ho

ho · interjection, noun¹

1. Old Norse · derived fromhó!
2. Old English · inherited fromhō
3. Middle English · inherited fromho
4. English todayho

From Middle English ho, hoo (interjection), from Old English hō, probably from Old Norse hó! (interjection, also, a shepherd's call). Compare Dutch ho, German ho, Old French ho! (“hold!, halt!”).

ho · noun, verb²

Pronunciation spelling of whore in non-rhotic accents with the dough-door merger, such as some varieties of African American Vernacular English; compare mo (“more”), fo' (“for; four”). The noun first appears c. 1964, whereas the verb first appears c. 1972.

ho · noun³

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hugô
2. Old English · inherited fromhogu
3. Middle English · inherited fromhowe
4. English todayho

From Middle English howe, houwe, hoȝe, from Old English hogu and hoga, from Proto-Germanic *hugô, *hugiz, *huguz (“mind, thought, understanding”), akin to Old High German hugu, hugi (Middle High German hüge), Old Saxon hugi (Middle Dutch höghe, Dutch heug), Old Norse hugr, Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌲𐍃 (hugs).

ho · verb⁴

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hugjaną
2. Old English · inherited fromhogian
3. Middle English · inherited fromhowen
4. English todayho

From Middle English howen, hoȝen, hogien, from Old English hogian, hugian, from Proto-Germanic *hugjaną. Cognate with Middle Scots huik, Old High German hucken, Old Saxon huggjan, Dutch heugen, Old Norse hyggja, Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hugjan).

Ho · noun, proper noun⁵

From Ho 𑣙𑣉𑣉 (hoː, “Human being”).

Ho · proper noun⁶

1. Vietnamese · borrowed fromHồ
2. English todayHo

Borrowed from Chinese 何 (Mandarin: Hé, Cantonese: ho⁴, Hakka: Hò, Min Nan: Hô), or from Vietnamese Hồ.

Words from the same roots