Go

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. To move or travel toward a place ; to leave a location and set off ; to pass into a state or condition ; to operate or function properly ; a turn or attempt at something ; energy and vitality
2. Travel toward a destination ; depart from a spot ; turn into a particular condition ; run or work correctly ; an attempt or chance to do something ; liveliness or drive
3. Proceed or head somewhere ; withdraw from where one is ; come to be in some state ; perform as intended ; a try at an action ; vigor or spirit

Etymology: Old English "gān" meant "to go," and that verb sat at the root of the modern word, but the past tense is the surprise. Early English had "yode" as the past tense, a form that survived in the same family as "ēode," the Old English past. In the 15th century "went" took over that job. "Went" comes from Old English "wendan," meaning "to turn, wend, depart," so the everyday past of "go" is borrowed from a verb with a different meaning entirely. The verb's ancestry runs deep. It descends from a Proto-Germanic form "gānąn," and its relatives are spread across the Germanic languages: German "gehen," Dutch "gaan," Swedish "gå," and the Gothic "gaggan" recorded in the Bible translation of Wulfila. Many of these cognates share the same meaning of walking or setting off, which suggests the verb was an ordinary, sturdy motion word long before English existed. Its most surprising sibling is the board game. The Japanese "go," a game of placing black and white stones on a grid, is a shortened form of "igo," itself from a Chinese name meaning "encirclement board game." English borrowed the Japanese word, so one spelling now covers two unrelated roots.

Synonyms: proceed, travel, move, leave, depart

Antonyms: stay, remain, come, stop