oh Italian · revision 37480

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited, onomatopoeia|attested=before 1294, Guittone d'Arezzo|origins=la ōh}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''oh''' (interjection; as a noun, masculine and invariable)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|ōh]], also written [[m|la|ō]], an onomatopoeic exclamation of surprise and strong feeling.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(OLD 2012) Nocentini and Sabatini–Coletti treat it as a word inherited from Latin, common to the other Romance languages and to the Indo-European languages generally.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DELI quotes Hofmann's account of colloquial Latin: the interjection of glad or painful surprise, of desire and of elevated pathos, it survived in all the Romance languages, and is found in other Indo-European languages, especially Greek, which has [[grc|ὦ|tr=ô]].^(DELI 1999)^(OLD 2012) In later Latin ⟨oh⟩ almost vanished from the manuscripts, while ⟨ō⟩ spread as the older interjections [[m|la|heus]] and [[m|la|eho]] fell out of use.^(DELI 1999) The use of Latin “ō” before a vocative was itself a semantic loan from the Greek interjection.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010) GRADIT and Nocentini date it to before 1313, in Dante.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010) Francesco da Buti, commenting on Dante before 1404, explains it: ''O, questa è interjezione, che significa ammirazione'' (“O: this is an interjection, which signifies wonder”).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the start the interjection expressed, according to the tone of the voice, pity, desire, grief, doubt, wonder, boredom, pleasure, scorn or fear.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010) Ariosto uses it for admiring irony in ''oh gran bontà de' cavalieri antiqui!'' (“oh, the great goodness of the knights of old!”).^(Zingarelli 2010) Used as a noun it names the exclamation itself.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020) Repeated, it imitates laughter or the refrain of a song, as in the lullaby ''ninna oh''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The compound ''olà'', with [[là]], is of the 16th century.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses ''oh''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1313 – Dante uses ''oh''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Before 1404 – Francesco da Buti explains Dante's ''oh'' as an interjection of wonder.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 16th century – ''Olà'' appears.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Interjection===

+ # [[m|en|oh]]: expresses, according to the tone, surprise, wonder, joy, pain, pity, annoyance or scorn: ''Oh, che bella sorpresa!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Strengthening an answer or an invocation: ''oh no!'', ''oh sì!'', ''oh Dio!''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # As a discourse marker, playing down what follows: ''“Quanto ci vuole?” “Oh, un'oretta.”''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Repeated, imitating laughter or a sung refrain.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An exclamation of “oh”: ''un oh di stupore''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[olà]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ohimè]]

+ * [[la|ō]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ The vowel may be open or closed: Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti give both /ɔ/ and /o/,^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) and Zingarelli a long open /ɔː/.^(Zingarelli 2010) Sabatini–Coletti also records a lengthened spelling ''ooh''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}