English word origin

Etymology of lo

Inherited from Middle English lo, loo, from Old English lā (“exclamation of surprise, grief, or joy”). Conflated in Middle English with lo! (interjection), a corruption of lok!, loke! (“look!”) (as in lo we! (look we!)).

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

intj

look, see, behold (in an imperative sense).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionloenm
Inherited-form mentionlaang
Cognate mentionlosco

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
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      "expansion": "I"
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      },
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    },
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      "name": "gloss",
      "args": {
        "1": "look we!"
      },
      "expansion": "(look we!)"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "lo"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots lo"
    }
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      "la#Old_English"
    ],
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      "lo!",
      "lo#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "lok!",
      "lok#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "loke!",
      "loke#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "lo",
      "lo#Scots"
    ],
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      "lu",
      "lu#Scots"
    ],
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      "look",
      "look#English"
    ]
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

adj

Informal spelling of low.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Variant of low.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗

noun

Clipping of location.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of location.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "links": [
    [
      "location",
      "location#English"
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  ],
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Source etymology 6

Original entry ↗

particle

Sentence-final particle denoting finality or completion.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Hokkien 囉 /啰 (--lo͘). Doublet of lor.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mention囉nan-hbl
Doublet mentionloren

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    },
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for lo →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-bG8