ergo

See also: Ergo and ergo-

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɛɚɡoʊ/, /ˈɝɡoʊ/

• Audio (Australia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ɡəʊ

Etymology 1

From Middle English ergo, from Latin ergō.

Adverb

ergo (not comparable)

1. Consequently, therefore, or thus.
   • 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter III, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 59:

     "I merely made an individual application of a general rule. All women love flattery—ergo, Miss Arundel liked it."

   • 2003, Pirates of the Caribbean:

     The pirates who invaded this fort left Sparrow locked in his cell; ergo, they are not his allies.

Translations

adverb: consequently, therefore, thus — see also therefore,‎ thus

• Danish: ergo (da), derfor (da)
• Finnish: siis (fi), näin ollen (fi), täten (fi)
• Lithuanian: todėl, dėl to, užtat
• Swedish: alltså (sv), följaktligen (sv), ergo (sv)

Conjunction

ergo

1. therefore (especially in syllogisms)

Translations

conjunction: therefore — see also so,‎ whence

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} следователно (bg) (sledovatelno)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 因此 (zh) (yīncǐ)

• Danish: ergo (da), derfor (da)
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} daarom (nl)
• Estonian: ^{(please verify)} seetõttu (et)
• Finnish: joten (fi), ja täten
• French: donc (fr)
• German: ergo (de)
• Italian: dunque (it), quindi (it), ^{(please verify)} ergo (it)
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} かくして (kakushite)
• Latvian: tātad
• Polish: zatem (pl), więc (pl), przeto (pl), ergo (pl)
• Portuguese: portanto (pt), logo (pt)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} deci (ro)
• Russian: поэ́тому (ru) (poétomu), сле́довательно (ru) (slédovatelʹno)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: да̏кле̄

  Latin: dȁklē (sh)

• Slovene: ^{(please verify)} torej (sl), ^{(please verify)} potemtakem
• Spanish: ergo (es)
• Swedish: alltså (sv), därför (sv), följaktligen (sv)

Etymology 2

Noun

ergo (plural ergos)

1. (rowing, slang) Clipping of ergometer (rowing machine).

Etymology 3

Clipping of ergonomic.

Noun

ergo (plural ergos)

1. (informal) An ergonomic factor or characteristic.

   I just love the ergos on this knife. It just feels great and carries so well.

Anagrams

• Geor., Gero, Gore, Ogre, Rego, gero-, goer, gore, ogre, orge, rego, roge

Galician

Verb

ergo

1. first-person singular present indicative of erguer

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ergō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛʁɡo/

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Conjunction

ergo

1. ergo
   • 2022 April 28, Barbara Oertel, “Russlands Zündelei in Transnistrien: Eskalation mit Ansage”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Sollte der Ernstfall eintreten, hat Chisinau Russland militärisch nicht das Geringste entgegenzusetzen. Ergo: Europa sollte vorbereitet sein.

     Should those fears come to pass, there is nothing Chisinau could do to withstand Russia militarily. Ergo: Europe needs to be prepared.

Adverb

ergo

1. ergo

Further reading

• “ergo” in Duden online
• “ergo”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[2] (in German)

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛr.ɡo/
• Rhymes: -ɛrɡo
• Hyphenation: èr‧go

Etymology 1

From Latin ergō.

Conjunction

ergo

1. ergo

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

ergo

1. first-person singular present indicative of ergere

Further reading

• “ergo”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Anagrams

• -gero, egro, orge

Latin

Alternative forms

• ergo (poetic)

Etymology

Equivalent to an adverbial derivation from *ēregō, presumably ex- +‎ regō, with sense similar to cognate pergō (“to proceed”).

See also ergā. Compare with the adverbial use of ē regiōne (“directly, against”), with the same elements.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɛr.ɡoː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈɛr.ɡo]

Conjunction

ergō

1. therefore, because, hence, consequently, thus
   • 1637, René Descartes, Discourse on the Method:

     Cogito, ergo sum.

     I think, therefore I am.

Derived terms

• dicis ergō

Postposition

ergō (+ genitive)

1. on account of, because of

Adverb

ergō (not comparable)

1. consequently, therefore
2. accordingly, then

Descendants

• English: ergo, argal
• Galician: ergo, ergas
• German: ergo
• Norwegian: ergo
• Italian: ergo
• Spanish: ergo
• Portuguese: ergo
• Swedish: ergo

References

• “ergo”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ergo”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ergo”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Middle English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ergo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛrɡoː/

Adverb

ergo

1. (Late Middle English) thus, consequently, ergo

Descendants

• English: ergo

References

• “ergō, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 12 May 2018.

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin ergō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛr.ɡɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛrɡɔ
• Syllabification: er‧go

Conjunction

ergo

1. (rare, literary) therefore, thus

   Synonyms: przeto, toteż, więc, zatem

Further reading

• “ergo”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin ergō.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɛʁ.ɡu/ [ˈɛɦ.ɡu]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɛʁ.ɡu/ [ˈɛɦ.ɡu]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ˈɛɾ.ɡu/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈɛʁ.ɡu/
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ˈɛɻ.ɡu/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɛɾ.ɡu/ [ˈɛɾ.ɣu]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɛɾ.ɡu/ [ˈɛɾ.ɣu]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɛɾ.ɡu/

• Hyphenation: er‧go

Conjunction

ergo

1. (rare) ergo, therefore

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-

Proto-Indo-European *-om

Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom

Proto-Hellenic *wérgon

Ancient Greek ἔργον (érgon)bor.

Portuguese ergo

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἔργον (érgon, “work”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɛʁ.ɡu/ [ˈɛɦ.ɡu]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɛʁ.ɡu/ [ˈɛɦ.ɡu]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ˈɛɾ.ɡu/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈɛʁ.ɡu/
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ˈɛɻ.ɡu/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɛɾ.ɡu/ [ˈɛɾ.ɣu]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɛɾ.ɡu/ [ˈɛɾ.ɣu]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɛɾ.ɡu/

• Hyphenation: er‧go

Noun

ergo m (plural ergos)

1. (physics, chemistry) erg

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈeʁ.ɡu/ [ˈeɦ.ɡu]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈeʁ.ɡu/ [ˈeɦ.ɡu]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ˈeɾ.ɡu/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈeʁ.ɡu/
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ˈeɻ.ɡu/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈeɾ.ɡu/ [ˈeɾ.ɣu]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈeɾ.ɡu/ [ˈeɾ.ɣu]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈeɾ.ɡu/

• Hyphenation: er‧go

Verb

ergo

1. first-person singular present indicative of erguer

Further reading

• “ergo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “ergo”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2026
• “ergo”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “ergo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ergō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeɾɡo/ [ˈeɾ.ɣ̞o]
• Rhymes: -eɾɡo
• Syllabification: er‧go

Conjunction

ergo

1. ergo, therefore

Further reading

• “ergo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔeɾɡo/ [ˈʔɛɾ.ɡ̠o]
• Rhymes: -eɾɡo
• Syllabification: er‧go

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Latin ergōbor.

Spanish ergobor.

Tagalog ergo

Borrowed from Spanish ergo.

Conjunction

ergo (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜇ᜔ᜄᜓ)

1. ergo, therefore

   Synonym: kaya

   • 1972, Liwayway‎^[4], Liwayway Pub., page 44:

     Simple lang ang kanilang pinanghahawakan: ang daigdig ng mga materya ay sa demonyo, ang daigdig ng espiritu ang sa Diyos. Ergo, iwasan ang daigdig ng materya.

     What they uphold is simple: the material world is for the Devil, the spiritual world is God's. Ergo, avoid the material world.

   • 1998, Virgilio S. Almario, Kalahating siglo sa ibabaw ng mundo at mga kataka-takang: alaala't engkuwentro, →ISBN, page 93:

     Ang isang dahilan, magulo kasi tayo. Hindi magkaisa; puro kudeta at rebelyon. Ergo, ang kailangan nati'y isang diwang magbibigkis sa atin.

     One reason is that we are disorderly. We can't unite; we are always on coup d'état and rebellion. Ergo, what we need is a consciousness that unites us.

   • 2017, Jubert Cabrezos, Naturalismo, AuthorHouse, →ISBN:

     Ergo, ang paglikha ng kaalaman ay may dalawang daan

     Therefore, there are two ways for the creation of knowledge

   • 2020 April 27, Baby E, “Performers ng comedy bar umaaray na, Noel Cabangon humihingi na rin ng tulong”, in Pang-Masa - Palaban, Maaasahan (Philstar.com)‎^[5]:

     Ergo, wala rin silang kita.

     Therefore, they also don't have income.

Etymology 2

Noun

ergo (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜇ᜔ᜄᜓ)

1. (slang) criticism; contradiction

   Synonyms: puna, kontra

2. (dialectal, Marinduque) language; speech (in general)

   Synonyms: salita, wika, lengguwahe

3. (dialectal, Marinduque) word (unit of speech)

   Synonym: salita

Alternative forms

• ergu — dialectal, Marinduque

Derived terms

• erguhan
• erguhin
• pagaerguhan