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yo
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: Appendix:Variations of "yo"
Languages (34)
Translingual • English
Afar • Aragonese • Asturian • Chavacano • Chinese • Danish • Dutch • Guerrero Amuzgo • Haitian Creole • Indonesian • Japanese • Kapampangan • Kristang • Ladino • Lingala • Lower Tanana • Mandarin • Middle English • Noone • Norman • Old Spanish • Pali • Paraujano • Spanish • Tregami • Turkish • West Makian • Xhosa • Yanomamö • Ye'kwana • Yoruba • Zulu
Page categories
Afar • Aragonese • Asturian • Chavacano • Chinese • Danish • Dutch • Guerrero Amuzgo • Haitian Creole • Indonesian • Japanese • Kapampangan • Kristang • Ladino • Lingala • Lower Tanana • Mandarin • Middle English • Noone • Norman • Old Spanish • Pali • Paraujano • Spanish • Tregami • Turkish • West Makian • Xhosa • Yanomamö • Ye'kwana • Yoruba • Zulu
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Translingual
Symbol
yo
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
As a greeting first attested in 1859, attested first as a cry of sailors and huntsmen (first attested in the 1400s; compare e.g. huzzah, giddyup). Originally from Middle English yo, io, ȝo, yeo, yaw, variant forms of ya, ye (“yes, yea”), from Old English ġēa (“yes, yea”), from Proto-Germanic *ja (“yes, thus, so”); or perhaps from Old English ēow (“Wo!, Alas!”, interjection). Compare Danish, Swedish, German, Norwegian jo (“yes (flexible meaning)”), Dutch jow (“hi, hey”) and Dutch jo (“hi, hey”). More at yea, ow, ew.
Modern popularity apparently dates from the early 20th century in Philadelphia, PA; amongst the Italian Community there, where io, with (as opposed to in standard Italian language) the stress on the ultima, was a common salutatory response among residents, particularly young males. This usage was apparently reinforced by the aforesaid English terms. It has been claimed to have been a common response at roll calls during World War 2 (see definition 4), and then most intensely attested in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it thence spread globally from American dominance of pop culture post-WWII.
Interjection
yo
- (slang) A greeting similar to hi.
- (slang) An interjection similar to hey.
- Synonyms: ahoy, oi; see also Thesaurus:hey
- Yo, check this out!
- Check this out, yo!
- (slang) An expression of surprise or excitement.
- Yo, that's crazy, but I don't remember asking.
- 2021 October 2, Mason Cannon, “Don't Feel Pressured To Declare Your Major Right Away”, in Study Breaks:
- I have quickly acclimated myself to the standard form of greeting on campus: "Oh hey what’s your name? … Yeah, nice to meet you, what're you studying? … Yo that’s sick!" A script to recite, nearly verbatim, 10 times a day or more.
- (military slang) Present! Here!
- Sergeant: Smith?
Private Smith: Yo!
- Sergeant: Smith?
- (chiefly African-American Vernacular) Emphatic conclusion to a statement.
- 2010, "Kafkaesque" (Breaking Bad TV series, season 3, episode 9)
- JESSE: That is messed up, yo.
- 2010, "Kafkaesque" (Breaking Bad TV series, season 3, episode 9)
Synonyms
- (greeting): hey, hi; see also Category:English greetings
- (interjection): hey
Derived terms
Translations
greeting similar to hi
|
interjection similar to hey
|
expression of surprise or excitement
|
Etymology 2
Alternative forms
Determiner
yo
- (colloquial) Pronunciation spelling of your.
- Yo sandwich has only bacon in it. Want some ketchup on that?
Derived terms
Pronoun
yo
- (Baltimore) third-person singular, familiar
- Yo was tuckin' in his shirt! (Stotko and Troyer 2007)
Etymology 3
Noun
yo
Etymology 4
Pronunciation
Noun
yo (plural yos)
Related terms
Translations
Etymology 5
Numeral
yo
- Clipping of yoleven.
Etymology 6
From irregular romanization of the standard Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 龠 (yuè).
Noun
See also
Etymology 7
Noun
yo (plural yos)
- (knitting) Alternative form of YO:
- Abbreviation of yarnover.
Verb
yo (third-person singular simple present yos, present participle yoing, simple past and past participle yoed)
- (knitting) Alternative form of YO:
- Abbreviation of yarnover.
Anagrams
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Afar
Etymology
Pronunciation
Pronoun
yó
Usage notes
- The form yóo is used when the pronoun isn't followed by a clitic.
See also
References
- E. M. Parker, R. J. Hayward (1985) “yo”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
Aragonese
Etymology
Inherited from Late Latin eo, from Classical Latin egō̆.
Pronoun
yo m sg or f sg
- First-person singular nominative pronoun; I
See also
Aragonese personal pronouns
- The forms shown in the table are the most widespread ones. Some varieties use different forms:
- nusotros/as (Ansotano, Cheso, Somontanos) and nusaltros/as (Benasquese and Belsetán).
- usté(s) (Benasquese), ustet(z) (Ansotano), vustet(z) (Tensino, Somontanos)
- vusotros/as (Ansotano, Cheso, Somontanos) and vusaltros/as (Benasquese and Belsetán).
- ell(s) (Benasquese) and er(s) (Belsetán).
- era(s) (Belsetán).
- mos (Ribagorçan). Before third-person pronouns and the adverbial pronoun en the contracted form mo' is used.
- li(s) (Cheso, Tensino).
- el (Ribagorçan). The contracted form l' is used before verbs beginning with vowel sounds and 'l after pronouns ending in vowels and no (“no, not”).
- es, els (Ribagorçan). These forms are contracted to 's and 'ls after pronouns ending in vowels and no (“no, not”).
- The contracted forms are used before verbs beginning with vowel sounds.
- In Ribagorçan the contracted form to' is used before third-person pronouns and the adverbial pronoun en.
References
- “yo”, in Aragonario, diccionario castellano–aragonés (in Spanish)
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Asturian
Etymology
Inherited from Late Latin eo, from Classical Latin egō̆.
Pronoun
yo
- I (first-person singular pronoun)
Chavacano
Etymology
Pronunciation
Pronoun
yo
- I (1st person nominative pronoun)
See also
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Chinese
Etymology
Pronunciation
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: jou1
- Yale: yōu
- Cantonese Pinyin: jou1
- Guangdong Romanization: you1
- Sinological IPA (key): /jou̯⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Adjective
yo
- (Hong Kong Cantonese, chiefly university slang) outgoing; sociable
Verb
yo (Hong Kong Cantonese, chiefly university slang)
- to act in an outgoing manner
- to socialize with; to interact with
- (euphemistic) Used in certain interjections to replace vulgar verbs.
Derived terms
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Danish
Etymology
Interjection
yo
- (slang) yo
- 2016, Lisbeth Zornig, Mikael Lindholm, Bundfald, Art People, →ISBN:
- “Yo!” Mathias så op.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Dutch
Etymology
Pronunciation
Interjection
yo
Guerrero Amuzgo
Adjective
yo
Haitian Creole
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
Article
yo pl
Usage notes
This word is only used in its article sense when it modifies a plural noun.
See also
- a
- an
- la
- lan
- nan
- sa a (emphatic value)
- yon (indef. art.)
Pronoun
yo (contracted form y)
Indonesian
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From ayo.
Interjection
yo
Etymology 2
Interjection
yo
Japanese
Romanization
yo
Kapampangan
Pronunciation
Pronoun
yo
- alternative spelling of yula
- alternative spelling of yuya
- alternative spelling of ye
- alternative spelling of yu
Kristang
Ladino
Lingala
Lower Tanana
Mandarin
Middle English
Noone
Norman
Old Spanish
Pali
Paraujano
Spanish
Tregami
Turkish
West Makian
Xhosa
Yanomamö
Ye'kwana
Yoruba
Zulu
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