ou French · revision 16263

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=937–952, Jonas fragment|origins=la aut}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /u/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ou'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|u]] (before 950), [[m|fro|o]] (1080) and ''ou'' (1080).^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|ou]], [[inh|la|aut|t=or]], a disjunctive conjunction distinguishing two things or ideas of which one excludes the other, often doubled as “aut… aut” “either … or”.^(DHLF 1992)^(FEW|25, 1085b)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary) Latin “aut” was distinct from [[m|la|vel|t=or, if you like]], used to correct a term, but was often used together with it and took a weakened sense close to “and”.^(DHLF 1992) “Vel” has not survived in Romance.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) “Aut” is an Italic word whose old form was “*auti”, as [[osc|auti|t=or]] shows; it corresponds to an Indo-European particle “*u”, “*au”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|o]] and [[es|o]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Jonas fragment (937–952) has ''u'': ''Se Ninive destruite astreiet u ne fereiet'' “whether Nineveh would be destroyed or not”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Ou'' took over the senses of Latin ''aut'' and also of ''vel'', marking that the distinction made does not matter.^(DHLF 1992) ''U… u'' “either … or” is found about 1100 in the ''Chanson de Roland'', and ''o… o'' + subjunctive “whether … or” in 1130–40.^(TLFi) In the titles of works it introduces a second title (''Candide ou l'Optimisme''), a use found from 1640.^(GLLF 1989) In Gallo-Romance dialects it is often strengthened as ''ou bien'' or ''ou donc''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 937–952 – ''U'' in the Jonas fragment.^(TLFi)

+ * 1080 – The forms ''o'' and ''ou''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1100 – ''U… u'' “either … or”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1640 – In a double title, in Corneille.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # [[m|en|or]]: joins alternatives: ''toi ou moi'', ''maintenant ou plus tard''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Ou… ou'': [[m|en|either]] … or.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # Or, that is: joins two names for the same thing: ''le patronyme, ou nom de famille''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Or (about): marks an approximation between numbers: ''deux ou trois semaines''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[et]]

+ * [[soit]]

+ * [[la|aut]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Ou'' is written without an accent, unlike [[où]] “where”, which took its grave accent in 1539 to distinguish the two.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}