lo

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ləʊ/ (UK); /loʊ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English lā (“an exclamation of surprise, grief or joy”),^[2][3][4] fused with Middle English lo, probably short for lok, look!, the imperative of loken (see look).^[2][3][4][5] Old English lā is recorded from about 725, in Beowulf.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

An interjection of vague meaning: Old English lā, used for surprise, grief, joy or as a greeting;^[3][6] lo to direct attention to something is from about 1000 in the OED,^[6] the early 13th century in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The phrase lo and behold is attested by 1779.^[3] In old American slang, Lo was a generic name for an American Indian (1871), from a jocular reading of Pope's line Lo, the poor Indian in the Essay on Man.^[3][6][7] A colloquial lo or 'lo, a shortening of hallo, is from 1921.^[6][8]

Timeline

• c. 725 – lā in Beowulf.^[2]
• c. 1000 – to direct attention.^[6]
• 1779 – lo and behold.^[3]
• 1871 – Lo, an American Indian (slang).^[3]
• 1921 – 'lo, hello.^[6]

Modern meaning

Interjection

1. Look! See! Used to draw attention or to show surprise, now mainly in lo and behold.

Related words

• lo and behold
• look
• behold

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press