fo

See also: Appendix:Variations of "fo"

Languages (35)

Translingual • English

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Asaro'o • Asturian • Beneraf • Berik • Bislama • Cameroon Pidgin • Chinese • Dineor • Esperanto • Ewe • Fanagalo • Italian • Itik • Japanese • Malagasy • Mambwe-Lungu • Mandarin • Manx • Middle English • Murui Huitoto • Norman • North Frisian • Nupe • Old English • Old Irish • Scottish Gaelic • Spanish • Sranan Tongo • Venetan • Volapük • Welsh • Yola • Yoruba

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Abbreviation of English Faroese or Faroese føroyskt.

Symbol

fo

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

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Faroese terms

English

Etymology 1

Clipping of folio.

Noun

fo (plural fos)

1. (paper, printing) Abbreviation of folio, page and book size (10"-12.5" x 15"-20").

Synonyms

• (page and book size): f
• (book size): F

Etymology 2

Preposition

fo

1. (informal) Alternative spelling of fo'.

Anagrams

• OF, OF., Of-, of

Asaro'o

Noun

fo

1. (Molet Kasu, Molet Mur) water

Alternative forms

• po (Asaro'o)

References

• John Carter, Katie Carter, John Grummitt, Bonnie MacKenzie, Janell Masters, A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Mur Village Vernaculars, 2012, page 50

Asturian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfo/ [ˈfo]
• Rhymes: -o
• Syllabification: fo

Verb

fo

1. alternative form of foi

Beneraf

Noun

fo

1. water

Further reading

• Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 107

Berik

Noun

fo

1. water

Further reading

• Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 107

Bislama

Bislama cardinal numbers

<  3	4	5  >
Cardinal : fo

Etymology

From English four.

Numeral

fo

1. four

Cameroon Pidgin

Preposition

fo

1. alternative spelling of for

Chinese

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English follow.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): fōu

  (Zhuyin): ㄈㄡ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: fōu
    • Zhuyin: ㄈㄡ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: fou
    • Wade–Giles: fou¹
    • Yale: fōu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: fou
    • Palladius: фоу (fou)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /foʊ̯⁵⁵/

Verb

fo

1. (Internet, Internet slang) to follow (subscribe to see content from an account on a social media platform)

Synonyms

• 關注／关注 (guānzhù)

Etymology 2

From clipping of English focus.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): fou¹

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• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: fou¹
    • Yale: fōu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: fou¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: fou¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fou̯⁵⁵/

Noun

fo (Hong Kong Cantonese)

1. alternative form of foc

Verb

fo (Hong Kong Cantonese)

1. alternative form of foc

Etymology 3

From clipping of English follow.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): fo¹

---

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: fo¹
    • Yale: fō
    • Cantonese Pinyin: fo¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: fo¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fɔː⁵⁵/

Verb

fo (Hong Kong Cantonese)

1. (Internet slang) alternative form of fol

Dineor

Noun

fo

1. water

Further reading

• Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 107

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /fo/
• Rhymes: -o
• Hyphenation: fo

Noun

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

1. The name of the Latin-script letter F/f.

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

Ewe

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fò/, [f͈ò]

Noun

fò (plural fowo)

1. brother (older brother)
2. cousin (older male cousin)

Verb

fò

1. to peel (remove skin)

Fanagalo

Etymology

Borrowed from English four.

Numeral

fo

1. four

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔ‿|| ˈfɔ/

Verb

fo

1. (literary or regional) first-person singular present indicative of fare

   Synonym: faccio

Usage notes

fo is an alternative form (with respect to faccio) for the present indicative of the first person. Its usage is mainly literary and archaic but is still used in some regional forms of Italian.

References

• fo in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Itik

Noun

fo

1. water

Further reading

• Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 107

Japanese

Romanization

fo

1. The katakana syllable フォ (fo) in Hepburn-like romanization.

Malagasy

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *pusuq, cognate of Javanese pusuh and Tagalog puso.

Noun

fo

1. (anatomy) heart

Further reading

• fo in Malagasy dictionaries at malagasyword.org

Mambwe-Lungu

Noun

fo

1. water

Further reading

• Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 107

Mandarin

Romanization

fo

1. nonstandard spelling of fō
2. nonstandard spelling of fó

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.

Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish fo, from Proto-Celtic *uɸo, from Proto-Indo-European *upo (“under, up from under”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /foː/

Preposition

fo

1. under
2. below

Inflection

Inflection of fo

	Person:		simple	emphatic
singular	first		foym	foym's
	second		foyd	foyd's
	third	m	fo	fosyn
		f	foee	foeeish
plural	first		foin	foinyn
	second		feue	feueish
	third		foue	fouesyn

Pronoun

fo (emphatic fosyn)

1. third-person singular masculine of fo (“under him”)

Middle English

Etymology 1

From the oblique stem of Old English ġefāh; equivalent to y- +‎ fo (adjective), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *faih.

Alternative forms

• ffo, ffoo, foa, foe, foo, foe, ifoa, vo, yfoh, yvo, y-vo
• ifa, iva, ȝefo (Early Middle English)
• fa, faa (Northern)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔː/, /iˈfɔː/
• Rhymes: -ɔː

Noun

fo (plural fon or fos)

1. A foe, enemy or opponent:
   1. An enemy of the true religion.
   2. An enemy combatant or armed force.
   3. (Christianity) Satan; the enemy of mankind.
2. A harmful or ruinous force; that which causes terror.

Descendants

• English: foe
• Scots: fae

References

• “fō, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 27 May 2018.
• “ifō, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 27 May 2018.

Etymology 2

From Old English fā, a form of fāh, from Proto-West Germanic *faih, from Proto-Germanic *faihaz.

Alternative forms

• foo
• fa (Early Middle English)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔː/
• Rhymes: -ɔː

Adjective

fo

1. (rare) combative, opposed, inimical
2. (rare) dangerous, foreboding

Derived terms

• foman

Descendants

• English: foe (obsolete as an adjective)

References

• “fō, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 27 May 2018.

Adverb

fo

1. (rare) In a way showing unfriendliness or opposition.

Descendants

• English: foe (obsolete as an adverb)

References

• “fō, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 27 May 2018.

Murui Huitoto

Adverb

fo

1. alternative spelling of foo

References

• Shirley Burtch (1983), Diccionario Huitoto Murui (Tomo I) (Linguistica Peruana No. 20)‎^[2] (in Spanish), Yarinacocha, Peru: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 91

Norman

Etymology

From Old French fol, from Latin follis.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Jersey):

  (file)

Noun

fo m (plural fos)

1. (Jersey) madman

North Frisian

Alternative forms

• fu (Föhr-Amrum)
• füünj (Mooring)

Etymology

From Old Frisian fā, from Proto-Germanic *fanhaną. See fu for more.

Verb

fo

1. (Sylt) to get, receive, obtain

Conjugation

Conjugation of fo (Sylt dialect)

infinitive I	fo
infinitive II	(tö) fon
past participle	fingen
imperative	fo
	present	past
1st singular	fo	fing
2nd singular	fairst	fingst
3rd singular	fair	fing
plural / dual	fo	fing
	perfect	pluperfect
1st singular	haa fingen	her fingen
2nd singular	heest fingen	herst fingen
3rd singular	heer fingen	her fingen
plural / dual	haa fingen	her fingen
	future (skel)	future (wel)
1st singular	skel fo	wel fo
2nd singular	sket fo	wet fo
3rd singular	skel fo	wel fo
plural / dual	skel fo	wel fo

Nupe

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fō/

Verb

fo

1. (transitive) to wash

   Synonym: ná

   Ǹdá á èwò fo. ― Father washed the garment.

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /foː/

Verb

fō

1. inflection of fōn:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. singular present subjunctive

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• fu, fú

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *uɸo, from Proto-Indo-European *upo (“under, up from under”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɸo/

Preposition

fo (with accusative or dative)

1. under, beneath
   • c. 800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 109^d5

     Ní taít Día fo tairṅgere conid·chumscaiged.

     God does not come under a promise that he should alter it.

2. to, towards
   • c. 850-875, Turin Glosses and Scholia on St Mark, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 484–94, Tur. 110c

     Ba bés leusom do·bertis dá boc leu dochum tempuil, ⁊ no·léicthe indala n‑aí fon díthrub co pecad in popuil, ⁊ do·bertis maldachta foir, ⁊ n⟨o⟩·oircthe didiu and ó popul tar cenn a pecthae ind aile.

     It was a custom with them that two he-goats were brought by them to the temple, and one of the two of them was let go to the wilderness with the sin of the people, and curses were put upon him, and thereupon the other was slain there by the people for their sins.

3. through, throughout
4. in the capacity of
   • c. 800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 20^b13

     Ní fú indidit a·tá irascemini sunt .i. irascemini fercaigthe-si, acht is fo imchomarc a·tá.

     It is not in affirmation that irascemini is here, i.e. irascemini you pl are angry, but it is in interrogation. [In other words, irascemini is here a question, not a statement. The Latin verb is actually in the future tense, but the Old Irish gloss of it is in the present tense.]

5. according to
   • c. 800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 38^c3

     Ní hé apstal cita·rogab in testimin so. Aliter: Ní fóu da·uc int apstal fon chéill fuand·rogab in fáith.

     It is not (the) apostle who first uttered this text. Otherwise: The apostle did not apply it in the sense in which the prophet uttered it.

Inflection

Inflection of fo

	Person:		normal	emphatic
singular	first		foum*, foam*
	second		fout*
	third m or n	dative	fó(u)
		accusative	foí
	third f	dative	foæ*
		accusative
plural	first		founn*
	second
	third	dative	foïb
		accusative

*Late forms

Combinations with a definite article:

• fon, fun (“under the (accusative m/f sg)”)
• fua (“under the (accusative n sg)”)
• fon(d), fun(d) (“under the (dative sg)”)
• fonna (“under the (accusative pl)”)

Combinations with a possessive determiner:

• fom (“under my”)
• fot (“under your sg”)
• foa, fua, fó (“under his/her/its/their”)
• fóar (“under our”)

Combinations with a relative pronoun:

• foa·, fua· fo· (“under which/whom”)

Derived terms

• fu acis

Related terms

• fo-

Descendants

• Irish: faoi
• Manx: fo
• Scottish Gaelic: fo

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “fo, fa, fá”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940) [1909], D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, translation of Handbuch des Alt-Irischen (in German), →ISBN, pages 276, 511–13; reprinted 2017

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish fo. Cognates include Irish faoi and Manx fo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔ/, /fo/
• Hyphenation: fo

Preposition

fo (+ dative, triggers lenition, combined with the singular definite article fon)

1. under, below, beneath
2. at the bottom of
3. (idiomatic) under the influence of, affected by, overwhelmed with, full of

Inflection

Personal inflection of fo

	Person:		simple	emphatic
singular	first		fodham	fodhamsa
	second		fodhad	fodhadsa
	third	m	fodha	fodhasan
		f	fòidhpe	fòidhpese
plural	first		fodhainn	fodhainne
	second		fodhaibh	fodhaibhse
	third		fòdhpa	fòdhpasan

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “below”): os cionn

Derived terms

• dol fodha na grèine
• fodha

References

• Mark, Colin (2003), “fo”, in The Gaelic–English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 307

Spanish

Verb

fo

1. inflection of far:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. third-person singular preterite indicative

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From English four.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fo/

Numeral

fo

1. four

Venetan

Verb

fo

1. first-person singular present indicative of far

Volapük

Preposition

fo

1. in front of; before (place)

Antonyms

• po

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /voː/
• Rhymes: -oː

Etymology 1

Reduction of efô, emphatic form of ef (“he (literary)”).

Pronoun

fo

1. he, him.

Usage notes

Fo is used in north Wales and a variant of o. The choice between o and fo is dependent on grammatical and euphonic considerations. The forms e and fe are used in the south.

Etymology 2

Verb

fo

1. soft mutation of bo

Mutation

Mutated forms of bo

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
bo	fo	mo	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Yola

Pronoun

fo

1. alternative form of fho
   • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 114, lines 12-14:

     az avare ye trad dicke londe yer name waz ee-kent var ee vriene o' livertie, an He fo brake ye neckarès o' zlaves.

     for before your foot pressed the soil, your name was known to us as the friend of liberty, and he who broke the fetters of the slave.

   • 1927, “LAMENT OF A WIDOW”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 130, lines 1:

     Ochone! to fo shul Ich maak mee moan,

     Ochone, to whom shall I make my moan,

   • 1927, “ZONG O DHREE YOLA MYTHENS”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 131, lines 2:

     Fo naar had looke var to be brides,

     Who never had luck to be brides,

   • 1927, “PAUDEEN FOUGHLAAN'S WEDDEEN”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 133, lines 2:

     Fo laately got tackled to Kakeen Lurkaan,

     Who lately got tackled to Catherine Larkin,

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fò/

Verb

fò

1. (intransitive) to jump, or leap in an upwards direction
2. (intransitive) to fly
3. (idiomatic) to miss, to escape one's attention, to forget

   ọkàn mí fò ó ― My mind missed it

Derived terms

• ìfò (“the act of flying”)
• àfòpiná (“moth”)

Related terms

• bẹ́ (“to leap”)
• tọ (“to hop”)
• gbàgbé (“to forget”)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fò/

Verb

fò

1. (transitive) to decapitate

   Synonyms: bẹ́, bẹ́rí, bẹ́lórí

   wọ́n fi idà fo orí olè ― They used a sword to decapitate the head of the thief

Derived terms

• ìfò (“decapitation”)
• afò (“executioner”)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fò/

Verb

fò

1. (transitive) to omit

   Synonym: yọ

2. (intransitive) to become omitted

Derived terms

• ìfò (“omission”)

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fò/

Verb

fò

1. (transitive) to shrink (as of clothes)
2. (intransitive) to become shortened in dimension; to contract; to no longer be able to fit

   aṣọ yìí fò mí ― The clothes no longer fits me

Derived terms

• ìfò (“the act of shrinking; contraction”)