Wiktionary

owe

See also: Owe and ọwẹ

English

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Etymology

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    From Middle English owen, from Old English āgan, from Proto-West Germanic *aigan (“to own”), from Proto-Germanic *aiganą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₂óyḱe (“to possess, own”), reduplicated stative of *h₂eyḱ- (“to own”). See also own, ought.

    Cognate with Sanskrit ईष्टे (īṣṭe, “to own, possess”).

    Pronunciation

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    Verb

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    owe (third-person singular simple present owes, present participle owing, simple past owed or (archaic) ought, past participle owed or (archaic) own)

    1. (ditransitive) To be under an obligation to give something back to someone or to perform some action for someone.
      We owe it to our children to make our nation a better place to live in the future.
      I owe Kevin five bucks which he lent to me last week.
      This time I'll cover for you, but now you owe me a favour.
    2. (intransitive) To have debt; to be in debt.
    3. (transitive) To have as a cause; used with to.
      The record owes its success to the outstanding guitar solos.

    Usage notes

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    • The original past tense form was ought, which during Middle English began to be used with indefinite signification and has become a distinct verb. The original past participle survives in the adjective own.

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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    Anagrams

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    Avava

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    Noun

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    owe

    1. water

    Further reading

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    • Terry Crowley et al, The Avava Language of Central Malakula (Vanuatu) (2006)

    Bavarian

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    Alternative forms

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    Etymology

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    From Middle High German abhin, abehin, equivalent to å + hi. Compare archaic German abhin.

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    Adverb

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    owe

    1. (East Central Bavarian) down, downwards (direction away from the speaker)
      Antonym: auffe

    Usage notes

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    Bavarian adverbs of direction come in pairs: endings in -i or -e denote direction away from the speaker (akin to hi), and endings in -a denote direction towards the speaker (akin to her).

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    Middle English

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    Pronoun

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    owe

    1. alternative form of yow

    Old French

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    Noun

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    owe

    1. alternative form of hoe (“hoe”)

    Polish

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    Pronunciation

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    Pronoun

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    owe

    1. nonvirile nominative/accusative/vocative plural of ów

    Yoruba

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    Alternative forms

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    Etymology 1

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    Folk etymology explains that it comes from ò- (“nominalizing prefix”) +‎ wé (“to wrap, to twist”), literally “That which wraps something around something else (another meaning)”.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    òwe

    1. proverb, adage, saying

    Etymology 2

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    Òwè tó ń jókòó lé àpáta

    Compare with Igala ògè

    Alternative forms

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    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    òwè

    1. a species of black monkey; (in particular) Collared mangabey
    Derived terms
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    proverbs
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