find
(transitive) to obtain, get hold of
(transitive) to receive

Conjugation

References

Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[22], Pacific linguistics

Yoruba

Etymology 1

From do used in solfège to represent the first tonic of a major scale.

Alternative forms

(abbreviated): D, d

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dò/

Noun

dò

The syllable used to represent the low-tone and its diacritic (`)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dó/

Verb

dó

(vulgar) to fuck

Derived terms

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dó/

Verb

dó

(transitive) to settle; to found a settlement
Synonym: tẹ̀ dó

Àwọn Àwórì ló kọ́kọ́ dó sí Èkó. ― The Awori people settled Lagos first.
(transitive) to colonise

Derived terms

Zazaki

Etymology

Related to Persian (duğ) and Tajik дуғ (duġ).

Noun

airan

Zoogocho Zapotec

Noun

mecate, rope made of maguey or hair fiber

References

Long C., Rebecca, Cruz M., Sofronio (2000) Diccionario zapoteco de San Bartolomé Zoogocho, Oaxaca (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 38)‎^[23] (in Spanish), second electronic edition, Coyoacán, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 367