lo English · revision 10230

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000|origins=ang lā}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ləʊ/ ''(UK)''; /loʊ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|lā|t=an exclamation of surprise, grief or joy]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) fused with Middle English lo, probably short for lok, look!, the imperative of loken (see [[look]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) Old English lā is recorded from about 725, in Beowulf.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An interjection of vague meaning: Old English lā, used for surprise, grief, joy or as a greeting;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) lo to direct attention to something is from about 1000 in the OED,^(OED 1989) the early 13th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The phrase ''lo and behold'' is attested by 1779.^(Etymonline) 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''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) A colloquial lo or 'lo, a shortening of hallo, is from 1921.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – lā in Beowulf.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1000 – to direct attention.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1779 – lo and behold.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1871 – Lo, an American Indian (slang).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1921 – 'lo, hello.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Interjection===

+ # Look! See! Used to draw attention or to show surprise, now mainly in ''lo and behold''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lo and behold]]

+ * [[look]]

+ * [[behold]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}