or

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "or"

Contents

English[edit]

Wikipedia has an article on:
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Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English or; partially contracted from other, auther, from Old English āþor, āwþer, āhwæþer ("some, any, either"; > either); and partially from Middle English oththe, from Old English oþþe, from Proto-Germanic *efþau (“or”).

Conjunction[edit]

or

  1. Connects at least two alternative words, phrases, clauses, sentences, etc. each of which could make a passage true. In English, this is the "inclusive or." The "exclusive or" is formed by "either […] or".
    • 1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, page 5
      The sporophyte foot is also characteristic: it is very broad and more or less lenticular or disciform, as broad or broader than the calyptra stalk […] , and is sessile on the calyptra base […]
  2. Logical union of two sets of values. There are two forms, an exclusive or and an inclusive or.
  3. Counts the elements before and after as two possibilities.
  4. Otherwise; a consequence of the condition that the previous is false
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
      No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.
    It's raining! Come inside or you'll catch a cold!
  5. Connects two equivalent names.
    the country Myanmar or Burma
Synonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Etymology 1 (sense 2 above)

Noun[edit]

Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

or (plural ors)

  1. (logic, electronics) Alternative form of OR

See also[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Borrowed from Old French or (“yellow”), from Latin aurum (“gold”). Doublet of aurum.

Noun[edit]

Wikipedia has an article on:
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or (uncountable)

  1. (heraldry) The gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms.
    1909, The metals are gold and silver, these being termed "or" and "argent". — Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, A Complete Guide to Heraldry
    1889, In engraving, "Or" is expressed by dots. — Charles Norton Elvin, A Dictionary of Heraldry
Synonyms[edit]
  • (gold or yellow tincture): o., Or
Related terms[edit]
  • Au (chemical symbol for gold)
Translations[edit]

Adjective[edit]

or (not comparable)

  1. (heraldry) Of gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms.
Synonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Etymology 4[edit]

Late Old English ār, from Old Norse ár. Compare ere.

Adverb[edit]

or

  1. (obsolete) Early (on).
  2. (obsolete) Earlier, previously.

Preposition[edit]

or

  1. (now archaic or dialect) Before; ere.
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur, Book VII:
      "Sey ye never so," seyde Sir Bors, "for many tymys or this she hath bene wroth with you, and aftir that she was the firste that repented hit."

Anagrams[edit]

Aromanian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin ōrō. Compare Daco-Romanian ura, urez.

Verb[edit]

or (past participle uratã)

  1. I pray.

Synonyms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Basque[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • hor (dialectal)
  • ora (dialectal)

Etymology[edit]

1103; variant of hor, from Proto-Basque *hor. Mostly replaced by zakur.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

or

  1. dog

Synonyms[edit]

Catalan[edit]

Chemical element
Au Previous: platí (Pt)
Next: mercuri (Hg)

Etymology[edit]

From a variant of Old Provençal aur, from Latin aurum, from Proto-Italic *auzom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂é-h₂us-o- (“glow”), from *h₂ews- (“to dawn, become light, become red”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

or m (plural ors)

  1. gold

French[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle French or, from Old French or, from Latin aurum, from Proto-Italic *auzom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂é-h₂us-o- (“glow”), from *h₂ews- (“to dawn, become light, become red”).

Noun[edit]

or m (plural ors)

  1. gold
  2. (heraldry) or (yellow in heraldry)
Related terms[edit]
See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Vulgar Latin hā horā, alteration of hāc horā.

Adverb[edit]

or

  1. (obsolete) now, presently

Conjunction[edit]

or

  1. yet, however

Further reading[edit]

Ido[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowing from French or and Italian ora, or.

Conjunction[edit]

or

  1. yet, however, now, but (in argument)

Usage notes[edit]

Or expresses not only a sequence of two propositions, but induces a new argument, a further premise, explanation, motive. When the premise (motive) follows the conclusion, nam is used instead.

Adjective[edit]

or

  1. Apocopic form of ora (golden)

Interlingue[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

or

  1. but, yet

Italian[edit]

Adverb[edit]

or

  1. Apocopic form of ora (now), used almost exclusively in the archaic forms or ora (just now) and or sono (ago), the latter with an indication of the time elapsed until the present
    Tre anni or sono comprammo questa casa – It is (now) three years since we bought this house / Three years ago we bought this house
    Ho trovato quasi più giovani e certo più belle le signore ch'io conobbi or sono dodici anni a Bologna – I found the ladies I knew twelve years ago in Bologna almost(?) younger and certainly more beautiful
    — Ugo Foscolo

Derived terms[edit]

Middle French[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French or.

Noun[edit]

or m (uncountable)

  1. gold (metal)
  2. gold (color)

Descendants[edit]

  • French: or

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse ǫlr, órir

Noun[edit]

or f, m (definite singular ora or oren, indefinite plural orer, definite plural orene)

  1. an alder (tree of genus Alnus)

Synonyms[edit]

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse ǫlr, órir. Akin to English alder.

Noun[edit]

or f (definite singular ora, indefinite plural orer, definite plural orene)

or m (definite singular oren, indefinite plural orar, definite plural orane)

  1. an alder (tree of genus Alnus)

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Norse ór

Preposition[edit]

or

  1. out of
  2. from
    • 1956, Olav H. Hauge, "Gjer ein annan mann ei beine":
      Han kom or fjellet, skulde heim, […] .
      He came from the mountain, was heading home […] .

References[edit]

Old English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *ōzô, *ōsaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃éh₁os (“mouth”).

Noun[edit]

ōr n

  1. origin

Old French[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Latin aurum.

Noun[edit]

or m (oblique plural ors, nominative singular ors, nominative plural or)

  1. gold (metal)
  2. gold (color)
  3. (by extension) blond(e) color

Descendants[edit]

  • Middle French: or
    • French: or

Etymology 2[edit]

See ore.

Adverb[edit]

or

  1. Alternative form of ore

Romanian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

(ele/ei) or (modal auxiliary, third-person plural form of vrea, used with infinitives to form presumptive tenses)

  1. (they) might
    fiindcă or avea ceva pe care noi nu-l avem, va trebui să așteptăm puțin
    being that they might have something that we don't, we will need to wait a bit

Romansch[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan) aur
  • (Surmiran) ôr

Etymology[edit]

From Latin aurum.

Noun[edit]

or m

  1. (Sutsilvan, Puter, Vallader) gold

Scots[edit]

Etymology[edit]

A variant of ere, obsolete in modern English.

Conjunction[edit]

or

  1. before or until (only in certain senses)
    It'll nae be lang or A gang ma holiday.- It'll not be long until/ before I go on holiday

Usage notes[edit]

Not archaic, but rare amongst young people.

Scottish Gaelic[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Possibly from Old Irish amar (“song, singing”). See òran.

Noun[edit]

or m (genitive singular ora, plural ora or orthachan or orrachan or orthannan)

  1. hymn, incantation, petition, prayer

Synonyms[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Noun[edit]

or n

  1. a mite

Declension[edit]

Declension of or 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative or oret or oren
Genitive ors orets ors orens

Synonyms[edit]

Tocharian A[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Indo-European *dóru, with unexplained loss of initial */d/. Compare Tocharian B or.

Noun[edit]

or n

  1. wood

Tocharian B[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Indo-European *dóru, with unexplained loss of initial */d/. Compare Tocharian A or.

Noun[edit]

or n

  1. wood

Related terms[edit]

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