Other uses
Look up yo (greeting) in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
- In Baltimore, and possibly other cities, yo (or a word coincidentally identical to it) has become a gender-neutral pronoun. [7]
Yo ( /joʊ/ YOH) is a slang interjection, [1] commonly associated with North American English. It was popularized by the Italian-American community in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 1940s. [2]
Although often used as a greeting and often deployed at the beginning of a sentence, yo may also come at the end of a sentence and/or may be used to place emphasis on or to direct focus onto a particular individual, group, or issue at hand, or to gain the attention of another individual or group. It may also be used to express excitement, surprise, disbelief, enthusiasm, anger, or amazement.
The interjection yo was first used in Middle English. [3] [4] In addition to yo, it was also sometimes written io. [5]
Though the term may have been in use in an isolated manner in different contexts earlier in English, its current usage and popularity derives from its use in Philadelphia's Italian American population in the twentieth century, which spread to other ethnic groups in the city, notably among Philadelphia African Americans, and later spread beyond Philadelphia. [6]
From the late twentieth century, it frequently appeared in hip hop music and became associated with African American Vernacular English, as seen in the title Yo! MTV Raps , a popular American television hip-hop music program in the late 1980s.
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word eponym include eponymous and eponymic.
Webster's Dictionary is any of the US English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by Noah Webster (1758–1843), a US lexicographer, as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's name in his honor. "Webster's" has since become a genericized trademark in the United States for US English dictionaries, and is widely used in dictionary titles.
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury or armory are mostly regarded as synonyms, although subtle differences in usage exist.
Merriam-Webster, Incorporated is an American company that publishes reference books and is mostly known for its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States.
A shiv, also chiv, schiv, shivvie, or shank, is a handcrafted bladed weapon resembling a knife that is commonly associated with prison inmates.
The word "orange" is a noun and an adjective in the English language. In both cases, it refers primarily to the orange fruit and the color orange, but has many other derivative meanings.
A humbug is a person or object that behaves in a deceptive or dishonest way, often as a hoax or in jest. The term was first described in 1751 as student slang, and recorded in 1840 as a "nautical phrase". It is now also often used as an exclamation to describe something as hypocritical nonsense or gibberish.
Irregardless is a word sometimes used in place of regardless or irrespective, which has caused controversy since the early twentieth century, though the word appeared in print as early as 1795. The word is mostly known for being controversial and often proscribed, and is often mentioned in discussions on prescriptive and descriptive lexicography.
In grammar, an adverbial genitive is a noun declined in the genitive case that functions as an adverb.
"Yo, Blair, what are you doing?" was an informal greeting reportedly made by United States President George W. Bush to British Prime Minister Tony Blair during the summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations (G8) in St Petersburg, Russia, on 17 July 2006. The line was popularly quoted in the media.
Hello is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (MWDEU) is a usage dictionary published by Merriam-Webster, Inc., of Springfield, Massachusetts. It is currently available in a reprint edition (1994) ISBN 0-87779-132-5 or ISBN 978-0-87779-132-4.
Bling-bling, often shortened to just bling, is "flashy jewelry worn especially as an indication of wealth or status; broadly: expensive and ostentatious possessions" such as grills and designer bags. The term arose as slang, but grew into a cultural mainstay. Prominent examples of bling-bling include a large cross necklace or Jesus piece.
Orin Hargraves is an American lexicographer and writer. His language reference works include Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions: Making Sense of Transatlantic English, Slang Rules!: A Practical Guide for English Learners, and Words to Rhyme With: A Rhyming Dictionary. In addition he has contributed definitions and other material to dictionaries and other language reference works issued by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Longman, Macmillan, HarperCollins, Chambers Harrap, Langenscheidt, Berlitz, Scholastic Corporation, and Merriam-Webster, among others.
Eighty-six or 86 is American English slang used to indicate that an item is no longer available, traditionally from a food or drinks establishment, or referring to a person or people who are not welcome on the premises. Its etymology is unknown, but seems to have been coined in the 1920s or 1930s.
Slay is a slang colloquialism that possibly originated during the 1600s, but gained its current LGBT connotation in the 1970s from ball culture. Originally having a meaning similar to "that joke was killer", slay has since gained a definition meaning being impressed or term of agreement.