bo

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

English

Etymology 1

Imitative.

Alternative forms

• boh
• boo

Interjection

bo

1. An exclamation used to startle or frighten.
   • 1603, John Florio, transl.; Michel de Montaigne, chapter 37, in The Essayes, […], book II, printed at London: By 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.

Etymology 2

Probably a shortening of boy.

Noun

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

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

Noun

bo (plural bos)

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

Anagrams

• OB, Ob, Ob., ob, ob-, ob.

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Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch boven

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʊə/

Adverb

bo

1. above

Preposition

bo

1. above

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Catalan

Etymology

From Old Occitan bon, 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

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

Adjective

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

1. good

Usage notes

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

• bonesa
• boníssim

Related terms

• bondat

See also

• bé, ben

Further reading

• “bo” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

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Cebuano

Noun

bo

1. arm wrestling

Verb

bo

1. to arm-wrestle

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Cuiba

Noun

bo

1. home, house

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Czech

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *bo.

Conjunction

bo

1. (dialectal) as, since, because

Synonyms

• neboť

Further reading

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

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Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /boː/, [b̥oːˀ]

Etymology 1

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

Noun

bo n (singular definite boet, plural indefinite boer)

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

Inflection

Declension of bo

neuter gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	bo	boet	boer	boerne
genitive	bos	boets	boers	boernes

Etymology 2

From Old Norse búa (“to reside”).

Verb

bo (imperative bo, infinitive at bo, present tense bor, past tense boede, perfect tense har boet)

1. live, reside, dwell

   Hun bor i London.

   She lives in London.

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Dutch

Etymology

Clipping of boterham..

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /boː/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oː

Noun

bo m (plural bo's, diminutive boke n)

1. (Belgium) sandwich

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Duvle

Noun

bo

1. fire

Further reading

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

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Esperanto

Noun

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

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

See also

• (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

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Friulian

Etymology

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

Noun

bo m (plural bûs)

1. ox

Synonyms

• nemâl

See also

• taur
• vacje

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Galician

Alternative forms

• bon
• boo (dated)

Etymology

From Old Portuguese bõo, from Latin bonus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbo/

Adjective

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

1. good

Antonyms

• malo, mao

Derived terms

• Bonome
• Boo

Related terms

• ben

References

• “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 Santamarina, Antón (dir.), Ernesto González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja: Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (v 4.0). Santiago: ILG.
• “bo” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

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Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology 1

From Portuguese vós. Cognates with Kabuverdianu bo.

Pronoun

bo

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

Etymology 2

From Portuguese bom. Cognates with Kabuverdianu bon.

Adjective

bo

1. good

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Gunwinggu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpo/

Noun

bo

1. water
2. liquid

Derived terms

Terms derived from bo (noun)

• bonguneng

 

References

• 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)

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Italian

Interjection

bo

1. Alternative spelling of boh

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Japanese

Romanization

bo

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

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Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese vós.

Pronoun

bo

1. you (second person singular).

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Kalasha

Etymology

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

Adverb

bo

1. very

Adjective

bo

1. many, a lot

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Kurdish

Preposition

bo

1. for

Derived terms

• ji bo
• bo çi

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Mandarin

Romanization

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

• 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.

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Mawes

Noun

bo

1. water

Further reading

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

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Nabak

Noun

bo

1. pig

References

• Corinna Handschuh, A typology of marked-S languages

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle Low German behof (compare with behov)

Noun

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

A noun not commonly used.

Synonyms

• behøve
• trenge
• ha bruk for

Related terms

• behov

Etymology 2

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

• bu (Nynorsk also)

Noun

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

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

Derived terms

See combined section below.

Etymology 3

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

• bu (Nynorsk also)

Verb

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

• (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

Derived terms

(Noun and verb)

• bebo
• bobil
• boende
• bo sammen
• bo seg i hjel
• bosette
• bosted
• bygge og bo
• dødsbo
• fastboende
• hva som bor i
• konkursbo
• landsbyboer
• sette bo
• sitte i ukskiftet bo
• skifte et bo
• ta et bo under behandling
• uskiftet bo

 

References

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

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Middle Low German behof (compare behov)

Noun

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

A noun not commonly used.

Synonyms

• behøve
• trenge
• turve
• ha bruk for

Related terms

• behov

References

• “bo” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Old Norse

Alternative forms

• bú (West dialect)

Noun

bo n

1. (East dialect) dwelling

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Papiamentu

Etymology

From Portuguese vós and Spanish vos and Kabuverdianu bo.

Pronoun

bo

1. you (second person singular).

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Polish

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *bo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɔ/

• Audio

  (file)

Conjunction

bo

1. because
2. or (else)

   Wstawaj już, bo spóźnisz się do szkoły!

   Get up now or you'll be late at school!

Further reading

• bo in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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Slovene

Verb

bo

1. third-person singular future form of biti.

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Spanish

Alternative forms

• vo

Interjection

bo

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

Synonyms

• che

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Sranan Tongo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bo/

Etymology 1

Contraction of ben and o.

Particle

bo

1. Marker for the irrealis mood.

Etymology 2

From English bow.

Noun

bo

1. bow, arch

Related terms

• alenbo (“rainbow”)

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [buː]

• audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

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

Verb

bo

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

   Jag vill bo i en stor stad.

   I want to live in a big city.

Conjugation

Conjugation of bo (weak)

	Active	Passive
Infinitive	bo	—
Present tense	bor	—
Past tense	bodde	—
Supine	bott	—
Imperative	bo	—
Present participle	boende
Past participle	—

Related terms

• bebo
• boende
• bofast
• bonde
• boning
• bostad
• trångbodd

 

Etymology 2

Noun

bo n

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

   fågelbo

   bird’s nest

2. a home (the inventory that turns a place into a home)
   • 1893, Elias Sehlstedt, Visa

     Litet bo jag sätta vill ...

     A little home is what I want ...

3. c (only in compounds) a person living in given city (e.g. Londonbo) or way (sambo, särbo)

Usage notes

• 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

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

• bodelning
• bokris
• bolag
• bomärke
• bomässa
• boskap
• bosätta
• dödsbo
• fågelbo
• sambo
• svalbo
• särbo

 

See also

• gryt
• kula
• näste
• råtthål

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Tasmanian

Pronoun

bo

1. I

Synonyms

• narrar

References

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

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Venetian

Etymology

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

Noun

bo m (invariable)

1. ox

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Vietnamese

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

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

From French bore.

Noun

bo

1. boron

Etymology 2

Verb

bo

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

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Welsh

Alternative forms

• byddo

Verb

bo

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

Mutation

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.

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Xhosa

Pronoun

-bo

1. Combining stem of bona.

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Zulu

Pronoun

-bo

1. Combining stem of bona.