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Yo
Definitions
- 1 Pronunciation spelling of your. alt-of, colloquial, pronunciation-spelling
"Yo sandwich has only bacon in it. Want some ketchup on that?"
- 1 A greeting similar to hi. slang
"Yo Paulie! How's it going?"
- 2 An interjection similar to hey. slang
"Yo, check this out!"
- 3 An expression of surprise or excitement. slang
"Yo, that's crazy, but I don't remember asking."
- 4 Present! Here! slang
"Sergeant: Smith? Private Smith: Yo!"
- 5 Emphatic conclusion to a statement.
"JESSE: That is messed up, yo."
- 1 Initialism of the Special Region of Yogyakarta: a province of Indonesia. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 1 Abbreviation of year(s) old; also y.o., y/o. abbreviation, alt-of
- 2 The name of the letter Ё/ё in Cyrillic alphabets.
- 3 Obsolete form of yue, a traditional Chinese unit of volume. alt-of, obsolete
- 4 Alternative form of YO alt-of, alternative
- 5 Abbreviation of yarnover. abbreviation, alt-of
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Initialism of yarn over. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 7 Alternative form of YO:; Abbreviation of yarnover. abbreviation, alt-of
- 8 Abbreviation of yarnover.; A technique in which the yarn is passed over the right-hand needle. In general, the new loop is knitted on the next row, either by itself (producing a hole) or together with an adjacent stitch.
- 1 Clipping of yoleven. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping
- 1 Abbreviation of years old. abbreviation, alt-of
- 1 Generic third-person singular pronoun (primarily used in place of he and she). colloquial
"Is dat yo mama? What's yo doin' in here??"
- 1 Alternative form of YO alt-of, alternative
- 2 Abbreviation of yarnover. abbreviation, alt-of
- 3 Alternative form of YO:; Abbreviation of yarnover. abbreviation, alt-of
- 4 Abbreviation of yarnover.; To make a yarnover.
Etymology
As a greeting first attested in 1859, attested first as a cry of sailors and huntsmen (first attested in the 1400s; compare e.g. huzzah, giddyup). Originally from Middle English yo, io, ȝo, yeo, yaw, variant forms of ya, ye (“yes, yea”), from Old English ġēa (“yes, yea”), from Proto-Germanic *ja (“yes, thus, so”); or perhaps from Old English ēow (“Wo!, Alas!”, interjection). Compare Danish, Swedish, German, Norwegian jo (“yes (flexible meaning)”), Dutch jow (“hi, hey”) and Dutch jo (“hi, hey”). More at yea, ow, ew. Modern popularity apparently dates from the early 20th century in Philadelphia, PA; amongst the Italian Community there, where io, with (as opposed to in standard Italian language) the stress on the ultima, was a common salutatory response among residents, particularly young males. This usage was apparently reinforced by the aforesaid English terms. It has been claimed to have been a common response at roll calls during World War 2 (see definition 4), and then most intensely attested in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it thence spread globally from American dominance of pop culture post-WWII.
From a non-rhotic pronunciation of your.
Ellipsis of such phrases as your friend/buddy, your brother/sister, your mom/dad, etc., referring to someone (whether present or absent, male or female) who is related to the interlocutor in some way. All such forms were then shortened to your (pronounced [joʊ], "yo", which see above). Eventually, the original meaning "your [someone]" was lost and broadened to "that person".
From Russian ё (jo).
From irregular romanization of the standard Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 龠 (yuè).
See also for "yo"
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