bo

bo

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

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

Imitative.

• boh, boo

bo

1. An exclamation used to startle or frighten.
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 37, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], OCLC 946730821:

     We may fairely cry bo-bo-boe; it may well make us hoarse, but it will nothing advaunce it.

Probably a shortening of boy.

bo (plural bos)

1. (US, slang) Fellow, chap, boy.
   • 1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin 2010, p. 255:

     ‘Never heard of him,’ he smiled. ‘On your way, bo.’

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

bo (plural bos)

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

• OB, Ob, Ob., ob, ob-, ob.

From Dutch boven.

• IPA^(key): /bʊə/

• Audio

  (file)

bo

1. above

bo

1. above

From Latin bonus, from Old Latin duenos, later duonus, from Proto-Italic *dwenos, from Proto-Indo-European *dew- (“to show favor, revere”). Numerous cognates include French bon and Portuguese bom.

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔ

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

1. good

The form bon is used as the masculine singular form when the adjective precedes the noun, and bo is used in all other cases.

• bondat

• bé, ben

• “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.

bo

1. arm wrestling

bo

1. to arm-wrestle

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.

bo

1. (Luserna, interrogative) where

   Bo lebetar? ― Where do you live?

• ba (Sette Comuni)

• 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

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

bo

1. (Sette Comuni) the ... the

   Bo mèront hatzich, bo mèeront bilzich.

   The more we have, the more we want.

• “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

bo

1. home, house

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

• IPA^(key): [ˈbo]

bo

1. (dialectal) as, since, because

• neboť

• bo in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu
• bo in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

• IPA^(key): /boː/, [b̥oːˀ]

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

bo n (singular definite boet, plural indefinite boer)

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

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

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

1. to live, reside, dwell

   Hun bor i London.

   She lives in London.

Clipping of boterham.

• IPA^(key): /boː/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oː

bo m (plural bo's, diminutive boke n)

1. (Belgium) sandwich

bo

1. fire

Bill Palmer, The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area (→ISBN, 2017), page 531, table 95, Comparative basic vocabulary in Lakes Plain Languages

• IPA^(key): [bo]
• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bo

• Homophone: bo-

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

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

• (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

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

bo

1. (medicine) boil

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

bo m (plural bûs)

1. ox

• nemâl

• taur
• vacje

• bon
• boo (dated)

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈbo/

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

1. good

   Antonyms: malo, mao

• aboar
• boanza
• Bonome
• Boo

• ben

• “bo” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
• “bo” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “bo” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “bo” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

From Portuguese vós. Cognate with Kabuverdianu bo.

bo

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

From Portuguese bom. Cognate with Kabuverdianu bon.

bo

1. good

• IPA^(key): /ˈpo/

bo

1. water
2. liquid

• 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)

bo

1. Alternative spelling of boh

• Ob.

bo

1. Rōmaji transcription of ぼ
2. Rōmaji transcription of ボ

From Portuguese vós.

bo

1. you (second person singular).

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

bo

1. very

bo

1. many, a lot

• IPA^(key): /bo/

From French beau (“handsome, fine, attractive, boyfriend”).

bo m (feminine bèl)

1. handsome, beautiful, pretty.

   Antonyms: lèd, vilin

bo

1. boyfriend.

   Synonyms: boyfrìnn, lamour

   Antonyms: amoureu, amoureuz, bèl, blond, fyanse, gèlfrènn, kalènn, malin, négrès

(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.

bo

1. to kiss.

bo

1. kiss.

• Alcée Fortier, Louisiana Folktales

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.

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

bo

1. water

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

bo

1. pig

• Corinna Handschuh, A typology of marked-S languages

• Rhymes: -oː

bo

1. for

• ji bo
• bo çi

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

bo (indeclinable) (idiomatic use only)

1. (uncountable, usually with ha) a need

   Jeg har bo for en hammer.

   I could use a hammer.

A noun not commonly used.

• behøve
• trenge
• ha bruk for

• behov

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”).

• bu (Nynorsk also)

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

1. one's home (mainly idiomatic)

   De giftet seg og satte bo.

   They married and settled down/built their home.

2. estate

   Å skifte et bo.

   To divide an estate.

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

See combined section below.

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).

• bu (Nynorsk also)

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

1. to live (have permanent residence), stay

   Hvor bor du (hen)?

   Where do you live?

   Jeg vet hvor du bor.

   I know where you live.

   Hvor lenge blir du boende.

   How long will you be staying?

2. to be, to dwell, to be in

   Husk at all skjønnhet på jord bor i de evige ord: Jeg elsker deg.

   Remember that all beauty on Earth dwells in those eternal words: I love you.

   (Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson)

   Du aner ikke hva som virkelig bor i henne.

   You have no idea what she's really like.

   (literally: "you have no idea what really dwells in her")

• (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

(Noun and verb)

• “bo” in The Ordnett Dictionary
• “bo” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• search on "bo" on Ordtak.no - web site containing quotes and citations

From Middle Low German behof (compare behov).

bo (indeclinable) (idiomatic use only)

1. (uncountable, usually with ha) a need

   Eg har bo for ein hammar.

   I could use a hammer.

A noun not commonly used.

• behøve
• trenge
• turve
• ha bruk for

• behov

• “bo” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• bú (“Old West Norse”)

From Proto-Germanic *būą.

bo n

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

• abo (synonym)

From Portuguese vós and Spanish vos and Kabuverdianu bo.

bo

1. you (second person singular)

bo

1. your

Inherited from Old Polish bo, from Proto-Slavic *bo. Cognates include Russian ибо (ibo), Ukrainian бо (bo) and Old Church Slavonic бо (bo), ⰱⱁ (bo).

• IPA^(key): /bɔ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔ
• Syllabification: bo

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

   Synonyms: bo inaczej, inaczej

   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.

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.

• bo in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• bo in Polish dictionaries at PWN

From Latin bōs (“cow, bull”).

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

• (Ville Unite):

bo m (plural bu) (Ville Unite)

1. ox

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

• vol

From Proto-Turkic *bōl-.

bo

1. to become

Tenishev, Edhem (1976), “bō”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, page 303

• IPA^(key): /bóː/

bọ̑

1. third-person singular future of bíti

• vo

bo

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

   Synonym: che

• IPA^(key): /bo/

Contraction of ben and o.

bo

1. Marker for the irrealis mood.

From English bow.

bo

1. bow, arch

• alenbo (“rainbow”)

• IPA^(key): [buː]

• audio

  (file)

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

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

1. (intransitive) live; dwell; reside; to have permanent residence

   Jag vill bo i en stor stad.

   I want to live in a big city.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

bo n

1. nest; the place where certain animals live, in particular birds.

   fågelbo ― bird’s nest

2. (poetic, extended from sense 1) a home
   • 1893, Elias Sehlstedt, Visa

     Litet bo jag sätta vill / Gård med trädgårdstäppa till, […]

     [a] little home I want to set out / [a] farm with [a] garden plot to it […]

   sätta bo ― settle down

• 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).

Alternative form for the definite singular: bot/bots.

• gryt
• kula
• näste
• råtthål

• bo in Svensk ordbok.

bo

1. I

• narrar

• N.J.B. Plomley (1976) A word-list of the Tasmanian aboriginal languages‎

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

bo m (invariable)

1. ox

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɔ˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɔ˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɔ˧˧]

From French bore.

bo

1. boron

bo

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

• byddo

bo

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

• IPA^(key): /bo/

bo

1. penis

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎, Pacific linguistics

-bo

1. Combining stem of bona.

bo

1. I (first-person singular personal pronoun)

• IPA^(key): /bo/

bo

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

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

From Chinese 坡 (MC pʰuɑ).

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

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

1. mountain slope; hillside; mountainside

-bo

1. Combining stem of bona.