yo English · revision 5081

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=onomatopoeia|attested=c. 1420}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /jəʊ/, US /joʊ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a natural exclamation, first recorded in late Middle English.^(NODE 1998)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989) Collins calls the modern greeting of unknown origin.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An exclamation of incitement or warning: about 1420 in the OED.^(OED 1989) Etymonline has it from the early 15th century as a sailors' cry of effort, with ho, and a huntsman's call to the hounds.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a greeting it is by 1859 in Etymonline, 1958 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Its modern popularity dates from the Second World War, when it is said to have been a common answer at roll calls, and it is taken up as a local word in Philadelphia.^(Etymonline) Separately, yo represents a dialect pronunciation of you and your, especially in Black English, from 1848.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1420 – an exclamation of incitement.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1859 – a greeting.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1958 – greeting, in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Interjection===

+ # ''(informal)'' Used as a [[greeting]] or to attract attention.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' Used to express excitement.^(COED 2004)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[yo-ho]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hey]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}