oes

O1E1S1
UK/əʊz/US/oʊz/

noun

Small circle-shaped sequins of precious metal sewn to clothing for decorative effect, popular in the 17th century.

Less commonScrabble 3

Meanings

oes1

noun
  1. pluralrareplural of o, the name of the letter O.

    Mouthing out his hollow oes and aes, / Deep-chested music.

    1842, Alfred Tennyson, The Epic
    3 more examples

    A, aes; Bee, Bees; Cee, Cees; Dee, Dees; E, Ees; Eff, Effs; Gee, Gees; Aitch, Aitches; I, Ies; Jay, Jays; [...] En, Ens; O, Oes; Pee, Pees; Kue, Kues; Ar, Ars; […] Wy, Wies; Zed, Zeds.

    1840, Brandon Turner, A new English grammar, page 230

    These names […] may form regular plurals; thus, Aes, Bees, Cees, Dees, Ees, Effs, Gees, Aitches, Ies, Jays, Kays, Ells, Ems, Ens, Oes, Pees, Kues, Ars, Esses, Tees, Ues, Vees, Double-ues, Exes, Wies, Zees.

    1856, Goold Brown, The First Lines of English Grammar, page 10

    [It] is desirable [...] that we may have a shorter and simpler term in stead of Double-u. [...] Dr. Webster [...] is not yet tired of his experiment with "oo;" but thinks still to make the vowel sound of this letter its name. Yet [...] If W is to be named as a vowel, it ought to name itself, as other vowels do, and not to take two Oes for its written name. Who that knows what it is, to name a letter, can think of naming w by double o?

    1860, Goold Brown, The Grammar of English Grammars: With an Introduction, Historical and Critical, page 154
nounoes pl (plural only)

alternative owes

  1. obsoletepluralplural onlySmall circle-shaped sequins of precious metal sewn to clothing for decorative effect, popular in the 17th century.

    The Colours, that shew best by Candlelight, are; White, Carnation, and a Kinde of Sea-Water-Greene; And Oes, or Spangs, as they are of no great Cost, so they are of most Glory.

    1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Masques and Triumphs”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC

oes2

noun
  1. pluralplural of oe (“grandchild”)

    Synonyms: grandchildren

oes3

noun
  1. literarypluralpoeticrareplural of oe (“small island”)

    Synonyms: ey

OES4

proper noun

alternative OES.

  1. abbreviationinitialismhuman sciencesInitialism of Old East Slavic.
  2. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Order of the Eastern Star.

OEs5

verb
  1. indicativepresentsingularthird personthird-person singular simple present indicative of OE

Oes6

noun
  1. pluralplural of O (instances of the vocative O).

    The Fifteen Oes and Other Prayers […] The Oes constitute about a third of the book.

  2. Alternative letter-case form of oes.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

From o + -es. The ornamentation is named for its shape, resembling the letter O.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with oes

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

ohsOso's-oseowes (toe–tow merger)ohsOso's-oseowes (toe–tow merger)ohsOso's-oseowes (toe–tow merger)ohsOso's-oseowes (toe–tow merger)

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

oes. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oes

MLA

“oes.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oes. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oes,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oes.

Source: oes on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.