Wiktionary

to

See also: Appendix:Variations of "to"
Languages (63)
Translingual • English
Abinomn • Asturian • Babine-Witsuwit'en • Babuza • Bahnar • Bambara • Catalan • Czech • Dalmatian • Danish • Esperanto • Ewe • Finnish • French • Friulian • Fula • Galician • Garifuna • Gonja • Gun • Hupa • Ido • Itene • Japanese • Kangean • Kashubian • Kituba • Kongo • Kwalhioqua-Tlatskanai • Latvian • Lithuanian • Louisiana Creole • Lower Sorbian • Mauritian Creole • Middle English • Mohawk • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old Czech • Old English • Old High German • Old Polish • Old Saxon • Plautdietsch • Polish • Portuguese • Selepet • Serbo-Croatian • Silesian • Slovak • Slovene • Tocharian B • Tooro • Tututni • Uzbek • Vietnamese • Votic • Welsh • Yola • Yoruba • Zazaki
Page categories

Translingual

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Symbol

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to

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Tongan.

English

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Alternative forms

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  • (dialectal) ter
  • (contraction) t'
  • (abbreviation) 2

Etymology 1

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From Middle English to, from Old English tō, from Proto-Germanic *tō ~ *ta, from Proto-Indo-European *de ~ *do (“to”). Cognate with Scots tae, to (“to”), North Frisian to, tö, tu (“to”), Saterland Frisian tou (“to”), Low German to (“to”), Dutch toe, te (“to”), German zu (“to”), West Frisian ta (“to”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian ndaj (“towards”), Irish do (“to, for”), Breton da (“to, for”), Welsh i (“to, for”), Russian до (do, “to”). Doublet of too.

Pronunciation

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Stressed

Unstressed

  This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.
Particularly: "(US, after a vowel) (before a vowel) (US, after a vowel)"

Particle

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to

  1. A particle used for marking the following verb as an infinitive.
    I want to leave.
    He asked me what to do.
    I have places to go and people to see.
    To err is human.
    Who am I to criticise? I've done worse things myself.
    Precisely to get away from you was why I did what I did.
    I need some more books to read and friends to go partying with.
    • 1711 May, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W[illiam] Lewis […]; and sold by W[illiam] Taylor […], T[homas] Osborn[e] […], and J[ohn] Graves […], →OCLC:
      To err, is human; to forgive, divine.
    • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
      To be, or not to be: that is the question: / […]
    • 2010 July, “Archived copy”, in Associated Press‎[1], archived from the original on 5 July 2010, headline:
      Odds are, BP to get new CEO this year
    • 2011 April 10, Alistair Magowan, “Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport‎[2]:
      To that end, the home supporters were in good voice to begin with, but it was Newcastle who started the game in the ascendancy, with Barton putting a diving header over the top from Jose Enrique's cross.
  2. As above, with the verb implied.
    "Did you visit the museum?" "I wanted to, but it was closed."
    If he hasn't read it yet, he ought to.
  3. Used to indicate an obligation on the part of, or a directive given to, the subject.
    You are to go to the store and buy a bottle of milk.
  4. (expressing purpose) In order to.
    I went to the shops to buy some bread.
Derived terms
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Translations
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  A user suggests that this English entry be cleaned up, giving the reason: “Sense 1 is not the English infinitive morpheme, that would be -∅. The sentence "I could eat." contains a verb in the infinitive but no to. Rather, to is a particle that is used in conjunction with an already (zero-)marked infinitive. The box below, however, seems to contain a random mix of translations of the infinitive marker -∅ (e.g. German -en, Romanian -a, Turkish -mek) and the particle to (e.g. German zu, Romanian a).”
Please see the discussion on Requests for cleanup(+) or the talk page for more information and remove this template after the problem has been dealt with.
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Preposition

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to

  1. In the direction of; towards.
    She looked to the heavens.
  2. Indicating destination or final position: In the direction of, so as to arrive at or reach.
    We are walking to the shop.
    The water came right to the top of this wall.
    The coconut fell to the ground.
    • 2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in New York Times, retrieved 28 September 2013:
      Driven by a perceived political need to adopt a hard-line stance, Mr. Cameron’s coalition government has imposed myriad new restrictions, the aim of which is to reduce net migration to Britain to below 100,000.
  3. Used to indicate the target or recipient of an action.
    I gave the book to him.
    I spoke to him earlier.
    He devoted himself to education.
    They drank to his health.
  4. So as to contact, press against, impact, etc.
    I fixed the notice to the wall.
    Put your shoulder to the door.
    To clutch/clasp/hold/press one's hanky to one's mouth/nose/forehead.
  5. So as to become or reach: indicating a terminal state resulting from an action.
    His face was beaten to a pulp.
    I sang my baby to sleep.
    Whisk the mixture to a smooth consistency.
  6. So as to bring about or elicit (an effect or outcome).
    He made several bad-taste jokes to groans from the audience.
    I tried complaining, but it was to no effect.
    To everyone's great relief, the tuneless carol singers finally ceased their warbling.
  7. Used after an adjective to indicate its application.
    similar to ..., relevant to ..., pertinent to ..., I was nice to him, he was cruel to her, I am used to walking.
  8. Indicating a degree or level reached.
    It was to a large extent true.
    We manufacture these parts to a very high tolerance.
    This gauge is accurate to a second.
    My car dos 25 miles to the gallon.
  9. Used to describe what something consists of or contains.
    Anyone could do this job; there's nothing to it.
    There's a lot of sense to what he says.
    The name has a nice ring to it.
    There are 100 pence to the pound.
  10. Denotes the end of a range.
    It takes 2 to 4 weeks to process typical applications.
  11. (obsolete) As a.
    With God to friend (with God as a friend);   with The Devil to fiend (with the Devil as a foe);   lambs slaughtered to lake (lambs slaughtered as a sacrifice);   took her to wife (took her as a wife);   was sold to slave (was sold as a slave).
  12. Used to indicate a ratio or comparison; compared to, as against.
    one to one = 1:1
    ten to one = 10:1.
    I have ten dollars to your four.
    The odds on that horse are seven to two.
    • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iii:
      The hoſt of Xerxes, which by fame is ſaid
      To drinke the mightie Parthian Araris,
      Was but a handfull to that we will haue.
    • 2012 April 22, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 West Brom”, in BBC Sport‎[3]:
      In total, the Reds had 28 shots to their opponent's nine, and 15 corners to the Baggies' three.
  13. (arithmetic) Used to indicate that the preceding term is to be raised to the power of the following value; indicates exponentiation.
    Three squared or three to the second power is nine.
    Three to the power of two is nine.
    Three to the second is nine.
  14. (time) Preceding (the stated hour).
    What's the time? – It's quarter to four in the afternoon (or 3:45 pm).
    Antonym: past
    1. (informal) With implied hour.
      It’s quarter to (3:45, or 4:45, or whatever time ending in 45 would make the most sense)
  15. According to.
    Our holiday did not go to plan.
  16. (Canada, Cornwall (UK), Newfoundland, Wales, West Midlands (UK)) At.
    Stay where you're to and I'll come find you, b'y.
    Where are you to?
    • 1867, Cornish Tales, in prose and verse by various authors, page 33:
      "What's that to you?" said Trevool, rather sharply, "worn't I to a berrin? […]
  17. Used more-or-less idiomatically with various verbs: keep to the left, agree to the proposal, attend to the matter, etc. See the individual entries.
Usage notes
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In the sense of "as a", it is a fossil word (Standard English only), found usually only in obsolete set phrases like: "to take a woman to wife", "to have someone to friend", "to have something to birthright" etc. In northern dialects,(clarification of this definition is needed) where it is rare but still in common use, it is often used in combination with with.

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

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to (not comparable)

  2. (regionalism) Toward a closed, touching or engaging position.
    Synonyms: closed, shut
    Antonyms: open, ajar
    Please push the door to.
  3. (nautical) Into the wind.
  4. Misspelling of too.
Usage notes
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The sense "toward a closed, touching or engaging position" is a regionalism found in various parts of the UK and US.

Translations
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Hindi तो (to).

Pronunciation

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Particle

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to

  1. (mild intensifier, colloquial, chiefly North India) a filler word common amongst urban Indians.
    I am to so bored right now.

References

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  • Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Spatial particles of orientation", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8

Anagrams

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Abinomn

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Noun

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to

  1. sago (tree)

Asturian

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Etymology

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From Latin tuus.

Adjective

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to (epicene, plural tos)

  1. your
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Babine-Witsuwit'en

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Etymology

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From Proto-Athabaskan *tuˑ.

Noun

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to

  1. water

References

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  • Sharon Hargus, Wisuwit’en Grammar: Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology (2007), page 43

Babuza

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

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to

  1. water

References

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  • Naoyoshi Ogawa, English-Favorlang vocabulary (2003)
  • S. Tsuchida, A Comparative Vocabulary of Austronesian Languages of Sinicized Ethnic Groups in Taiwan, Part I: Western Taiwan, Memoirs of the Faculty of Letters, No. 7 (1982)

Bahnar

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Etymology

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From Proto-Bahnaric *tɔʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *tɔʔ. Cognates include Vietnamese đó, Khmer ដ៏ (dɑɑ).

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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to

  1. that, there

Bambara

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Noun

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to

  1. stiff porridge

Catalan

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin tonus, from Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos).[1] First attested in 1575.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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to m (plural tons)

  1. (music) tone (specific pitch)
  2. (linguistics) tone (pitch of a word)
  3. tone or shade of a color

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ “to”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.

Further reading

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Czech

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old Czech to.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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to n

  1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of ten: it, this, that

Further reading

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  • “to”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
  • “to”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
  • “to”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Dalmatian

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Etymology

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From Latin tuus. Compare Italian tuo, Romanian tău, Friulian to, French ton, Spanish tu.

Pronoun

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to m (feminine toa)

  1. your; second-person masculine singular possessive pronoun

See also

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Danish

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Danish numbers (edit)
20
[a], [b] ←  1 2 3  → 
    Cardinal: to
    Ordinal: anden
Danish Wikipedia article on 2

Etymology 1

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From Old Norse tveir, from Proto-Germanic *twai, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”).

The modern Danish form is a merger of the original East Old Norse accusative masculine twā and the nominative/accusative feminine twāʀ (West tvær). The neuter tū (West tvau) is preserved in the adverb itu.

Pronunciation

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Numeral

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to

  1. two

Etymology 2

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From Old Danish thwa, from Old Norse þvá (“wash”), from Proto-Germanic *þwahaną.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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to (imperative to, infinitive at to, present tense tor, past tense toede, perfect tense har toet)

  1. (archaic) to wash

Conjugation

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Conjugation of to
active passive
present tor toes
past toede toedes
infinitive to toes
imperative to —
participle
present toende
past toet
(auxiliary verb have)
gerund toen

Esperanto

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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to (accusative singular to-on, plural to-oj, accusative plural to-ojn)

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter T/t.

See also

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Ewe

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Noun

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to

  1. antelope
  2. (anatomy) ear
  3. father-in-law
  4. mortar
  5. mountain

Verb

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to

  1. to crush
  2. to pound

Finnish

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Etymology

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Abbreviation of torstai (“Thursday”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈto/, [ˈt̪o̞]
  • Rhymes: -o
  • Syllabification(key): to
  • Hyphenation(key): to

Noun

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to

  1. Thu (abbreviation of Thursday)

French

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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to m (plural tos)

  1. (cooking, West Africa) variant of tô

Friulian

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Etymology

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From Latin tuus.

Pronoun

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to (second-person singular possessive of masculine singular, of feminine singular tô, of masculine plural tiei, of feminine plural tôs)

  1. (used attributively) your, thy; of yours, of thine
    che al sedi santifiât il to nom, che al vegni il to ream, — "Your kingdom come, your will be done," (third and fourth sentences of Lord's Prayer)
  2. (used predicatively) yours, thine
  3. (used substantively) yours, thine; the thing belonging to you/ thee

See also

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Fula

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Preposition

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to

  1. in, at, to

References

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Galician

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Pronunciation

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Interjection

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to

  1. interjection used to call dogs or cattle
    • 1820, B. A. Fandiño, El Heráclito Español y Demócrito Gallego:
      Meu señor santo Tomé,
      tendes dous nomes nun só,
      sodes castrón polo mé,
      é sodes cán polo tó.
      My good sir Santo Tomé:
      You have two names in just one,
      You are a ram with the "mé"
      And a dog with the "tó"

References

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Garifuna

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Article

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to

  1. feminine definite article
    Mutu to ― The woman

Antonyms

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Gonja

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Noun

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to

  1. language

References

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  • Mary E. Kropp Dakubu, The Languages of Ghana

Gun

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Etymology 1

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Cognates include Fon tò, Saxwe Gbe otò, Adja eto

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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tò (plural tò lɛ́ or tò lẹ́)

  1. city, village, town, country
    Ùn ná yì ná tò cé / N ná yì ná tò ṣié ― I will go to my country
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Cognates include Fon tò

Pronunciation

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Particle

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tò

  1. A present progressive or habitual tense marker, only used before nouns.
    Synonyms: nɔ̀, nọ̀
    Nyɛ́ tò hàn jì / Yẹ́n tò hàn jì ― I am singing

Etymology 3

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Pronunciation

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Preposition

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tò

  1. in, at

Etymology 4

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Cognates include Fon tò, Adja tò. Compare Yoruba tò, Ifè tò

Pronunciation

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Verb

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tò

  1. to arrange, manage, organise

Etymology 5

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Òtó ɖòkpó / Òtó dòpó

From Proto-Gbe *-tó. Cognates include Fon tó, Saxwe Gbe otó, Adja eto, Ewe eto

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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tó (plural tó lɛ́ or tó lẹ́)

  1. ear
Derived terms
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Hupa

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Etymology

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From Proto-Athabaskan *tuˑ.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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to

  1. a body of water, such as a lake or ocean

References

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  • The Phonology of the Hupa Language, part 1: The Individual Sounds, volume 5, by Roland Burrage Dixon, Samuel Alfred Barrett, Washington Matthews, Bill Ray (using the older orthography "tō")
  • Victor Golla, Hupa Language Dictionary Second Edition (1996), page 105 (to)

Ido

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Pronoun

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to

  1. Alternative form of ito (“that”)

Itene

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Noun

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to

  1. eye

References

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  • Čestmír Loukotka, ‎Johannes Wilbert (editor), Classification of South American Indian Languages (1968, Los Angeles: Latin American Studies Center, University of California), page(s) 162

Japanese

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Romanization

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to

  1. The hiragana syllable と (to) or the katakana syllable ト (to) in Hepburn romanization.

Kangean

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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  • Hyphenation: to

Noun

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to

  1. person; individual
  2. people

Kashubian

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *to.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈtɔ/
  • Rhymes: -ɔ
  • Syllabification: to

Pronoun

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to

  1. relative and interrogative pronoun; this, that

Further reading

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  • Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “to”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎[4]

Kituba

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Conjunction

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to

  1. or

Kongo

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Conjunction

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to

  1. or

Kwalhioqua-Tlatskanai

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Proto-Athabaskan *tuˑ.

Noun

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to

  1. water

References

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  • Franz Boas, Pline Early Goddard, Vocabulary of an Athapascan dialect of the State of Washington, IJAL volume III, pages 39-45 (1924-1925)

Latvian

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Pronoun

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to

  1. that; accusative singular masculine of tas
  2. with that; instrumental singular masculine of tas
  3. of that; genitive plural masculine of tas
  4. that; accusative singular feminine of tas
  5. with that; instrumental singular feminine of tas
  6. of that; genitive plural feminine of tas

Lithuanian

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Pronoun

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to

  1. that; genitive singular masculine of tas

Louisiana Creole

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Etymology

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Inherited from French tu (“you, thou”).

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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to (second person informal singular, plural vouzòt, ouzòt, zòt, zo, objective twa, possessive determiner tô, possessive pronoun tokin, tochin)

  1. you (singular), thou
    To té paʼlé gra. / To te pale gra.
    You spoke with an accent. (literally: "You had spoken thick.")

Derived terms

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  • (prevocalic) t'

Lower Sorbian

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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to n

  1. this

Determiner

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to

  1. nominative neuter singular of ten
  2. accusative neuter singular of ten

Mauritian Creole

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Etymology

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From French tu.

Pronoun

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to (objective twa, formal ou)

  1. you (second-person singular nominative personal pronoun)

See also

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Mauritian Creole personal pronouns
singular plural
1st person mo
mwa (objective) 		nou
2nd person to (informal), ou (formal)
twa (objective) 		zot
3rd person li zot, bann-la

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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From Old English tā, tāhe, from Proto-West Germanic *taihā, from Proto-Germanic *taihwǭ (“toe”).

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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to (plural tos or ton)

  1. (anatomy) toe
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Descendants
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  • English: toe
  • Scots: tae
  • Yola: toan (plural)
References
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Etymology 2

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From Old English tō, ta, te, from Proto-Germanic *tō, *ta.

Pronunciation

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Particle

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to

  1. to (infinitive marker)
Alternative forms
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Descendants
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References
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Preposition

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to

  1. to
Alternative forms
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Descendants
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References
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Adverb

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to

  1. to
Alternative forms
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Descendants
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References
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Adverb

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to

  1. too
Alternative forms
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  • two; ta (northern West Midlands)
Descendants
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References
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Conjunction

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to

  1. until
  2. while
  3. so that
References
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Etymology 3

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Shortening of tone.

Pronoun

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to

  1. the one (of two)
Alternative forms
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Mohawk

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Particle

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to

  1. Alternative form of tó:

Norwegian Bokmål

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Norwegian Bokmål cardinal numbers
 <  1 2 3  > 
    Cardinal : to
    Ordinal : annen

Etymology

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From Old Norse tvá, accusative case of tveir, from Proto-Germanic *twai, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁.

Pronunciation

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Numeral

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to

  1. two

Derived terms

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References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Norwegian Nynorsk cardinal numbers
 <  1 2 3  > 
    Cardinal : to
    Ordinal : andre

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Old Norse tvá, accusative case of tveir, from Proto-Germanic *twai, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁.

Numeral

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to

  1. two
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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From Old Norse tó n.

Noun

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to n (definite singular toet, indefinite plural to, definite plural toa)

  1. fabric
  2. (figurative, by extension) ability, nature

Etymology 3

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From Old Norse tó f.

Noun

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to f (definite singular toa, indefinite plural tør, definite plural tørne)

  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References

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Anagrams

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Old Czech

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *to.

Pronoun

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to

  1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of ten: it, this, that

Descendants

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References

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Old English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Proto-West Germanic *tō, from Proto-Germanic *tō, *ta (“to”), from Proto-Indo-European *de, *do (“to”). Cognate with Old Saxon tō (“to”), Old High German zuo (“to”), Old Irish do.

Pronunciation

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Preposition

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tō

  1. to, into
    • 10th century, Exeter Book Riddle 30‎[5]:
      Þonne iċ mec onhebbe ond hī onhnīgaþ tō mē, moniġe mid miltse, þǣr iċ monnum sceal īċan upcyme ēadiġnesse.
      When I raise myself up and they bow down to me, many with mercy, then I shall increase rising of happiness for men.
  2. towards
    • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Chair of Saint Peter"
      ...ðā beseah hē tō Petre sumere ælmessan wilniġende...
      Then looked he towards Peter, desiring an alms,...
  3. at
  4. (grammar) used to mark the infinitive (supine) of the verb
    • Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church
      Đā ongunnon ealle ðā nǣddran tō ċēowenne heora flæsċ and heora blōd sucan, þæt hī þæt āttor ūt ātugon
      Then all the snakes began to chew their flesh and suck their blood in order to draw out the venom.
    tō drīfenne ― to drive
  5. as (In the role of)
    iċ wyrċe tō īsensmiðe ― I work as an ironsmith
    þā nam iċ hīe tō wīfe ― then I took her as a wife
    tō bōte ― to boot (literally: as an improvement, thus in addition)

Adverb

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tō

  1. besides
  2. in addition, also, too; moreover
  3. to an excessive degree; too
    • 10th century, The Wanderer:
      Ne sċeal nō tō hātheort, · ne tō hrædwyrde,
      ne tō wāc wiga, · ne tō wanhȳdiġ,
      ne tō forht, ne tō fæġen, · ne tō feohġīfre,
      ne nǣfre ġielpes tō ġeorn, · ǣr hē ġeare cunne.
      Should not be too wrathful, nor too hasty in words,
      nor too weak warrior, nor too careless,
      nor too fearful, nor too joyful, nor too eager for money,
      nor ever too eager of pride, before he would know enough.

Descendants

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Old High German

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Preposition

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to

  1. Alternative form of zuo

Old Polish

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *to. First attested in the 14th century.

Pronunciation

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Particle

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to

  1. intensifying particle

Pronoun

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to

  1. relative and interrogative pronoun; this, that
  2. possessive pronoun
  3. indeterminate pronoun; this, that
  4. introduction pronoun; this

Conjunction

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to

  1. then (in that case, used in if constructions)
  2. clarifies a statement; namely
  3. resultative conjunction; so
  4. secondary clause equivalent in superordinate clauses

Descendants

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  • Polish: to
  • Silesian: to

References

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  • B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “to”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Old Saxon

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Proto-Germanic *tō, whence also Old English ti and Old High German zuo

Preposition

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tō

  1. to
  2. as (In the role of)
    • 9th c. Heliand, verse 60-64
      Erodes was an Hierusalem oƀer that Judeono folk gikoran te kuninge, sō ina thie kēser thārod, fon Rūmuburg rīki thiodan satta undar that gisīđi.
      Herodes was chosen as king in Jerusalem over the Jewish nation, so there the emperor, powerful ruler from Rome placed him among the servants.

Descendants

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Plautdietsch

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Preposition

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to

  1. to

Polish

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old Polish to. Cognate with Czech to, Russian то (to), Ancient Greek τό (tó), German das, dass, English that.

Pronunciation

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Conjunction

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to

  1. used to attribute to the known object a characteristic that helps one know more about the topic; may optionally be followed by jest [with nominative]
    Janek to mój brat. ― Janek is my brother.
    Górnicy to jest takie specyficzne społeczeństwo. ― Miners are such a peculiar society.
  2. used to juxtapose elements that are equivalent
    Chcieć to móc. ― Where there's a will there's a way. (literally, “To want is to be able to.”)
    Ciekawość to pierwszy stopień do piekła. ― Curiosity killed the cat. (literally, “Curiosity is the first step to hell.”)
  3. used to indicate that the subject of the conversation has peculiarities which are familiar to the interlocutors, so that nothing else needs to be said about it in order to understand the topic
    Nasze straty są minimalne, ale bez śmierci się nie obejdzie. Wojna to wojna. ― Our losses are minimal but some casualties are inevitable. War is war.
    No, ale rozkaz to rozkaz. Nie mnie podważać. ― Well, but an order is an order. Not for me to question.
  4. in that case, then (used in if-constructions)
    Coordinate term: jeśli
    „Wiem, co chcę zrobić.” „To to zrób”. ― “I know what I want to do.” “Then do it.”
    Jeśli to zrobisz, to daj mi znać. ― If you do this, then let me know.
    „Jeżeli zbuduję sobie kiedyś własny dom, to właśnie taki” – myślałam. ― “If I ever build my own house one day, this is the one,” I thought.

Derived terms

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conjunction

Particle

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to

  1. used to indicate what one is talking about
    Parę razy mi się udało. Z jedną to nawet bardzo. ― I have succeeded a couple of times. With one it was even very successful.
  2. used to indicate what can be said about the topic, in contrast to all that cannot be said about it
    W tych ścianach to ona była królową i musiała mieć królewskie wejście. ― Within these walls, it was her who was the queen and had to have a royal entrance.
  3. so (used after a pause for thought to introduce a new topic, question, or story, or a new thought or question in continuation of an existing topic)
    Synonym: a
    No to kiedy zaczynamy? ― So when are we starting?
    OK, to do zobaczenia. ― OK, see you then.
  4. used to indicate that the topic in the relevant question refers to a known set of elements from which a choice has to be made
    Synonym: też
    Od kiedy to morderstwo jest takim ewenementem? ― Since when is murder such a rarity?
    Komu to przypadło dzisiaj kucharzowanie? ― Who is cooking today?
  5. used to express surprise that something is indeed like that as the speaker did not think it could really be so
    Synonyms: ale, co za, jaki
    A to zdolniacha z wuja! ― Uncle really is gifted!
    No, tośmy wczoraj mieli niezły bal! ― Well, we had quite a party yesterday!
  6. (literary) used to indicate that the topic refers to a known object, mentioned in the preceding statement
    O Czechosłowacji po roku 1968 dochodziły do nas ponure wiadomości, dlatego to starałem się przejechać ten kraj jak najszybciej mimo zmęczenia. ― There was grim news about Czechoslovakia after 1968, which is why I tried to cross the country as quickly as possible despite my fatigue.
  7. (colloquial) used to indicate that what someone has said about the topic is a fait accompli and should no longer be discussed
    Spróbuj zaakceptować jego wady. Nikt nie jest kryształowy. Pali to pali, widziały gały co brały. ― Try to accept his flaws. No one is perfect. OK, he smokes, so what? Big deal, you should've thought about it earlier.

Pronoun

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to n

  1. this (nearby, neuter)
    Antonym: tamto
    Inna rzecz, że nikt nie zwracał na niego szczególnej uwagi; to go dziwiło. ― The other thing was that no one paid any particular attention to him; this surprised him.
  2. used to point to the object to which the sentence refers
    Synonym: oto
    Ewa, to Andrzej. ― Ewa, this is Andrzej.

Declension

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Declension of to
singular plural
nominative to te
genitive tego tych
dative temu tym/tem (archaic)
accusative to te
instrumental tym/tem tymi/temi (archaic)
locative tym/tem tych
vocative to te

Derived terms

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adverbs
particles

Trivia

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According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), to is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 655 times in scientific texts, 307 times in news, 880 times in essays, 1038 times in fiction, and 2233 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 5113 times, making it the 11th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.[1]

References

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  1. ^ Ida Kurcz (1990) “to”, in Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej [Frequency dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), volume 605, Kraków, Warszawa: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Języka Polskiego, page 2

Further reading

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  • to in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • to in Polish dictionaries at PWN
  • “TO I”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 09.07.2008
  • “TO II”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 09.07.2008
  • Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “to”, in Słownik języka polskiego
  • Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “to”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
  • J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1919), “to”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 7, Warsaw, page 72

Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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  • Hyphenation: to

Contraction

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to (feminine ta)

  1. Contraction of te o.

Selepet

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Noun

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to

  1. water

References

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  • K. A. McElhanon, Selepet grammar (1972)
  • William A. Foley, The Papuan Languages of New Guinea (1986, →ISBN, page 257

Serbo-Croatian

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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tȏ (Cyrillic spelling то̑)

  1. neuter nominative singular of taj
  2. neuter accusative singular of taj

Silesian

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old Polish to.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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to n

  1. this (nearby, neuter)
  2. used to point to the object to which the sentence refers

Particle

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to

  1. intensifier particle in questions

Conjunction

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to

  1. in that case, then (used in if-constructions)

Further reading

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  • to in silling.org

Slovak

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *to.

Pronoun

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to

  1. nominative/accusative neuter singular of ten: it, this, that

Slovene

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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tọ̑

  1. inflection of ta:
    1. accusative singular feminine
    2. nominative/accusative singular neuter

Tocharian B

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Etymology

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From Proto-Indo-European *dʰowh₂ōn, from the root *dʰewh₂-.

Noun

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to m

  1. (detatchable) body hair on the human body (especially pubic hair)

Tooro

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Etymology

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From Proto-Bantu *-tòó.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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-to (declinable)

  1. young
    Synonym: -hyaka (“new”)
    Antonym: -kuru (“old, senior”)

Declension

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Inflected forms of -to
Noun class indefinite definite
singular plural singular plural
1/2 muto bato omuto abato
3/4 muto mito omuto emito
5/6 lito mato erito amato
7/8 kito bito ekito ebito
9/10 nto nto ento ento
11/10 ruto oruto
12/14 kato buto akato obuto
13 — tuto — otuto
14/6 buto mato obuto amato
15/6 kuto okuto
16 hato — ahato —

References

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Tututni

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Etymology

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From Proto-Athabaskan *tuˑ.

Noun

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to

  1. (Euchre Creek) water

References

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  • Victor Golla, Tututni (Oregon Athapaskan), International Journal of American Linguistics, volume 42:3 (July 1976), pages 217-227

Uzbek

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Arabic طَاء (ṭāʔ).

Noun

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to (plural tolar)

  1. the Arabic letter ط

Declension

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Declension of to
singular plural
nominative to tolar
genitive toning tolarning
dative toga tolarga
definite accusative toni tolarni
locative toda tolarda
ablative todan tolardan
similative todek tolardek
Possessive forms of to
1st person singular
singular plural
nominative toim tolarim
genitive toimning tolarimning
dative toimga tolarimga
definite accusative toimni tolarimni
locative toimda tolarimda
ablative toimdan tolarimdan
similative toimdek tolarimdek
2nd person singular
singular plural
nominative toing tolaring
genitive toingning tolaringning
dative toingga tolaringga
definite accusative toingni tolaringni
locative toingda tolaringda
ablative toingdan tolaringdan
similative toingdek tolaringdek
3rd person singular
singular plural
nominative toi tolari
genitive toining tolarining
dative toiga tolariga
definite accusative toini tolarini
locative toida tolarida
ablative toidan tolaridan
similative toidek tolaridek
1st person plural
singular plural
nominative toimiz tolarimiz
genitive toimizning tolarimizning
dative toimizga tolarimizga
definite accusative toimizni tolarimizni
locative toimizda tolarimizda
ablative toimizdan tolarimizdan
similative toimizdek tolarimizdek
2nd person plural
singular plural
nominative toingiz tolaringiz
genitive toingizning tolaringizning
dative toingizga tolaringizga
definite accusative toingizni tolaringizni
locative toingizda tolaringizda
ablative toingizdan tolaringizdan
similative toingizdek tolaringizdek
3rd person plural
singular plural
nominative toi tolari
genitive toining tolarining
dative toiga tolariga
definite accusative toini tolarini
locative toida tolarida
ablative toidan tolaridan
similative toidek tolaridek

Vietnamese

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Etymology

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Compare Thai โต (dtoo), Lao ໂຕ (tō), Lü ᦷᦎ (ṫo).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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to • (蘇, 𡚢, 𫰅, 𡚡)

  1. big, large
    Antonyms: nhỏ, bé
  2. great, considerable
  3. loud

Usage notes

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  • In many situations, this word and lớn are interchangeable:
    nhà to mà chẳng ai ở ― a big house where no one lives in
    căn nhà lớn trên đỉnh đồi ― a big house on top of the hill
  • However, for body parts, it seems like only to is used:
    tai to ― big ears

See also

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Votic

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Russian то (to).

Pronunciation

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Conjunction

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to

  1. (if ...) then
  2. or else

References

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  • Hallap, V., Adler, E., Grünberg, S., Leppik, M. (2012) “to”, in Vadja keele sõnaraamat [A dictionary of the Votic language], 2nd edition, Tallinn

Welsh

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Etymology

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From Proto-Brythonic *toɣ (“covering”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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to m (plural toeau or toeon)

  1. roof
    Synonym: pen tŷ

Derived terms

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Mutation

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Mutated forms of to
radical soft nasal aspirate
to do nho tho

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Yola

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Particle

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to

  1. Alternative form of ta
    • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 14, page 90:
      Shoo ya aam zim to doone, as w' be doone nowe;
      She gave them some to do, as we are doing now;
    • 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 93:
      A near a haapney to paay a peepeare.
      Had ne'er a halfpenny to pay the piper.
    • 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 2, page 94:
      Wee aar lhaung vlealès an pikkès, to waaite apan a breede.
      With their long flails and picks, to wait upon the bride.

Preposition

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to

  1. Alternative form of ta
    • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:
      Coome to thee met.
      Come to thy meat.
    • 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 2, page 94:
      Hea marreet dear Phielim to his sweet Jauane.
      He married dear Phelim to his sweet Joan.

References

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  • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 31

Yoruba

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Etymology 1

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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tò

  1. (transitive) to arrange, to line up
  2. (transitive) to order, to put things in order
  3. (intransitive) to become ordered, to become arranged
Usage notes
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  • to before a direct object
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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tò

  1. (Ekiti, Ondo) to talk incessantly; to gossip
    Synonym: rò
    Ẹjọ́ kúwe é tò ― What are you gossiping about? (literally, “What matter are you talking incessantly about”)
Usage notes
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  • to before a direct object
Derived terms
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Etymology 3

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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tó

  1. (intransitive) to be enough, to be worthy, to be sufficient, to amount to
  2. (intransitive) to be comparable to
    gíga a rẹ̀ẹ́ tó erin ― His tallness is comparable to an elephant
Usage notes
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  • It is a common verb in Yoruba names affirming the worthiness of entities like the orisha. (Ex. Ògúntósìn (“A Yoruba name meaning, "Ogun is worthy of being worshipped."”)).
Derived terms
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Etymology 4

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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tó

  1. to reach up to
    ọwọ́ mi kò tó o ― My hand does not reach it
  2. to be visible, to be comprehensible

Zazaki

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Etymology

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From Proto-Indo-Iranian *túH, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂. Related to Persian تو (to).

Pronoun

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to

  1. (informal) you (sg., acc.)
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