# wo
## Translingual
### Symbol

wo
* (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Wolof.

### See also

* Wiktionary's coverage of Wolof terms

## English
### Alternative forms

* whoa

### Etymology 1

Variant of who.

#### Interjection

wo
* A falconer's call to a hawk.
* A call to cause a horse to slow down or stop; whoa.

### Etymology 2

Variant of woe.

#### Noun

wo (countable and uncountable, plural wos)
* Obsolete spelling of woe.
** 1815, Philip Freneau, A collection of poems, on American affairs and a variety of other subjects, page 82:Such feeble arms, to work internal wo!

### Etymology 3

From Middle English wough, woh, wouh, from Old English wāh, wāg (“a wall, partition”), from Proto-Germanic *waigaz (“wall”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- (“to bend, twist”). Cognate with Scots wauch, vauch.

#### Alternative forms

* waw (Northern England, Scotland)
* waugh (Scotland)

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /wo/, /wɔː/
* Rhymes: -o, -ɔː

#### Noun

wo (plural wos)
* (Northern England, Derbyshire, dialectal) A wall.
** 1859, Thomas Moore, The Song of Solomon in the Durham Dialect, ii. 9:He stands ahint our wo.
** 1871, Benjamin Brierly, “Weaver of Wellbrook”, in William-Edward-Armitage Axon, editor, Folk-song and Folk-speech of Lancashire, page 53:Yo may turn up yor noses at me an' th' owd dame, An thrutch us like dogs agen th' wo : Bo as lung 's aw con nayger, aw'll ne'er be a beggar, So aw care no a cuss for yo o-o'.
** 1880, Thomas Clarke, Specimens of the Dialect of Westmorland, page 41:[…] thinkan it ran at him, thrast him up again t' wo, ramm't at him, […]
** 1884, Jack Robison, Aald Tales ower Agen, section 4:Plantit up agen t'wo
** 1936, G. Halstead Whittaker, A Lancashire Garland of Dialect Prose and Verse, page 221:
    Hoo's pluck of a lion an' faces her foe
    Wi' calm in her e'en an' her beck agen t' wo;
    Hoo's firm i' decision, stonds up for her reets
    An' bravely withstonds o' t' misfortins hoo meets.

#### Verb

wo
* (Northern England, dialectal, possibly obsolete) To wall (to build a wall, or build a wall around).
** 1871, John Richardson, "Cummerland Talk": Being Short Tales and Rhymes, page 101:[…] “Theer was anudder time, teu, 'at I saw t Park Boggle, in anudder form; bit I wassent seah nart that time, as I was when I'd been fetchen t hogs. I'd been wo-en a gap 'at hed fawn ower o' tudder side o' to Park; […]
** 1880, Thomas Clarke, Specimens of the Dialect of Westmorland, page 2:It's a varra lang while—a caant tell ya hoo lang—sen it wes bilt, lang afooar Borradal fooak woet kucku in, er t' first cooach ran throo Dent, […]

### Anagrams

* O/W, OW, ow, 'ow

## Acehnese
### Alternative forms

* woë

### Verb

wo
* to go home

### References

* 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

## Akan
### Pronoun

wo
* thou, you (singular)

## Bavarian
### Alternative forms

* wou (Northern Bavarian)

### Etymology

With a widespread dialectal shift from -ā- to -ō-, from Middle High German wā, wār, from Old High German wār, hwār, from Proto-West Germanic *hwār, from Proto-Germanic *hwēr, *hwar. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis, whence also wer. Cognate with German wo, Dutch waar and English where.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /voː/

### Adverb

wo (Central Bavarian)
* (interrogative) where (at what place)
    Wo sand'n meine Augnglasln? ― Where are my glasses?
* (relative) where (at or in which place or situation)
    I kenn a Gschäft, wo's des håbn. ― I know a shop where they offer that.
    Wo i a ka Sun brauch, is beim Autofoahn. ― Where I don't need the sun is when I'm driving.
* (relative) when, that (on which; at which time)
    Des woa de Wochn, wo ma gfeiert håbn. ― That was the week when we celebrated.
* (indefinite) somewhere (in or to an uncertain or unspecified location)
    I warad gern wo, wo's wärmer is. ― I'd like to be somewhere where it's warmer.

### Pronoun

wo (chiefly West Central Bavarian)
* (relative) who, whom, which, that
    Des is de Frau, wo i gsehn håb. ― This is the woman who I saw.
    Koatn gibt's åm Schoiter, wo då hintn is. ― Tickets are available at the counter which is back there.
* (relative) (inserted after the relative pronouns der, de, des, dem, den, dena, dera
    Des is de Frau, de wo i gsehn håb. ― This is the woman who I saw.
    Koatn gibt's åm Schoiter, der wo då hintn is. ― Tickets are available at the counter which is back there.

#### Synonyms

* wos, wås (East Central Bavarian)

### Conjunction

wo
* (subordinating) when, if
    Wås håst'n nix gmåcht, wo'st as eh scho länger gwusst håst? ― Why didn't you do anything when you had known about it for a long time?
    Mia soidadn ned spazierngehn, wo's so regnt. ― We shouldn't go for a walk when it's raining like that.

## Dongxiang
### Etymology

Compare Bonan wa, perhaps from Proto-Mongolic *bü- (“to be”), see Mongolian бий (bii).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /wo/

### Verb

wo (defective, copulative)
* to be
** existential copula
    Eqie guanjinde nie sizi wo, nie basi wo.Once upon a time there was a lion and a tiger.
** equitive copula
    Bi shi er dui nie bawan, yi dui bawan shi jiu Rejie wo, san dui bawan shi nie halao Remi wo.I was the bigshot of the second team, the bigshot of the first team was Rejie and the bigshot of the third team was one ugly Remi.
** adjectival copula
    Ene shihoude sumulase hunnerei wo dei.If I think [about it] now, it's funny.
* in possessive constructions with the possessor in dative
    Ene ghualade nie ghoni wo.These two had a sheep.
* (after -zhi) forming the progressive tense
    Bi ene agvinni nanbangiede nie jian wafande sauzhi wo.I live [am living] in a one bedroom house at the south of the village.

#### Usage notes

* Usually combined with the Chinese copula shi which is placed between two terms while wo follows the second. Either of them or even both can be omitted but both being present is usually the most common setup.

#### Synonyms

* shi
* wei
* enbe

#### Antonyms

* pushi
* u

#### Derived terms

* -zho - contraction of -zhi wo.

## Ewe
### Pronoun

wo
* them
* they

## German
### Etymology

With a widespread dialectal shift from -ā- to -ō-, from Middle High German wā, wār, from Old High German wār, hwār, from Proto-West Germanic *hwār, from Proto-Germanic *hwēr, *hwar. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis, whence also wer. Cognate with English where.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /voː/
* Audio:(file)
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -oː

### Adverb

wo
* (interrogative) where (at what place)
    Wo bist du?Where are you?
* (relative) where (at or in which place or situation)
    Ich kenne einen Laden, wo solche Sachen verkauft werden.I know a shop where such things are sold.
* (relative, somewhat informal) when, that (on which; at which time)
    Das war der Tag, wo wir uns kennen gelernt haben.That was the day when we got to know each other.
* (indefinite, colloquial) somewhere (in or to an uncertain or unspecified location)
    Synonym: irgendwo
    Ich wär gern wo, wo's wärmer ist.I'd like to be somewhere where it's warmer.

#### Usage notes

* The temporal use of wo (meaning “when”) is sometimes frowned upon in formal standard German. There is a tendency to use a preposition + relative pronoun instead: Das war der Tag, an dem wir uns kennen gelernt haben. (“That was the day on which we got to know each other.”) Nevertheless, this usage is very common in spoken German and is also widely acceptable in writing, particularly after adverbs, where the only alternative would be the archaic da: Jetzt, wo ich es weiß, wird mir alles klar. (“Now that I know, it all becomes clear to me.”) Compare French où (“where”), the temporal use of which is perfectly standard.

### Conjunction

wo
* (colloquial) when
    Synonym: als
    Wo ich mich umgedreht hab, haut der mir unvermittelt eine rein.When I turned around, he just abruptly punched me in the face.

#### Usage notes

* This usage is exclusively colloquial and would be considered inappropriate in a formal text.

### Pronoun

wo
* (relative, dialectal, nonstandard) who, whom, which, that
    Ich bin der, wo das kann.I'm the one who can do that.
** 1979, Margret Weiler, Zur Frage der Integration der Zigeuner in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: eine Untersuchung der gegenwärtigen Situation der Zigeuner und der sozialpolitischen und sozialarbeiterischen Massnahmen für Zigeuner, self-published doctoral thesis, p. 188
    Aber daß sie sich da mit uns unterhalten, das tun die nicht, mal grad die wo wir mal kennen, das ist eine Familie (...)But that they should have a chat with us, they don't do that, just maybe those who we know a bit, that's one family (...)
** 1994, Burkhard Hergesell, Arbeiterkulturen im Betrieb: interethnische Beziehungen zwischen Produktionsarbeitern: eine empirische Studie, IKO Verlag für Interkulturelle Kommunikation, p. 133
    Ali: "Und der Hussein, der ist ein Typ, wo / wo doch nicht Türkisch redet. Der redet nur Deutsch mit mir. (...)"Ali: "And Hussein, he's a bloke who / who won't speak Turkish. He only talks German to me. (...)"
** 2009, Elfriede Jelinek, Die Kontrakte des Kaufmanns. Rechnitz (Der Würgeengel). Über Tiere. – Drei Romane, Rowohlt Taschenbuch, p. 216
    Ich bin, der ich bin. Ich bin, wo ich bin. Ich bin der, wo ich bin. Wo sagt man sowas?I am who I am. I am where I am. I am the one that I am. Where do they say it like this?

#### Usage notes

* This use is restricted to dialectally influenced vernaculars (Regiolekte) and chiefly to Alemannic areas (Switzerland and south-western Germany). In other regions, this usage is unusual, and scorned by some.

#### Related terms

* irgendwo, nirgendwo, anderswo, woanders, wo-

## German Low German
### Etymology 1

From Middle Low German wô (“how”), from Old Saxon [Term?], from Proto-Germanic *hwō. Cognate with English how, German wie, Dutch hoe.

#### Alternative forms

* (in some dialects) woans

#### Pronunciation

* (in some dialects) IPA: /vɔu̯/
* (traditional) IPA: [wɔʊ̯]

#### Adverb

wo
* how
    Wo vele Daag?How many days?

### Etymology 2

From Old Saxon hwē, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz. Compare English who, whom, whose.

#### Pronoun

wo
* (Low Prussian, relative) who, which
    (Low Prussian) Dat, wo ös... ― that which is...

##### Usage notes

The dative form (also used for the accusative) is woom (wom); the genitive form is woos (wos).

## Haitian Creole
### Etymology

From French haut (“high”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /wo/

### Adjective

wo
* high
* tall

### Adverb

wo
* high

#### Related terms

* wotè

## Hunsrik
### Alternative forms

* woo (Wiesemann spelling system)

### Etymology

From Middle High German wā, wār, from Old High German wār, hwār, from Proto-West Germanic *hwār, from Proto-Germanic *hwēr, *hwar.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /voː/

### Adverb

wo
* (interrogative) where
    Wo bist-du?Where are you.
* (relative) where
    Ich waarte dich, wo mein Fatter wohnd.I will wait for you where my father lives.
* (relative) when
    In denne Zeid, wo alles deirer waar.In those times when everything was more expensive.

### Pronoun

wo
* (relative) who
    De Mann, wost-du sihst, is mein Fatter.The man you see is my father.
    Die Fraa, wo uns gerufd hod, siehd aarich bees aus.The woman who called us seems pretty angry.

### Further reading

* Online Hunsrik Dictionary

## Isoko
### Verb

wo
* Spelling of vbo before the 1992 orthographic update.

## Japanese
### Romanization

wo
* Rōmaji transcription of を
* Rōmaji transcription of ヲ
* Rōmaji transcription of うぉ
* Rōmaji transcription of ウォ

## Lower Sorbian
### Preposition

wo
* Superseded spelling of wó.

## Luxembourgish
### Verb

wo
* second-person singular imperative of woen

## Mandarin
### Romanization

wo (wo$^5$ / wo$^0$, Zhuyin ˙ㄨㄛ)
* Nonstandard spelling of wō.
* Nonstandard spelling of wǒ.
* Nonstandard spelling of wò.

#### Usage notes

* Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

## Middle English
### Etymology 1
#### Pronoun

wo
* Alternative form of who (“who”, nominative)

### Etymology 2
#### Noun

wo (plural wos)
* Alternative form of woo

### Etymology 3
#### Adjective

wo
* woeful
** 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Wyfe of Bathes Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:Wo was the knight and sorroufully he syketh.(please add an English translation of this quotation)

## Saterland Frisian
### Etymology

From Old Frisian hō, from Proto-West Germanic [Term?], from Proto-Germanic *hwō. Cognates include West Frisian hoe and Dutch hoe.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /voː/
* Hyphenation: wo
* Rhymes: -oː

### Adverb

wo
* how?
    Wo dääst du dät? ― How do you do that?
* how
    Iek weet wo du dät dääst! ― I know how you do that.

### References

* Marron C. Fort (2015) “wo”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

## Xhosa
### Pronoun

-wo
* Combining stem of wona.

## Ye'kwana
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [βo]

### Noun

wo (possessed wodü)
* great-grandfather
* father-in-law (of a woman)
* mother’s brother, maternal uncle
* father’s sister’s husband

#### Usage notes

This noun has a suppletive first-person possessed form, yawo.

### References

* Cáceres, Natalia (2011) “wo”, in Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎, Lyon
* Hall, Katherine Lee (1988) “wo:dü”, in The morphosyntax of discourse in De'kwana Carib, volumes I and II, Saint Louis, Missouri: PhD Thesis, Washington University
* Hall, Katherine (2007) “wōdɨ”, in Mary Ritchie Key & Bernard Comrie, editors, The Intercontinental Dictionary Series‎, Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, published 2021
* Monterrey, Nalúa Rosa Silva (2012) Hombres de curiara y mujeres de conuco. Etnografía de los indigenas Ye’kwana de Venezuela, Ciudad Bolívar: Universidad Nacional Experimental de Guayana, pages 62–65, 69, 73: “woodü, wodüümö”

## Yoruba
### Etymology 1

Clipping of èwo.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ꜜwō/

#### Determiner

wo
* (interrogative) which; what
    Èdè wo ni ẹ gbọ́ jù? ― Which language do you understand the most?
    Fíìmù wo ni kí n wò? ― Which film should I watch?

#### See also

* èwo (“which; what”)

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Yoruboid *ɣò

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /wò/

#### Verb

wò
* to look
    Ẹ jẹ́ ká wò ó ― Let's see
* to watch

##### Synonyms

Yoruba Varieties and Languages - wò (“to look, watch”) :
| view map; ||||||
| Language Family | Variety Group | Variety/Language | Subdialect | Location | Words |
| Proto-Itsekiri-SEY | Southeast Yoruba | Ào | Ào | Ìdóàní | yò |
| Proto-Itsekiri-SEY | Southeast Yoruba | Ìdànrè (Ùdànè, Ùdànrè) | Ìdànrè (Ùdànè, Ùdànrè) | Ìdànrè (Ùdànè, Ùdànrè) | ghò |
| Proto-Itsekiri-SEY | Southeast Yoruba | Ìjẹ̀bú | Ìjẹ̀bú | Ìjẹ̀bú Òde | wò |
| Proto-Itsekiri-SEY | Southeast Yoruba | Ìjẹ̀bú | Rẹ́mọ | Ẹ̀pẹ́ | ghò |
| Proto-Itsekiri-SEY | Southeast Yoruba | Ìjẹ̀bú | Rẹ́mọ | Ìkòròdú | ghò |
| Proto-Itsekiri-SEY | Southeast Yoruba | Ìjẹ̀bú | Rẹ́mọ | Ṣágámù | ghò |
| Proto-Itsekiri-SEY | Southeast Yoruba | Ìkálẹ̀ (Ùkálẹ̀) | Ìkálẹ̀ (Ùkálẹ̀) | Òkìtìpupa | ghò |
| Proto-Itsekiri-SEY | Southeast Yoruba | Ìlàjẹ (Ùlàjẹ) | Ìlàjẹ (Ùlàjẹ) | Mahin | ghò |
| Proto-Itsekiri-SEY | Southeast Yoruba | Oǹdó | Oǹdó | Oǹdó | ghò |
| Proto-Itsekiri-SEY | Southeast Yoruba | Ọ̀wọ̀ (Ọ̀ghọ̀) | Ọ̀wọ̀ (Ọ̀ghọ̀) | Ọ̀wọ̀ (Ọ̀ghọ̀) | ghò |
| Proto-Itsekiri-SEY | Southeast Yoruba | Usẹn | Usẹn | Usẹn | ghò |
| Proto-Itsekiri-SEY | Ìtsẹkírì | Ìtsẹkírì | Ìtsẹkírì | Ìwẹrẹ | ghò |
| Proto-Itsekiri-SEY | Olùkùmi | Olùkùmi | Olùkùmi | Ugbódù | ghò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Central Yoruba | Èkìtì | Èkìtì | Àdó Èkìtì | ò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Central Yoruba | Èkìtì | Àkúrẹ́ | Àkúrẹ́ | ò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Central Yoruba | Èkìtì | Mọ̀bà | Ọ̀tùn Èkìtì | ò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Central Yoruba | Ifẹ̀ (Ufẹ̀) | Ifẹ̀ (Ufẹ̀) | Ilé Ifẹ̀ (Ulé Ufẹ̀) | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Àwórì | Àwórì | Èbúté Mẹ́tà | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Ẹ̀gbá | Ẹ̀gbá | Abẹ́òkúta | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Èkó | Èkó | Èkó | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Ìbàdàn | Ìbàdàn | Ìbàdàn | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Ìbàràpá | Ìbàràpá | Igbó Òrà | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Ìbọ̀lọ́ | Ìbọ̀lọ́ | Òṣogbo (Òsogbo) | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Ìlọrin | Ìlọrin | Ìlọrin | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Oǹkó | Oǹkó | Òtù | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Oǹkó | Oǹkó | Ìwéré Ilé | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Oǹkó | Oǹkó | Òkèhò | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Oǹkó | Oǹkó | Ìsẹ́yìn | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Oǹkó | Oǹkó | Ṣakí | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Oǹkó | Oǹkó | Tedé | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Oǹkó | Oǹkó | Ìgbẹ́tì | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Ọ̀yọ́ | Ọ̀yọ́ | Ọ̀yọ́ | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Standard Yorùbá | Standard Yorùbá | Nàìjíríà | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northwest Yoruba | Standard Yorùbá | Standard Yorùbá | Bɛ̀nɛ̀ | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northeast Yoruba/Okun | Ìyàgbà | Ìyàgbà | Ìsánlú Ìtẹ̀dó | gwò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Northeast Yoruba/Okun | Owé | Owé | Kabba | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Ede Languages/Southwest Yoruba | Ifɛ̀ | Ifɛ̀ | Akpáré | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Ede Languages/Southwest Yoruba | Ifɛ̀ | Ifɛ̀ | Atakpamɛ | wò |
| Proto-Yoruba | Ede Languages/Southwest Yoruba | Ifɛ̀ | Ifɛ̀ | Tchetti (Tsɛti, Cɛti) | wò |
| Note: This amalgamation of terms comes from a number of different academic papers focused on the unique varieties and languages spoken in the Yoruboid dialectal continuum which extends from eastern Togo to southern Nigeria. The terms for spoken varieties, now deemed dialects of Yorùbá in Nigeria (i.e. Southeast Yorùbá, Northwest Yorùbá, Central Yorùbá, and Northeast Yorùbá), have converged with those of Standard Yorùbá leading to the creation of what can be labeled Common Yorùbá (Funṣọ Akere, 1977). It can be assumed that the Standard Yorùbá term can also be used in most Nigerian varieties alongside native terms, especially amongst younger speakers. This does not apply to the other Nigerian Yoruboid languages of Ìṣẹkírì and Olùkùmi, nor the Èdè Languages of Benin and Togo. ||||||

##### Derived terms

* bẹ̀ wò (“to visit”)
* tọ́ wò (“to taste”)
* waago (“to check the time”)
* wò ó (“look; see”)
* àyẹ̀wò (“check”)
* ìdánwò (“exam; test”)
* ìwòsàn (“healing”)

## Zulu
### Pronoun

-wo
* Combining stem of wona.