Or

Part of speech: conjunction

Definitions

1. A conjunction linking alternatives and presenting one possibility against another ; the golden yellow tincture used on coats of arms in heraldry ; an archaic term meaning before, referring to time
2. A connecting word that offers a choice between options ; the gold tincture of heraldic shields, drawn as yellow ; old-fashioned usage meaning ere, indicating something happening earlier
3. Linking word expressing alternatives among items, ideas, and statements ; in coat-of-arms design, the yellow metallic colour called gold ; a dated term signifying before in the sense of time

Etymology: The conjunction "or" is one of the oldest small words in English, and it is a shortened form of a longer word. Old English had "oþþe" for "or" and "āwþer" (roughly "either", "any of two"), and over the centuries these fused and wore down, with "other" and "auther" (an older variant of "either") contributing to the shortened form. The result was a single syllable that carried the sense of choosing between alternatives. The word's sound and spelling have changed little in the centuries since, but its root is shared across the Germanic family. Dutch "of", German "oder", Icelandic "eða" and Gothic "aiþþau" all descend from the same ancestor, and Yiddish "oder" preserves the German form. A word meaning "or" thus turns out to be the same word in many languages, worn down in each.

Synonyms: alternatively, otherwise, else

Antonyms: and