English Online Dictionary. What means yo? What does yo mean?
Translingual
Symbol
yo
- (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Yoruba.
English
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /jəʊ/
- Rhymes: -əʊ
- (US) IPA(key): /joʊ/
Etymology 1
As a greeting first attested in 1859, attested first as a cry of sailors and huntsmen (first attested in the 1400s; compare e.g. huzzah, giddyup). Originally from Middle English yo, io, ȝo, yeo, yaw, variant forms of ya, ye (“yes, yea”), from Old English ġēa (“yes, yea”), from Proto-Germanic *ja (“yes, thus, so”), from Proto-Indo-European *yē (“already”); or perhaps from Old English ēow (“Wo!, Alas!”, interjection). Compare Danish, Swedish, German, Norwegian jo (“yes (flexible meaning)”), Dutch jow (“hi, hey”) and Dutch jo (“hi, hey”). More at yea, ow, ew.
Modern popularity apparently dates from World War II (claimed to be a common response at roll calls; see definition 4), and then most intensely attested in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it thence spread globally from American dominance of pop culture post-WWII.
Interjection
yo
- (slang) A greeting similar to hi.
- Synonyms: oi, wotcher
- (slang) An interjection similar to hey.
- Synonyms: ahoy, oi; see also Thesaurus:hey
- (slang) An expression of surprise or excitement.
- (military slang) Present! Here!
- Sergeant: Smith?
Private Smith: Yo!
- Sergeant: Smith?
- (chiefly African-American Vernacular) Emphatic conclusion to a statement.
- 2010, "Kafkaesque" (Breaking Bad TV series, season 3, episode 9)
- JESSE: That is messed up, yo.
- 2010, "Kafkaesque" (Breaking Bad TV series, season 3, episode 9)
Synonyms
- (greeting): hey, hi; see also Category:Greetings
- (interjection): hey
Etymology 2
From you're, your, etc.
Alternative forms
- yo'
Determiner
yo
- (colloquial) Pronunciation spelling of your.
- Yo sandwich has only bacon in it. Want some ketchup on that?
Pronoun
yo
- (Baltimore) third-person singular, familiar
- Yo was tuckin' in his shirt! (Stotko and Troyer 2007)
Etymology 3
Noun
yo
- Abbreviation of year(s) old; also y.o., y/o.
- (crochet) Initialism of yarn over.
Etymology 4
From Russian ё (jo).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jɒ/
Noun
yo (plural yos)
- The letter Ё, ё.
Derived terms
- yoficator
Translations
Etymology 5
Numeral
yo
- Short for yoleven.
Etymology 6
From irregular romanization of the standard Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 龠 (yuè).
Noun
yo (plural yo or yos)
- Obsolete form of yue, a traditional Chinese unit of volume.
Anagrams
- oy
Afar
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈjo/, [ˈjɔ]
Pronoun
yó
- I, me
Usage notes
- The form yóo is used when the pronoun isn't followed by a clitic.
See also
References
- E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “yo”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
Aragonese
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin eo. Akin to Spanish yo and Portuguese eu.
Pronoun
yo
- I (first-person singular pronoun)
Asturian
Etymology
From Old Leonese yo, from Vulgar Latin eo (attested from the 6th century), from Latin ego.
Pronoun
yo
- I (first-person singular pronoun)
Chavacano
Etymology
From Spanish yo.
Pronoun
yo (accusative conmigo)
- I (first-person singular pronoun)
Chinese
Etymology
From English yo.
Pronunciation
Adjective
yo
- (Hong Kong Cantonese, chiefly university slang) outgoing; sociable
Verb
yo (Hong Kong Cantonese, chiefly university slang)
- to act in an outgoing manner
- to socialize with; to interact with
- (euphemistic) Used in certain interjections to replace vulgar verbs.
Derived terms
Danish
Etymology
Borrowed from English yo.
Interjection
yo
- (slang) yo
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from English yo.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /joː/
- Hyphenation: yo
- Rhymes: -oː
Interjection
yo
- (slang) yo (informal greeting, interjection similar to hey)
Guerrero Amuzgo
Adjective
yo
- with
Haitian Creole
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Article
yo pl
- the
Usage notes
This word is only used in its article sense when it modifies a plural noun.
See also
- a
- an
- la
- lan
- nan
- sa a (emphatic value)
- yon (indef. art.)
Pronoun
yo (contracted form y)
- they
- them
Indonesian
Etymology 1
A shortening of "ayo" (come on)
Etymology 2
Borrowed from English yo.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /joː/
- Hyphenation: yo
- Rhymes: -oː
Interjection
yo
- (slang) Template:id (informal greeting, interjection similar to hey)
.
Japanese
Romanization
yo
- Rōmaji transcription of よ
- Rōmaji transcription of ヨ
Kristang
Pronoun
yo
- I (first-person singular personal pronoun)
See also
References
Ladino
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin eo, from Latin ego.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jo/, /jɔ/
Pronoun
yo (Latin spelling, Hebrew spelling ייו)
- I
Lashi
Etymology 1
From Proto-Lolo-Burmese *hja, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *hja. Cognates include Jingpho yi.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jo˧/, [ju˧˩]
Noun
yo
- field
- farm
Etymology 2
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jo˧/
Noun
yo
- peace
Etymology 3
From Proto-Lolo-Burmese [Term?], from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-ja. Cognates include Jingpho kăya.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /joː˧/, [jɔ˧˨]
Noun
yo
- itch
References
- Hkaw Luk (2017) A grammatical sketch of Lacid[2], Chiang Mai: Payap University (master thesis), pages 15-16
Lingala
Pronoun
yo
- Alternative form of yɔ̂
Lower Tanana
Noun
yo
- sky
References
- James Kari, Lower Tanana Athabaskan Listening and Writing Exercises (1991)
Mandarin
Romanization
yo (yo5/yo0, Zhuyin ˙ㄧㄛ)
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 喲/哟
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 嚛/𪠸, 𪠸
yo
- Nonstandard spelling of yō.
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.
Maquiritari
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ɟo]
Verb
yo
- (transitive) to leave (someone) without a portion from the hunt
References
- Cáceres, Natalia (2011), “yo”, in Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana, Lyon
Middle English
Etymology 1
Pronoun
yo
- Alternative form of yow
Etymology 2
Pronoun
yo
- Alternative form of heo (“she”)
Noone
Noun
yo (plural yɔ́)
- snake
References
- R. Blench, Beboid Comparative
Norman
Alternative forms
- iâo (continental Normandy)
- iaoue (Guernsey)
- ieau (Jersey)
Etymology
From Old French yaue, ewe, euwe, egua (“water”), from Latin aqua (“water”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂ (“water, flowing water”).
Noun
yo f (plural yos)
- (Sark) water
Pali
Alternative forms
Pronoun
yo
- masculine nominative singular of ya (“who (relative)”)
Spanish
Etymology
Inherited from Old Spanish yo, from Vulgar Latin eō (attested from the 6th century), from Latin ego, from Proto-Italic *egō; akin to Greek εγώ (egó), Sanskrit अहम् (aham), all from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂. Akin to Italian io, Sicilian iu, Catalan jo, Aragonese and Asturian yo.
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -o
- Syllabification: yo
Pronoun
yo
- First-person singular pronoun in the nominative case; I
Usage notes
- When more pronouns are included in the same sentence, it is considered impolite to say the pronoun yo at first; it must be the last one (this also applies to mí):
- Iremos Rosa, tú y yo. ― Rosa, you and I will go.
Derived terms
See also
Noun
yo m (plural yos or yoes)
- (psychoanalysis) Freud's concept of the ego
Descendants
- Chavacano: yo
- → Interlingue: yo
Further reading
- “yo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Turkish
Etymology
Reduced form of yok
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jo/
Interjection
yo
- (casual) no
West Makian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jo/
Particle
yo
- sentence-final action negation particle; not
- de tifiam yo ― I am not eating
Usage notes
Specifically negates action verbs (intransitive, transitive, ditransitive, etc.). To negate a stative verb, see wayo. The verbs seba/tope (“to want”) are not negated by ua, which would be ungrammatical. Instead, one uses the verb fono (“to not want”).
References
- Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours[3], Pacific linguistics
Xhosa
Pronoun
-yo
- Combining stem of yona.
Yoruba
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jó/
Verb
yó
- to become saturated with food or drinks; to become full (after eating)
- to become drunk
- to become fleshy or robust (in reference to the belly or body)
- (idiomatic, euphemistic) to become pregnant
Derived terms
- Àwòyó (“a nickname for the orisha Yemọja”)
Zulu
Pronoun
-yo
- Combining stem of yona.