Etymograph

English

oh

Oh comes from Middle English o ‘oh, ah’, and goes back to Latin ō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEō
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400oh
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500o‘oh’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1614oh

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEō
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400oh
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500o‘oh’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1614oh

Earliest quotation: 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., The Preface: “Oh by what plots, by what forſwearings, betrayings, oppreſsions,…”

Every English word from Latin ō

Another origin of oh

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEō
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150same form
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500o‘oh, ah’
  4. Englishtodayoh

Today it means

intj Expression of surprise.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin ō / oh

Shirt and support for this word