bo

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "bo" and Bo

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Imitative.

Alternative forms[edit]

Interjection[edit]

bo

  1. An exclamation used to startle or frighten.

Etymology 2[edit]

Probably a shortening of boy.

Noun[edit]

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.’

Etymology 3[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

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

Noun[edit]

bo (plural bos)

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

Anagrams[edit]

Afrikaans[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Dutch boven.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

bo

  1. above

Preposition[edit]

bo

  1. above

Catalan[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

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

  1. good

Usage notes[edit]

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[edit]

Related terms[edit]

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Cebuano[edit]

Noun[edit]

bo

  1. arm wrestling

Verb[edit]

bo

  1. to arm-wrestle

Cimbrian[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

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[edit]

bo

  1. (Luserna, interrogative) where
    Bo lebetar? ― Where do you live?
Alternative forms[edit]
  • ba (Sette Comuni)

References[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

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

Conjunction[edit]

bo

  1. (Sette Comuni) the ... the
    Bo mèront hatzich, bo mèeront bilzich.
    The more we have, the more we want.

References[edit]

  • “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

Cuiba[edit]

Noun[edit]

bo

  1. home, house

Czech[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Slavic *bo. Compare Polish bo.

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

bo

  1. (dialectal) as, since, because

Synonyms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

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

Danish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

bo n (singular definite boet, plural indefinite boer)

  1. estate (the property of a deceased person)
  2. den, nest
  3. abode, home
Inflection[edit]
Declension of bo
neuter
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative bo boet boer boerne
genitive bos boets boers boernes

Etymology 2[edit]

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[edit]

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

  1. to live, reside, dwell
    Hun bor i London.
    She lives in London.
Inflection[edit]
Inflection of bo
present past
simple bor boede
perfect har boet havde boet
passive — —
participle boende boet
imperative bo —
infinitive bo —
auxiliary verb have —
gerund boen —

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Clipping of boterham.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

bo m (plural bo's, diminutive boke n)

  1. (Belgium) sandwich

Duvle[edit]

Noun[edit]

bo

  1. fire

Further reading[edit]

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[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

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

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

See also[edit]

Friulian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

bo m (plural bûs)

  1. ox

Synonyms[edit]

See also[edit]

Galician[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

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

  1. good
    Antonyms: malo, mao

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

References[edit]

  • “bo” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2012.
  • “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.

Guinea-Bissau Creole[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Portuguese vós. Cognate with Kabuverdianu bo.

Pronoun[edit]

bo

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

Etymology 2[edit]

From Portuguese bom. Cognate with Kabuverdianu bon.

Adjective[edit]

bo

  1. good

Gunwinggu[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

bo

  1. water
  2. liquid

Derived terms[edit]

Terms derived from bo (noun)

References[edit]

  • 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[edit]

Interjection[edit]

bo

  1. Alternative spelling of boh

Anagrams[edit]

Japanese[edit]

Romanization[edit]

bo

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

Kabuverdianu[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Portuguese vós.

Pronoun[edit]

bo

  1. you (second person singular).

Kalasha[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Adverb[edit]

bo

  1. very

Adjective[edit]

bo

  1. many, a lot

Louisiana Creole French[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

bo m (feminine bèl)

  1. handsome, beautiful, pretty.
    Antonyms: lèd, vilin

Noun[edit]

bo

  1. boyfriend.
    Synonyms: boyfrìnn, lamour
    Antonyms: amoureu, amoureuz, bèl, blond, fyanse, gèlfrènn, kalènn, malin, négrès

Etymology 2[edit]

(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.

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

bo

  1. to kiss.

Noun[edit]

bo

  1. kiss.

References[edit]

  • Alcée Fortier, Louisiana Folktales

Mandarin[edit]

Romanization[edit]

bo (Zhuyin ˙ㄅㄛ)

  1. Pinyin transcription of 卜
  2. Pinyin transcription of 啵
  3. Pinyin transcription of 噃
  4. Pinyin transcription of 蔔

bo

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

Usage notes[edit]

  • 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.

Mawes[edit]

Noun[edit]

bo

  1. water

Further reading[edit]

Nabak[edit]

Noun[edit]

bo

  1. pig

References[edit]

  • Corinna Handschuh, A typology of marked-S languages

Northern Kurdish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

bo

  1. for

Derived terms[edit]

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from Middle Low German behof (compare with behov)

Noun[edit]

bo (indeclinable) (idiomatic use only)

  1. (uncountable, usually with ha) a need
    Jeg har bo for en hammer.
    I could use a hammer.
Usage notes[edit]

A noun not commonly used.

Synonyms[edit]
Related terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

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[edit]

  • bu (Nynorsk also)

Noun[edit]

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.
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
See combined section below.

Etymology 3[edit]

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[edit]

  • bu (Nynorsk also)

Verb[edit]

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")
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
(Noun and verb)

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle Low German behof (compare behov)

Noun[edit]

bo (indeclinable) (idiomatic use only)

  1. (uncountable, usually with ha) a need
    Eg har bo for ein hammar.
    I could use a hammer.

Usage notes[edit]

A noun not commonly used.

Synonyms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

References[edit]

Old Norse[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • bú (“Old West Norse”)

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *būą.

Noun[edit]

bo n

  1. (Old East Norse) dwelling

Papiamentu[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Portuguese vós and Spanish vos and Kabuverdianu bo.

Pronoun[edit]

bo

  1. you (second person singular)

Determiner[edit]

bo

  1. your

Polish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *bo.

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

bo

  1. because, for
    Synonyms: albowiem, bowiem, dlatego że, gdyż, jako że, ponieważ
  2. or (else)
    Wstawaj już, bo spóźnisz się do szkoły! ― Get up now or you'll be late for school!

Particle[edit]

bo

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

Further reading[edit]

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

Slovene[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

bọ̑

  1. third-person singular future of bíti

Spanish[edit]

Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia es

Alternative forms[edit]

Interjection[edit]

bo

  1. (Uruguay, colloquial) hey, mate, dude
    Synonym: che

Sranan Tongo[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Contraction of ben and o.

Particle[edit]

bo

  1. Marker for the irrealis mood.

Etymology 2[edit]

From English bow.

Noun[edit]

bo

  1. bow, arch
Related terms[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

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

Verb[edit]

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.
Conjugation[edit]
Conjugation of bo (weak)
Active Passive
Infinitive bo —
Supine bott —
Imperative bo —
Imper. plural1 bon —
Present Past Present Past
Indicative bor bodde — —
Ind. plural1 bo bodde — —
Subjunctive2 bo bodde — —
Participles
Present participle boende
Past participle —
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.
Related terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

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
Usage notes[edit]
  • 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[edit]
Declension of bo 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative bo boet bon bona
Genitive bos boets bons bonas

Alternative form for the definite singular: bot/bots.

Declension of bo 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative bo bon bor borna
Genitive bos bons bors bornas
Related terms[edit]
See also[edit]

Tasmanian[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

bo

  1. I

Synonyms[edit]

References[edit]

  • N.J.B. Plomley (1976) A word-list of the Tasmanian aboriginal languages‎[1]

Venetian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

bo m (invariable)

  1. ox

Vietnamese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Chemical element
B
Previous: beri (Be)
Next: cacbon (C)

From French bore.

Noun[edit]

bo

  1. boron

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

bo

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

Welsh[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Verb[edit]

bo

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

Mutation[edit]

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
bo fo mo unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

West Makian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

bo

  1. penis

References[edit]

  • Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎[2], Pacific linguistics

Xhosa[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

-bo

  1. Combining stem of bona.

Yale[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

bo

  1. I (first-person singular personal pronoun)

Zaghawa[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

bo

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

References[edit]

Zhuang[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Chinese 坡 (MC pʰuɑ).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

bo (Sawndip forms 𡏋 or 圤 or 坡 or 𫭝, old orthography bo)

  1. mountain slope; hillside; mountainside

Zulu[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

-bo

  1. Combining stem of bona.
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