או

Aramaic

Alternative forms

• Syriac: ܐܘ

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔaw/

Conjunction

או • (transliteration needed)

1. or, either

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔo/

Interjection

או • (transliteration needed)

1. woe, alas, O

References

• “ˀw”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• Jastrow, Marcus (1903) A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature, London, New York: Luzac & Co., G.P. Putnam's Sons
• Payne Smith, Jessie (1903) A Compendious Syriac Dictionary Founded Upon the Thesaurus Syriacus of R. Payne Smith, D.D., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Hebrew

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *ʔaw. Cognate with Arabic أَوْ (ʔaw) and Ugaritic 𐎜 (ʾō).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Conjunction

אוֹ • ('o)

1. Or.

   הוא בא, או לא?

   hu ba, o lo?

   Is he coming, or not?

2. Either.

   או זה או זה אפשר.

   o ze o ze efshár.

   You can have either this one or this one.

Usage notes

• Hebrew אוֹ is used much as English or, and Hebrew אוֹ … אוֹ is used much as English either … or. The main difference is that אוֹ … אוֹ cannot by itself introduce two complete clauses; rather, in this case, each clause must be introduced by ש־ (“that”):

  או שאתה כן, או שאתה לא.

  o she'ata ken, o she'ata lo.

  Either you do, or you don't.

Mozarabic

Etymology

Inherited from Latin aut. Compare Portuguese ou and Spanish o. By coincidence, resembles the Hebrew synonym או.

Conjunction

או (ʔw)

1. or
   • c. 1100, Kharja H16, section 1:

     כי פראיו או כי שיראד דמיבי

     ky frʔyw ʔw ky šyrʔd dmyby

     What shall I do, what will become of me?

     (literally, “What shall I do or what will be of me?”)

Persian

Pronoun

או • (u)

1. Judeo-Persian spelling of او (u).
   • 1600s, Elisha ben Shmūel, translated by Dalia Yasharpour, The Prince and the Sufi: The Judeo-Persian Rendition of the Buddha Biographies, Brill, published November 9, 2020:

     נכרדה או וֿפֿא בא אהל דווראן
     שכסתה צד הזאראן עהד ופיימאן

     na-karde u vafâ bâ ahl-e dowrân
     šekaste sad hezârân ahd o peymân

     She has never been faithful to people of the world,
     Breaking countless promises and pacts.