ou

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ou"

Languages (32)

English

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English

Etymology 1

From Hawaiian ʻōʻū.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈəʊ.uː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊuː

Noun

ou (plural ous)

1. A probably extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper, Psittirostra psittacea.

Translations

extinct honeycreeper

Chinese: Mandarin: 鸚嘴雀 / 鹦嘴雀 (yīngzuǐquè) Czech: šatovník papouščí Hawaiian: ʻōʻū Korean: 오우 (ou) Russian: оу (ru) (ou)

Further reading

• Psittirostra psittacea on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Psittirostra psittacea on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Category:Psittirostra psittacea on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

Etymology 2

From Afrikaans ou, probably from Dutch ouwe (“old man”).

Pronunciation

• (General South African, UK) IPA^(key): /əʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /oʊ/
• Rhymes: -əʊ

Noun

ou (plural ous or ouens)

1. (South Africa, colloquial) A fellow, guy, bloke. [from 20th c.]
   • 1962, Jeremy Taylor, “Ag Pleez Deddy”:

     Ag pleez Deddy won't you take us to the wrestling
     We wanna see an ou called Sky High Lee

   • 1975, Sheila Roberts, Outside Life's Feast: Short Stories, Johannesburg: Ad. Donker, →ISBN, page 27:

     I couldn't care that the ous call me rooinek and sometimes whiterat because of my hair and face. At least I am not a hairyback I tell them.

   • 1978, André Brink, Rumours of Rain, Vintage, published 2000, page 292:

     “They're the same good and solid ous they'd been before. Because they managed not to think.”

Anagrams

• UO, U&O

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /œʊ̯/
• Rhymes: -œʊ̯

Etymology 1

From oue (“old one”), from Dutch ouwe, dialectal/colloquial form of oude. The sense “mate, guy” exists in Dutch as well; compare further German Alter.

Noun

ou (plural ouens, diminutive outjie)

1. an old fellow, guy, bloke

   Synonym: kêrel

Usage notes

• In modern Afrikaans there is a clear distinction between die ou > die ouens (“the guy(s)”) and die oue > die oues (“the old one(s)”).

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

ou

1. attributive form of oud
   • 1917, Prof. Dr. T. H. Le Roux, Prof. Dr. D. F. Malherbe, and Prof. Johannes J. Smith, Afrikaanse Woordelijs en Spelreëls‎, „HET VOLKSBLAD“-Drukkerij, page III:

     Na aanleiding van die vorderinge wat Afrikaans die laaste jare gemaak het, het een uit die ou taalgarde hom onlangs op die volgende wijse uitgedruk : dis tog maar waar, die een sal saai en die ander sal maai.

     In light of the progress which Afrikaans has made in recent years, one of the old language stalwarts recently expressed himself in the following way: it's in fact true, one sows and the other reaps.

   • 2010 December 15, Helena Hugo, Dit gebeur met ander‎, →ISBN:

     “Jy moet maar net nie te ver ry met die ou karretjie nie,” sê hy weer spottend-prekerig toe hy terugdraai na haar toe.

     “You just shouldn’t drive too far with the old car,” he said again mockingly-preachily as he turned back to her.

Aneme Wake

Noun

ou

1. cloud

Aromanian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Classical Latin ōvum, possibly via Vulgar Latin (*)ŏvum. Compare Romanian ou, Sicilian ovu.

Noun

ou n (plural oauã, definite singular oulu, definite plural oauãli)

1. egg

Derived terms

• oauã / ou

Etymology 2

Verb based on etymology 1.

Verb

ou (participle uoatã)

1. alternative form of oauã to lay an egg (like a hen)

Related terms

• uoari / uoare
• uoat

Asturian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈou̯/ [ˈou̯]
• Rhymes: -ou̯
• Syllabification: ou

Conjunction

ou

1. (Western Asturias) alternative form of o

Pronoun

ou

1. (Somiedo, Teberga) alternative form of u

Bonggi

Pronoun

ou

1. I

References

• Michael Boutin, A role and reference grammar account of Bonggi adversative constructions, A Mosaic of languages and cultures: studies celebrating the career of Karl J. Franklin (2010)

Catalan

Etymology 1

Inherited from Vulgar Latin (*)ŏvum, from Classical Latin ōvum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈɔw]

• Audio (Valencia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔw

Noun

ou m (plural ous)

1. egg
2. (colloquial) ball, testicle

References

• “ou”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “ou”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “ou” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “ou” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈow]

Interjection

ou

1. (Mallorca, Menorca) whoa! (command to an animal to stop)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈɔw]

Verb

ou

1. (Valencia, Northern Calatan) inflection of oir:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Estonian

Etymology

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

Interjection

ou

1. (colloquial) oi!, hey!, used for calling out to someone

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Inherited from Latin aut.

Conjunction

ou (ORB, broad)

1. or

References

• ou in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• ou in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu