Oh

Part of speech: interjection

Definitions

1. A brief exclamation of surprise, pain, or sudden realization ; a spoken word used in place of the numeral zero
2. An interjection voiced to show surprise, distress, or a sudden understanding ; the word read aloud for the figure zero in numbers like phone numbers
3. A short cry expressing feeling such as astonishment or discomfort ; the name spoken aloud for the number zero, especially in telephone numbers

Etymology: Before "oh" became the spelling of a surprised cry, it was the spelling of the Latin vowel "ō," an interjection of address and lament. Old English took the sound from Latin and wrote it "ō," and Middle English shortened the spelling to "o" or "oo." Over the following centuries the exclamation gradually settled into its modern form, "oh," which is simply a more conventional way of writing that same vowel-sound cry. Because the word is spelled the same as the letter "O," it has picked up a second, unexpected life as the name for zero. The number 0 is round like the letter, so people began reading it as "o," and the name stuck in everyday speech, as in "oh" for a zero score or a telephone number's zero digit. The interjection also has a looser, colloquial cousin in the spoken form "or," which is written out as "oh" when people try to mimic the way it sounds in casual speech.

Synonyms: ah, ooh, aha, alas