O
- O, the fifteenth letter of the English alphabet, derives its form, value, and name from the Greek O, through the Latin. The letter came into the Greek from the Phœnician, which possibly derived it ultimately from the Egyptian. Etymologically, the letter o is most closely related to a , e , and u ; as in E. b o ne, AS. b ā n; E. st o ne, AS. st ā n; E. br o ke, AS. br e can to break; E. b o re, AS. b e ran to bear; E. d o ve, AS. d ū fe; E. t o ft, t u ft; t o ne, t u ne; n u mber, F. n o mbre.
- Among the ancients, O was a mark of triple time, from the notion that the ternary, or number 3, is the most perfect of numbers, and properly expressed by a circle, the most perfect figure.
- The letter O, or its sound.
- Something shaped like the letter O; a circle or oval.
- A cipher; zero.
- One.
- An exclamation used in calling or directly addressing a person or personified object; also, as an emotional or impassioned exclamation expressing pain, grief, surprise, desire, fear, etc.
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