O

O [Oū]
Letter
== Meaning ==
The letter ⟨o⟩ is the fourth most common letter in the English alphabet. Like the other English vowel letters, it has associated long and short pronunciations. The long ⟨o⟩ as in boat is actually most often a diphthong /oʊ/ (realized dialectically anywhere from o to əʊ). In English there is also a short ⟨o⟩ as in fox, /ɒ/, which sounds slightly different in different dialects. In most dialects of British English, it is either an open-mid back rounded vowel ɔ or an open back rounded vowel ɒ; in American English, it is most commonly an unrounded back ɑ to a central vowel, A.
Common digraphs include ⟨oo⟩, which represents either /uː/ or /ʊ/; ⟨oi⟩ or ⟨oy⟩, which typically represents the diphthong /ɔɪ/, and ⟨ao⟩, ⟨oe⟩, and ⟨ou⟩ which represent a variety of pronunciations depending on context and etymology.
In other contexts, especially before a letter with a minim, ⟨o⟩ may represent the sound /ʌ/, as in son or love. It can also represent the semivowel /w/ as in choir or quinoa.
In English, the letter ⟨o⟩ in isolation before a noun, usually capitalized, marks the vocative case, as in the titles to O Canada or O Captain! My Captain! or certain verses of the Bible.
Category:O