or

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

Translingual

Symbol

or

1. (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

• (stressed)
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɔː(ɹ)/
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ɔɹ/
  • • (STL) IPA^(key): /ɑɹ/
  • (Canada) IPA^(key): [oːɹ]
    • (Dialectal) IPA^(key): [ɔ(ː)ɹ]
  • Homophones: oar, ore, o'er (horse–hoarse merger); aw, awe (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger)
  • Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)
• (unstressed)
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ə/, (before vowel) /əɹ/
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ɚ/
  • (Canada) IPA^(key): [ɚ], [əɹ]

Conjunction

or

1. Connects at least two alternative words, phrases, clauses, sentences, etc., each of which could make a passage true.

2. (logic) An operator denoting the disjunction of two propositions or truth values. There are two forms, the inclusive or and the exclusive or.
3. Counts the elements before and after as two possibilities.
4. Otherwise (a consequence of the condition that the previous is false).
5. 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. In a formal or technical register, and/or may be used to specify inclusivity.

Translations

See also

• either
• neither
• nor
• i.e.

Etymology 2

From Etymology 1 (sense 2 above).

Noun

or (plural ors)

1. (logic, electronics) Alternative form of OR

See also

• and
• nand
• nor
• xor

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

• (US) IPA^(key): /oɹ/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɔː(ɹ)/

Noun

or (countable and uncountable, plural ors)

1. (heraldry) The gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms.

Synonyms

• (gold or yellow tincture): o., Or

Related terms

• Au (chemical symbol for gold)

Translations

Adjective

or (not comparable)

1. (heraldry) Of gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms.

Synonyms

• gold

Translations

Etymology 4

From Late Old English ār, from Old Norse ár. Compare ere.

Adverb

or

1. (obsolete) Early (on).
2. (obsolete) Earlier, previously.

Preposition

or

1. (now archaic or dialect) Before; ere. Followed by "ever" or "ere".

References

Anagrams

• r/o, Ro, R&O, RO

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• oru, auredz, auredzu, aor, aoru

Etymology

From Latin ōrō. Compare Daco-Romanian ura, urez.

Verb

or first-singular present indicative (past participle uratã)

1. to pray

Synonyms

• angrec, ngrec
• pricad
• ncljin
• pãlãcãrsescu, pãrãcãlsescu
• rog

Related terms

• urari / urare
• urat
• urãciuni

Basque

Alternative forms

• hor (Souletin)

Etymology

1103; variant of hor, from Proto-Basque *hoŕ. Mostly replaced by zakur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /or/ [or]
• Rhymes: -or
• Hyphenation: or

Noun

or anim

1. dog

Declension

Synonyms

• txakur
• zakur

Further reading

• “or”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy], Euskaltzaindia
• “or”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

Catalan

Alternative forms

• aur (obsolete)

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

• IPA^(key): (Central, Valencia) [ˈɔr]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Menorca) [ˈɔr], (Mallorca) [ˈɔ]

Noun

or m (plural ors)

1. gold
2. (heraldry) or

Derived terms

• Costa d'Or

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔʁ/
• Rhymes: -ɔʁ

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)

1. gold
2. (heraldry) or (yellow in heraldry)

Derived terms

Related terms

• aurifère
• dorer
• orfèvre

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: lò

See also

• Appendix:Colors

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

1. (obsolete) now, presently

Conjunction

or

1. 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

• “or”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Ido

Etymology

Borrowing from French or, Italian ora and Spanish ahora.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔr/

Conjunction

or

1. 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)

1. Apocopic form of ora (“now”), used almost exclusively in the forms or ora (“just now”) and or sono (“ago”).

Derived terms

• ormai
• or ora
• or sono

Anagrams

• ro

Japanese

Particle

or(オア) • (oa) 

1. 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

• IPA^(key): /oːr/

Noun

or

1. (Early Middle English, hapax) beginning, start

Etymology 2

Determiner

or

1. (chiefly Early Middle English and West Midland) Alternative form of here (“their”)

Etymology 3

Noun

or

1. Alternative form of ore (“honour”)

Etymology 4

Noun

or

1. Alternative form of ore (“ore”)

Etymology 5

Determiner

or

1. Alternative form of your

Middle French

Alternative forms

• aur (alternate Latinized spelling)

Etymology

From Old French or.

Noun

or m (uncountable)

1. gold (metal)
2. gold (color)

Descendants

• French: or
  • Haitian Creole: lò
• → English: or

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse ǫlr, órir.

Noun

or f or m (definite singular ora or oren, indefinite plural orer, definite plural orene)

1. an alder (tree of genus Alnus)

Synonyms

• older

References

• “or” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /uːr/
• Homophone: ord

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)

1. an alder (tree of genus Alnus)

Etymology 2

From Old Norse ór.

Alternative forms

• oto, otor, tor, tur, tu

Preposition

or

1. out of
2. from

References

• “or” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Alternative forms

• ōra

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ōzô, *ōsaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃éh₁os (“mouth”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oːr/

Noun

ōr n

1. origin, beginning

Descendants

• Middle English: or (early, hapax)

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “ōr”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[3], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Old French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔɾ/

Etymology 1

From Latin aurum.

Noun

or oblique singular, m (oblique plural ors, nominative singular ors, nominative plural or)

1. gold (metal)
2. gold (color)
3. (by extension) blond(e) color

Descendants

• Middle French: or, aur (alternate Latinized spelling)
  • French: or
    • Haitian Creole: lò
  • → English: or
• Walloon: ôr

Etymology 2

See ore.

Adverb

or

1. Alternative form of ore

Old Frisian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈoːr/

Adjective

ōr

1. 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

• IPA^(key): [or]

Verb

(ele/ei) or (modal auxiliary, third-person plural form of vrea, used with infinitives to form presumptive tenses)

1. (they) might

Verb

or (modal auxiliary, ? form of avea, used with ? to form ? tenses)

1. (informal, sometimes proscribed) Variation of o in the third person plural.

Adverb

or

1. Alternative form of ori

Romansch

Alternative forms

• (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan) aur
• ôr (Surmiran)

Etymology

From Latin aurum.

Noun

or m

1. (Sutsilvan, Puter, Vallader) gold

Scots

Etymology

A variant of ere, obsolete in modern English.

Conjunction

or

1. 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)

1. hymn, incantation, petition, prayer

Synonyms

• ob

Verb

or (past dh’or, future oridh, verbal noun oradh, past participle orte)

1. 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”).

Noun

or n

1. any mite in the superfamily Acaroidea, order Astigmata

Usage notes

Popular as a crossword entry.

Declension

See also

• kvalster (“mite”)

References

• or in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• or in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

Anagrams

• ro

Tocharian A

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *dóru, with unexplained loss of initial */d/. Compare Tocharian B or.

Noun

or n

1. wood

Tocharian B

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *dóru, with unexplained loss of initial */d/. Compare Tocharian A or.

Noun

or n

1. wood

Related terms

• ārwa (from plural)

Yola

Conjunction

or

1. Alternative form of ar

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