ought

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ɔːt/, US /ɑːt/, /ɔːt/^[1]

ought¹ should

Etymology

The auxiliary is inherited from Middle English oughte, aghte, past tense of owen “to owe”,^[2][3] inherited from Old English āhte (“owned, possessed”), the past tense of āgan (“to own, possess, owe”) (see owe).^[4][2][5] It was originally the past tense of owe, expressing any kind of duty or obligation;^[2][5] its present meaning comes partly from the subjunctive, “should owe as a duty”.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Owed, was under obligation to pay: about 950 in the OED and Barnhart.^[6][2] Possessed or owned is from before 1000.^[6]

Semantic evolution

As a past tense of owe, ought meant in Middle English both “possessed” and “owed”;^[4] Spenser still used it for “possessed”, as Trench noted.^[7] As an auxiliary expressing duty or moral obligation it is from the late 12th century,^[4] and as a verb in its own right (ahten, oughten, “to be bound to”) from before 1225.^[2] It has been separate from owe since the 17th century, though East Anglian dialect still said he aught me ten pounds about 1825.^[4] The noun, a duty or obligation, is from 1678.^[6][8] The Century Dictionary (1895) called ought stronger than should, expressing duty, while should expresses propriety or expediency.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 950 – owed.^[6]
• a1000 – possessed.^[6]
• late 12th century – expressing duty.^[4]
• a1225 – ahten, to be bound to.^[2]
• 1678 – the noun, a duty.^[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. (ought to) Used to express duty or obligation: you ought to apologize.
2. Used to express what is advisable or sensible.
3. Used to express what is likely or expected: they ought to be there by now.

ought² zero

Etymology

The zero is probably an alteration of nought, by wrong division of a nought as an ought,^[2][4][5][8] perhaps influenced by aught “anything” and by the figure 0, taken as the letter o.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Zero, a cipher: 1844 in the OED and Barnhart, in Dickens's Martin Chuzzlewit.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

The OED marked it as a vulgar corruption.^[6] It is used in oughts and crosses for noughts and crosses,^[2] and in Scots, Yorkshire and Devon dialect.^[9]

Timeline

• 1844 – ought, zero.^[6][2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (dated) Zero, nought.

Related words

• owe
• own
• aught
• nought

Usage notes

The AHD notes that ought to is sometimes used without a following verb when the meaning is clear (Yes, we ought to), and that in questions and negatives to is sometimes dropped (Oughtn't we be going?), chiefly in American English.^[10] Ought is also a variant spelling of aught, anything.^[10][6]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Trench, Richard Chenevix (1859), A Select Glossary of English Words Used Formerly in Senses Different from Their Present, London: John W. Parker
8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
10. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin