Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Jo

Noun.

;

pl.

Joes

(#)

[Etymol. uncertain.]

A sweetheart; a darling.

[Scot.]

Burns.

Definition 2024

Jo

See also: Appendix:Variations of "jo"

English

Proper noun

A diminutive of the female given names Josephine, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, or Jolene. Often used in conjoined names such as Jo Ann or Mary Jo.
- 1888 Marietta Holley: Josiah Allen's Wife as a P.A. and P.I.: Samantha at the Centennial: page 577:
  "Its name is Samantha Jo, after Josiah and me. You know they call girls Jo and Josie a sight lately; its name is agreeable to Josiah and me, very.
A rare spelling variant of Joe, diminutive of the male given name Joseph.
- 1853 Charles Dickens, Bleak House, Chapter XI:
  Name, Jo. Nothing else that he knows on. Don't know that everybody has two names. Never heerd of sich a think. Don't know that Jo is short for a longer name. Thinks it long enough for him. He don't find no fault with it. Spell it? No. He can't spell it.

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

Rhymes: -oː

Proper noun

Jo f

A female given name, a pet name diminutive of Johanna or Josefien.

German

Proper noun

Jo m

(biblical, rare) Abbreviation of Johannes (Gospel of John): Joh.

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From jo ‎(“yes”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /joː/
- Rhymes: -oː

Noun

Jo m ‎(uncountable)

a yes

Antonyms

Neen

Norwegian

Proper noun

A male given name, short form of Jon (= John).
(rare) A female given name, from Old Norse jór, horse.
(rare) A female given name, short for Josefine, Johanne etc.

jo

See also: Appendix:Variations of "jo"

English

Noun

jo ‎(plural jos)

(Scotland) Darling, sweetheart.
- 1711, traditional, published by James Watson, Old Long Syne:
  On Old long syne my Jo,
  on Old long syne,
  That thou canst never once reflect,
  on Old long syne.

Anagrams

Albanian

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *nio ‎(“not, no”), from Proto-Indo-European *nĕ, *nē ‎(“negative particle”). Compare Latin ne, Welsh neu, Old English na, Lithuanian ne ‎(“not”).

Pronunciation

Determiner

no, not

Related terms

Basque

Verb

to hit, strike, punch
(music) to play
Gitarra jo nahi dut. - I want to play the guitar.
to knock, rap
Gizon itsusi batek etxeko atea jo du. - An ugly man knocked on the door.
to crash
to head, go
(wind) to blow

Conjugation

jo ― Non-finite forms

perfect stem	jo
imperfect stem	jotzen
future stem	joko
short stem	jo
verbal noun	jotze

Synonyms

(to blow): ibili

Bavarian

Adverb

Catalan

Pronunciation

(Central) IPA^(key): /ˈʒɔ/
(Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈjo/, /ˈjɔ/
Rhymes: -o, -ɔ

Etymology

From Old Provençal eu, from Vulgar Latin *eo, attested from the 6th century in Romance, from Latin ego, from Proto-Italic *egō, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂; akin to Greek εγώ ‎(egó), Sanskrit aham, all from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.

Pronoun

jo ‎(strong)

I
(after certain prepositions) me

Synonyms

mi (after most prepositions)

Declension

Catalan personal pronouns and clitics

	strong/subject	weak (direct object)		weak (indirect object)		possessive
singular		proclitic	enclitic	proclitic	enclitic
1st person	jo, mi³	em, m’	-me, ’m	em, m’	-me, ’m	meu
1st person majestic¹	nós	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
2nd person	tu	et, t’	-te, ’t	et, t’	-te, ’t	teu
2nd person formal¹	vós	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
2nd person very formal²	vostè	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
3rd person masculine	ell	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
3rd person feminine	ella	la, l’⁴	-la	li	-li	seu
3rd person neuter		ho	-ho	li	-li	seu
3rd person reflexive	si	es, s’	-se, ’s	es, s’	-se, ’s	seu
plural
1st person	nosaltres	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
2nd person	vosaltres	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
2nd person formal²	vostès	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person masculine	ells	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person feminine	elles	les	-les	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person reflexive	si	es, s’	-se, ’s	es, s’	-se, ’s	seu
adverbial
ablative/genitive		en, n’	-ne, ’n
locative		hi	-hi
¹⁾ Behaves grammatically as plural. ²⁾ Behaves grammatically as third person.			³⁾ Only as object of a preposition. ⁴⁾ Not before unstressed (h)i-, (h)u-.

Czech

Pronunciation

Particle

(colloquial) yeah, yep

Synonyms

Antonyms

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin ubi. Compare Romanian iuo, Italian ove, French où, Old Spanish o.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jo/

Adverb

where

Danish

Pronunciation

Adverb

as you know or should know; sometimes translatable as after all or obviously
- 2015, Henriette E. Møller, Jelne, Gyldendal A/S (ISBN 9788702102864)
  Jeg ved ikke, hvad de talte om, hendes sind blev så mørkt, jeg kunne jo ikke rigtigt snakke med hende.
  I do not know of what they spoke, her mind became so dark, I could not really talk with her, as you should be able to see.
- 2009, Sven Arvid Birkeland, I krigens kølvand: danske skæbner efter 2. verdenskrig, Gyldendal A/S (ISBN 9788702078770), page 479
  Han gik jo ikke i krig i håb om, at det skulle blive den store sejr
  After all, he did not go to war in the hopes of achieving great victory.
- 2016, Anita Krumbach, Dorte Lilmose, Hanne Kvist, Helle Perrier, Iben Mondrup, Louis Jensen, Ronnie Andersen, Sissel Bergfjord, Svend Åge Madsen, Tomas Lagermand Lundme, Det du ikke ved: Noveller for unge, Gyldendal A/S (ISBN 9788702173956)
  Jeg mener, at selv ens eget navn eller alder KAN man jo ikke være 100 procent sikker på er Dennis/17, vel?
  I mean, one obviously cannot even be 100% sure that one's own name or age are Dennis and 17, can one?

Conjunction

the
Jo mere jeg løber, desto trættere bliver jeg.
The more I run, the more tired I become.

Usage notes

jo ... desto ..., jo ... des ... are common constructions.

Pronunciation

Interjection

used to negate a question phrased negatively; contrast with ja

Usage notes

Questions like Kommer du ikke?, Du kommer ikke, vel?, Du kommer ikke. ("Are you not coming?", "You are not coming, are you?", "You are not coming.") might be answered with jo to indicate that the speaker is, in fact, coming.

References

“jo” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

From English yo.

Interjection

hi
Ey! - Jo! - Hey! - Hi!
bye
Later! - Jo! - Later! - Bye!
you too
Fijn weekend! - Jo! - Have a nice weekend! - You too!

Esperanto

Noun

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

The name of the Latin-script letter J/j.

Finnish

Etymology

Cognate with Estonian juba. According to EES ultimately a borrowing from Proto-Germanic *ju, compare Gothic 𐌾𐌿 ‎(ju, “already”), Old High German ju ‎(“already”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈjo/
Rhymes: -o
Hyphenation: jo

Adverb

already
Luin kirjan jo loppuun.‎
I already finished the book.
now (emphasizing word)
(impatiently) Tule jo!
Come now!

Friulian

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *eo, attested from the 6th century in Romance, from Latin ego.; akin to Greek εγώ ‎(egó), Sanskrit aham, all from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.

Pronoun

	singular	plural
1st person	jo	nô
2nd person	familiar	tu	vô
polite	lui, jê	lôr
3rd person	m	lui,	lôr
f	jê	lôr

German

Alternative forms

Etymology

Alteration of ja ‎(“yes”) or the respective dialectal cognates.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jɔː/, /jɔːr/

Interjection

(colloquial) yes, yeah, well; expresses agreement in a hesitant or ponderous manner.

Etymology 2

From the respective dialectal words for yes in about half of Northern and Central Germany and all of Western Germany. Possibly from Proto-Germanic *ja ‎(“yes, thus, so”), possibly from an unrecorded root. The form with /oː/ must have existed in the middle ages already, since the word often partakes in the same sound shifts as words with /oː/ from other sources, cf. Swedish jo.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /joː/

Interjection

(colloquial) yes; expresses firm agreement.

Italian

Pronoun

Obsolete form of io.

Japanese

Romanization

rōmaji reading of じょ
rōmaji reading of ジョ
rōmaji reading of ぢょ
rōmaji reading of ヂョ

Kashubian

Interjection

Latvian

Conjunction

because
for

Particle

the... the...
jo vairāk naudas, jo labāk‎ ― the more money the better

Lithuanian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [jo]

Determiner

his (3rd person singular masculine possessive)

Pronoun

jo m

(third-person singular) genitive form of jis.

Particle

(colloquial) yes

Livonian

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

Perhaps a borrowing of Latvian jo ‎(“because, yet (more)”), /juo/.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jo/

Preposition

more; used with adjectives to form comparatives
- Tiit-Rein Viitso, Valts Ernštreits (2012–2013), Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz, Tartu, Rīga: TÜ, LVA
  pitkā, jo pitkā
  long, longer

Etymology 2

Perhaps a borrowing of Latvian jau ‎(“yet, already, after all”). However, compare also Finnish jo ‎(“already”), thus ultimately a common Finnic borrowing from Proto-Germanic that has likely been contaminated by the more figurative senses of Latvian jau, with the latter ultimately a distant cognate of the initial Germanic borrowing.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jo/

Preposition

yet, already, after all
- Tiit-Rein Viitso, Valts Ernštreits (2012–2013), Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz, Tartu, Rīga: TÜ, LVA
  
  mōnigļikizt, ne jo lǟbõd mōzõ
  bumblebees, they are already migrating to their burrows (lit. "going inside of earth")
  
  amād jo ītist äb peļļõt
  not everyone makes the same [amount of money] (lit. "everyone after all doesn't earn the same")

Usage notes

LĒL only lists jo without listing any instances of juo. Livonian-Latvian-Livonian dictionary, in turn, only lists juo for the comparative forming preposition sense.
LĒL doesn't explicitly list the second sense that seems to exactly mirror Latvian jau (including the more figurative applications.) Such a function, however, is inferred from the many usage examples available in the dictionary. As a translation of Latvian jau (strictly in its temporal sense) LĒL lists jõbā ‎(“already”), cf. Estonian juba.

Lojban

Cmavo

jo ‎(rafsi jov)

(conjunction) if and only if. Joins two predicate words in a complex predicate.

Derived terms

.ijo
jonai

Related terms

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [jɔ]

Particle

yes (word used to show agreement or acceptance)

Verb

third-person singular present of byś

Pronoun

accusative of wóno

Alternative forms

njo (after preposition)

Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /joː/
Rhymes: -oː
Homophone: Jo

Adverb

Verb

second-person singular imperative of joen

Northern Sami

Adverb

already
now

Norwegian

Pronunciation

Adverb

yes; in disagreement with the last speaker's negative statement.

Du har ikke pusset tennene vel? - Jo, (det har jeg)

You haven't brushed your teeth, have you? - Yes, I have
yes or no; expressing doubt. (colloquial)

Vil du være med? - Jo...

Do you want to join? - I'm not sure

Usage notes

ja can be interpreted as an agreement with the person replied to. jo is used instead of ja if this agreement could cause ambiguity. In example 1, agreement with the person asking the question would be the opposite of a confirmation that one actually did brush the teeth. As such ja would be ambiguous. The answer jo removes the possibility of agreement with the speaker.

Related terms

jojo

Occitan

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old Provençal eu, from Vulgar Latin *eo, attested from the 6th century in Romance, from Latin ego. Compare Catalan jo.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʒu/, /ju/

Pronoun

(Gascony) I

Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *eo, attested from the 6th century in Romance, from Latin ego.

Pronoun

Old Frisian

Pronoun

jō

Alternative form of jū, accusative and dative form of jī

Declension

Old Frisian personal pronoun declensions

	singular					plural
	1st	2nd	3rd m	3rd f	3rd n	1st	2nd	3rd
nominative	ik	thū	hī	hiū, hiō	hit	wī	jī	hiā
accusative	mī	thī	hine	hiā	hit	ūs	jū, jō	hiā
dative	mī	thī	him	hire, hiāre	him	ūs	jū, jō	him, hirem, hiārem
genitive	mīn	thīn	sīn	hire, hiāre	sīn	ūser	jūwer	hira, hiāra

Plautdietsch

Adverb

Spanish

Interjection

¡Jo!

Used to express surprise, amazement, or confusion.

¡Jo!
I never heard anything like that before.

¡Jo!
Are you serious?

¡Jo!
Boy!
stop, woah (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof)

Swedish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /juː/

Interjection

yes; used as a disagreement to a negative statement.

Du har inte borstat tänderna, eller hur? - Jo, det har jag.

"You haven't brushed your teeth, have you? - Yes, I have."

Usage notes

Ja (yes) can be interpreted as an agreement with the person replied to. Jo is used instead of ja if this agreement could cause ambiguity. In the example above agreement with the person asking the question would be the opposite of a confirmation that one actually did brush the teeth. As such ja would be ambiguous. The answer jo removes the possibility of agreement with the speaker.

In northern Sweden it is however not uncommon for the word jo to be used in place of ja in all cases, at least in spoken language.

Anagrams

Veps

Etymology

Related to Finnish jo.

Adverb

already

References

Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “уж, уже”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary], Petrozavodsk: Periodika

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian jū, from Proto-Germanic *izwiz, dative/accusative of *jūz, from Proto-Indo-European *yū́. Compare English you, Dutch jou, u, Low German jo, ju, German euch.

Pronoun

you (polite)
your (polite)

Usage notes

Though it is a singular pronoun, jo takes the plural conjugation of verbs.