abracadabra

/ˌæbɹəkəˈdæbɹə/

From Late Latin abracadabra, a word used in magical writings, of unknown origin. Relationships have been suggested with Abraxas (a Gnostic deity), and with various Aramaic or Hebrew terms עַבְרָא כְּדַבְרָא (avra kedavra, literally “what was said has come to pass”), עַבְדָא כְּדַבְרָא (avda kedavra, literally “what was said has been done”); אַרְבַּע-אֶחַד-אַרְבַּע (arba-eḥad-arba, literally “four-one-four”), but there is little supporting evidence.

unk

unknown

Next, the conjuror filled a glass with water from a big jug and then covered the tumbler with a cloth. "Abracadabra," he cried and crumpled the cloth.

1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 49:

Used to indicate that a magic trick or other illusion has been performed.

abrakadabra

used to indicate that a magic trick or other illusion has been performed


absolutely

From late Middle English absolutly, equivalent to absolute + -ly.
First attested in 1425.

ref

“absolutely, adv.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Is Bob a good teacher?
Absolutely!

Do you want a free cookie with that coffee?
Absolutely!

Yes, certainly; expression indicating strong agreement.


FTP

"Fuck the police" emerged as the unofficial motto of the 1992 riots in Los Angeles[…]Following the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, street signs and businesses were frequently tagged with FTP.

[2018, David Correia, Tyler Wall, Police: A Field Guide, page 263:

As nationwide protests continue to grow, demanding justice for George Floyd and the black community as a whole, YG has shared a new protest song titled "FTP (F--- the Police)."

2020 June 2, “YG Has a Clear Message in New Protest Song 'FTP'”, in Billboard:


FAQ

From a mishearing of fuck you by livestreamer Sakura Miko.


fnord

A neologism from the Principia Discordia popularized in the Illuminatus! trilogy.

(Discordianism) A word (which may or may not be "fnord" itself) commonly held to be invisible to the conscious mind, but subliminally causing a sense of unease or sudden anger when encountered. So used in the Illuminatus! trilogy.

(Discordianism) A word defined as having no definition.


yo-ho-ho

/ˈjəʊhəʊhəʊ/

/jəʊhəʊˈhəʊ/

The term was popularized by a (fictional) pirate shanty in the novel Treasure Island (1883) by Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) – see the quotation – but appears in earlier songs of sailors. The term is possibly a variant of yo-he-ho, apparently a short form of yo-heave-ho (“a repetitive call made to synchronize workers performing some collective physical labour, such as hauling on a rope”).

How happy, my comrades, how happy are we, / While drawing fish from the dark rolling sea, / While drawing fish from the dark rolling sea. / Yo ho, yo ho, yo ho, ho, ho!

[1852, William B[atchelder] Bradbury, “The Fisherman”, in The Alpine Glee Singer: A Complete Collection of Secular and Social Music, […], New York, N.Y.: Newman & Ivison, […], →OCLC, page 66:

We're rolling along, rolling along, / As over the sea we go, / As over the sea we go, / And our anchor we heave, while we're singing our song. / Sing yo! ho! cheery men, ho! / Sing yo! cheery men, ho!

[1876, W. O. Perkins, “Sailor’s Chorus”, in The Male Voice Glee Book, for Colleges, Men’s Vocal Clubs, and the Social Circle; […], Boston, Mass.: Oliver Ditson & Company, […], →OCLC, page 52:

The endless ballad had come to an end at last, and the whole diminished company about the camp fire had broken into the chorus I had heard so often:— / "Fifteen men on the dead man's chest— / Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! / Drink and the devil had done for the rest— / Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!"

1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Ebb-tide Runs”, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part V (My Sea Adventure), page 188:

Where the Ships sail down / To the Western Sun / Alone in the Ocean Blue, / Yo ho ho! Yo ho ho! / Yo ho ho! Yo ho ho!

1914, Werner Mathews, “Sailor’s Song. (Invitation to the Sea).”, in Adolescence: Being Selections from Occasional Poems and Meditations Illustrating that of the Author, Cambridge: At the press of the Cambridge Review; Fabb & Tyler, Limited, →OCLC, page 45:

'With a yo ho ho and we'll raise the flag, / We've lots of cake in a paper bag. / We've six watermelons and pizza too. / It's a pirate's life for me and you!' / The sound of singing—well, something like singing, anyway—floated up from the creek.

2004, Jackie French, “My Mum the Pirate”, in One Big Wacky Family, Sydney, N.S.W.: Angus & Robertson, →ISBN:

When Asha threw the hair clip, the pirates jumped like flying fish to grab it. Pirate Joe leaped the highest and caught it. "Yo ho ho! It's mine!" he said.

2016, Adam Guillain, Charlotte Guillain, edited by Catherine Coe, Yo Ho Ho! (Rising Stars Reading Planet), London: Rising Stars UK, Hodder Education Group, →ISBN, page 13:

A cry associated with pirates and seafaring, originally a repetitive chant intended to synchronize workers performing some collective physical labour, such as hauling on a rope.


nonsense

From non- (“no, none, lack of”) + sense, from c. 1610. Compare the semantically similar West Frisian ûnsin (“nonsense”), Dutch onzin (“nonsense”), German Unsinn (“nonsense”), English unsense (“nonsense”).

The operators present this as a passenger benefit by claiming it provides early notice. Nonsense! This just means that passengers can't find any information about the train they thought they were catching. It simply disappears.

2023 January 11, Philip Haigh, “Comment: The worst chaos for 40 years”, in RAIL, number 974, page 4:

An emphatic rejection of something one has just heard and does not believe or agree with.


lol

(Internet slang, text messaging) Alternative form of LOL


lol

(archaic) Used in song as a nonsense syllable.


motherfucker

/ˈmʌðəˌfʌkə/

/ˈmʌðɚˌfʌkɚ/

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr
Proto-Germanic *mōdēr
Proto-West Germanic *mōder
Old English mōdor
Middle English moder
English mother
English fucker
English motherfucker
Compound of mother + fucker; attested since 1918. The injury comes from the implication of somebody sleeping with their own mother, but was probably not used literally until later.

etymon

(vulgar) Expressing dismay, discontent, or surprise.


bollocks

From Middle English ballokes (plural of ballok), from Old English beallucas (nominative plural of bealluc). By surface analysis, bollock + -s. Compare cullion.

inh

plural of <i class="Latn mention" lang="enm">ballok</i>

nominative plural of <i class="Latn mention" lang="ang">bealluc</i>

Oh bollocks, I'm late for work!

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, vulgar, slang) An expression of anger, frustration, etc.

Bollocks! That never happened!

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, vulgar, slang) An expression of incredulity.


whatever

From Middle English whatever. By surface analysis, what + ever.

So you don't like Mrs Jones. Whatever. What's that got to do with my question?

Go brush your teeth. – Whatever!

"It's not silk, it's muslin." "Whatever."

1991 January 5, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, page 66:

Yeah, whatever you old dried up fat hog.

1998 June 3, “Conjoined Fetus Lady”, in South Park, season 2, episode 5:

(colloquial) A holophrastic expression used to dismiss something that the speaker doesn't care about, doesn't think important, or doesn't want to consider or discuss any further.

طُز

indicating the speaker does not care what someone says


crap

From Middle English crappe, also in plural: crappys, craps (“chaff; buckwheat”), from Middle French crape, from Old French crappe, crapin (“chaff”) (compare Medieval Latin crappa pl, also crapinum), from Old Dutch krappen (“to cut off, pluck off”) (whence Middle Dutch crappe, crap (“a chop, cutlet”), whence Dutch krip (“a steak”)). Related to crop.

der

Oh crap! The other driver's going to hit my car!

Crap! I lost the game.

What the crap?!

Aw, crap, I have to start over again from the beginning of the level.

(slang, often vulgar) Expression of worry, fear, shock, surprise, disgust, annoyance, or dismay.


full stop

We need more people to join IRC, full stop.

(colloquial) Used to emphasize the end of an important statement or point when speaking to show something is not up for discussion or debate.


nu

(Jewish) An exclamation of surprise, emphasis, doubt, etc.

ну

exclamation of surprise, emphasis, doubt etc.

(Jewish) Well? (Used as a question to demand an answer from someone reluctant to answer.)


LOL

Acronyms. Laugh Out Loud abbreviation apparently coined by Canadian Wayne Pearson in the early-to-mid 1980s and first attested in 1989.

lol

denotes light-heartedness or unseriousness

(Internet slang, text messaging) Laughing (or laugh) out loud.

пацтало́м

most expressions are in "padonki" style, deliberately distorted spellings

(Internet slang, text messaging) Lots of laughs. (occasionally used)

(Internet slang, text messaging, by dilution) Indicates light-heartedness or amusement, or that the accompanying statement is not intended as serious.

SHEESH !!!! ¶ LOL (Laugh out loud) &&&& ¶ LOL (Lots of love, coz I'm a sharing caring kinda gal) ¶ Nikki

2002 November 29, Me Here, “Latest Rugby Poll.”, in nz.general (Usenet):

Explaining how much I hated being away from him for another weekend, how I had to do it to pay for his school, for our life. Heartfelt, heart-full, I signed it "LOL, Dad.". Then a pause. And I see appearing on my screen these words. "Dad: what exactly do you think LOL means?" "Lots of Love, obviously," I replied.

2007, Adam Gopnik, Through the Children's Gate, →ISBN:

The answer is in Job 40:7 to the end of the chapter, and 2 tim 2:11 thru 2:21. LOL, Dad Miscommunication: I was thinking he was laughing he didn't tell that was not true. An on-looker said he may mean lots of love. I asked and he didn't answer but he hugged me the next time he saw me for two seconds. Progress not perfection.

2010, Keturah Wasler, Box of Chocolates: Piece from My Heart, →ISBN, page 20:

John 21:15, 16,17 Back in the fifties, when I used to write childish letters in long-hand to my grandmothers, I would delight in closing with LOL, by which I intended the sentiment "Lots of Love"! This was followed by "XOXOXOXO", which, of course, was hugs and kisses.

2011, Rhonda K. Kindig, Found in Translation, →ISBN, page 105:

One of the most famous examples of this misunderstanding came to prominence three years ago, thanks to a screengrab of this text message sent by a mother to her son: "Your great aunt just passed away. LOL".

2014 May 28, Stuart Heritage, “25 years of LOL – the good and bad bits”, in The Guardian:


um

Um, I don’t know.

Let’s see... um... how about this?

It's a great test of the claims of open-source gurus, who say that a self-motivated community can outcode any team working for a single employer—like, um, Microsoft.

Expression of hesitation, uncertainty or space filler in conversation.

"About the same, wherever you go," he agreed.
"Um," I said.

1963, Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle, Dell Publishing Co., Inc., page 65:

Um, excuse me!

(US) An expression to forcefully call attention to something wrong.

While I was in her room, Sam walked by and said, “Um, I'm telling!”
“You're telling what?” I asked.
“You're reading Tori's journal,” she said.

2011, Kimberly Willis Holt, Piper Reed, Clubhouse Queen:

Mair used to look after Laura. If anyone threatened to tease her, Mair would stand up straight, point her finger at the enemy and shout, 'Um! I'm telling on you!'

2021, Sarah Strangeways, The Gingerbread House, page 13:

(UK, childish) An expression of shocked disapproval used by a child who witnesses forbidden behavior.


fy

"O fy, Andrew, how can ye say sae? How can ye doubt that it was in the Almighty's name?"


standard

From Middle English standard, from Old French estandart (“gathering place, battle flag”), from Frankish *standahard (literally “stand firm, stand hard”), equivalent to stand + -ard. Alternative etymology derives the second element from Frankish *oʀd (“point, spot, place”) (compare Old French ordé (“pointed”), Old English ord (“point, source, vanguard”), German Standort (“location, place, site, position, base”, literally “standing-point”)). Merged with Middle English standar, stander, standere (“flag, banner”, literally “stander”), equivalent to stand + -er. More at stand, hard, ord.


language

From Middle English langage, language, from Old French language, from Vulgar Latin *linguāticum, from Latin lingua (“tongue, speech, language”), from Old Latin dingua (“tongue”), from Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s (“tongue, speech, language”). Doublet of langaj. Displaced native Old English ġeþēode.

der

/ˈlæŋɡwɪd͡ʒ/

[ˈleɪŋɡwɪd͡ʒ]

You're a pile of shit!
Hey! Language!

An admonishment said in response to vulgar language.


morning

From Middle English morwenyng, from morwen + -ing. By surface analysis, morn + ing. See also morrow (Middle English morwe).


because

From Middle English bi cause, from bi (“by”) + cause, modelled on Old French par cause.

Used alone to refuse to provide a full answer a question begun with "why", usually taken as an anapodoton of the elided full phrase "Because I said so".

sommer

word used in place of an answer to "why"


wall

Wall, they spoke up, 'n' says to her, s'd they, "Why, look a-here, aunty, Wus't his skin, 't was rock?" so s's she, "I guess not." (Well, they spoke up and says to her, said they, "Why look a-here, aunty, was it his skin that was rock [referring to the Apostle Peter]?" So says she, "I guess not.")

1858, Robert Lowell, The New Priest in Conception Bay:

Wall, be that as it may, ol' Hosshead was a purty good citizen in his day, an' he shore did make Juneybell toe the mark.

1988, Herbert M. Sutherland, Tall Tales of the Devil's Apron, The Overmountain Press, →ISBN, page 97:

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling


aloha

Borrowed from Hawaiian aloha (“love”), from Proto-Polynesian *qarofa. Doublet of aroha and aropa.

(chiefly Hawaii) Expressing good wishes when greeting or parting from someone; hello; goodbye.


now

From Middle English now, nou, nu, from Old English nū, from Proto-West Germanic *nū, from Proto-Germanic *nu, from Proto-Indo-European *nū (“now”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots noo (“now”), Saterland Frisian nu (“now”), West Frisian no (“now”), Dutch nu, nou (“now”), German nu, nun (“now”), Norwegian Bokmål nå (“now”), Norwegian Nynorsk no (“now”), Swedish and Danish nu (“now”), Icelandic nú (“now”), Latin num (“even now, whether”), Latin nunc (“now”), Albanian ni (“now”), Lithuanian nù (“now”), Avestan 𐬥𐬏 (nū, “now”), Sanskrit नु (nu, “now”).

Now! Fire all we've got while the enemy is in reach!


chook

From Irish English chuck (call made to poultry or pigs), from Irish tsiug, tsiuc. Compare English buck buck.

Chook, chook, quack, quack, / Cock-a-doodle-doo; / All the ducks and the fowls / Admire me, they do.

1875 July 23, Sydney Punch, page 1, column 1:


word

From Middle English word, from Old English word, from Proto-West Germanic *word, from Proto-Germanic *wurdą, from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥dʰh₁om. Doublet of verb and verve; further related to vrata.

"Yo, that movie was epic!" / "Word?" ("You speak the truth?") / "Word." ("I speak the truth.")

(slang) Truth, indeed, that is the truth! The shortened form of the statement "My word is my bond."

"[…] Know what I'm sayin'?" / "Word!" the other man strongly agreed. "Let's do this — "

2004, Shannon Holmes, Never Go Home Again: A Novel, page 218:

"[…] Not bad at all, man. Worth da wait, dawg. Word." / "You liked it?" I asked dumbly, stoned still, and feeling victorious. / "Yeah, man," said Oral B. "Word up. […]"

2007, Gabe Rotter, Duck Duck Wally: A Novel, page 105:

"[…] I mean, I don't blame you... Word! […]"

2007, Relentless Aaron, The Last Kingpin, page 34:

(slang, emphatic, stereotypically, African-American Vernacular) An abbreviated form of word up; a statement of the acknowledgment of fact with a hint of nonchalant approval.


hell

From Middle English helle, from Old English hell, from Proto-West Germanic *hallju, from Proto-Germanic *haljō (“concealed place, netherworld”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, conceal, save”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hälle (“hell”), West Frisian hel (“hell”), Dutch hel (“hell”), German Low German Hell (“hell”), German Hölle (“hell”), Norwegian helvete (“hell”), Icelandic hel (“the abode of the dead, death”). Also related to the Hel of Germanic mythology. See also hele.

cog

Oh, hell! I got another parking ticket.

O hell! what have we here?
A carrion Death, within whose empty eye
There is a written scroll! […]

c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]:

(colloquial, sometimes vulgar) Used to express discontent, unhappiness, or anger.

Hell, yeah!

(colloquial, sometimes vulgar, non-productive) Used to emphasize.

Do it, or, rest assured, there will be no more Middle Eastern crisis – hell, there will be no more Middle East!

(colloquial, sometimes vulgar) Used to introduce an intensified statement following an understated one; nay; not only that, but.


would

From Old English wolde, past tense of willan, predecessor of will.

(slang, idiomatic) Ellipsis of I would: used to denote that the speaker finds another person sexually attractive.


de

"Dum de dum, dum de dum", he hummed as he sauntered down the road.

A meaningless unstressed syllable used when singing a tune or indicating a rhythm.


cooee

From Dharug guuu-wi adopted into English by white settlers in Australia from 1790.

Cooee! I'm over here!

Then, raising her hands to her lips she utters a long, loud, piercing " Cooee ! "
" Coo — ee ! " comes back over the black waters.

2001, June E. Barker, First Platypus, Gaygar—The Little Mother Duck, in Helen F. McKay (editor), Pauline E. McLeod, Francis Firebrace Jones, June E. Barker, Gadi Mirrabooka: Australian Aboriginal Tales from the Dreaming, page 58,
Gaygar could hear her people cooee out to her, "COOEE, GAYGAR! COOEE, GAYGAR!" they would cry.

(informal, chiefly Australia, UK) Used to attract someone's attention.


say

From Middle English seyen, seien, seggen, from Old English seċġan (“to say, speak”), from Proto-West Germanic *saggjan, from Proto-Germanic *sagjaną (“to say”), from Proto-Indo-European *sokʷ-h₁-yé-, a suffixed o-grade form of *sekʷ- (“to tell, talk”).
Cognate with West Frisian sizze (“to say”), Low German seggen (“to say”), Dutch zeggen (“to say”), German sagen (“to say”), Danish sige (“to say”), Norwegian Bokmål si (“to say”), Norwegian Nynorsk seia (“to say”), Swedish säga (“to say”), Yiddish זאָגן (zogn, “to say; to tell”).
The adverb and interjection are from the verb.

Say, what did you think about the movie?

(colloquial) Used to gain someone's attention before making an inquiry or suggestion


g'day

"G'day, Missus," said he, with a jerk of his head, and he shifted from one leg to the other, and turned his hat over and over uneasily in his great brown hands.
[…]
"G'day," said 'Lizer, with a bright smile that revealed the prettiest of white teeth. The girl's mouth was as fresh as a rose.
[…]
"G'day, Missus, hope you're keepin' well, an' the Boss, an' the children. Got back sooner'n I expected; Well, how's my mate shapin?" said he.
[…]
It ain't no one's fault but mine," he said, generously. "G'day, Missus; I'm goin' ter find my mate, alive-or dead;" and he galloped away.

1901 December 14, Bushwoman, “Lizer o' th' Overshot”, in Australian Town and Country Journal:

G'day, Muck.
[…]
Ned

2012 February 20, Ned Latham, “Odd behaviour UPLOAD”, in aus.computers.linux (Usenet):

(Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ottawa Valley, colloquial) Hi, hello.

Golf Golf Whiskey Golf, cleared the ILS approach runway one two, contact Sault Tower one one eight decimal eight, g'day.

(Canada, US, air traffic control, informal) Denotes the end of a radio transmission.


affirmative

/əˈfɜːmətɪv/

From Middle English affirmative, affirmatyve, from Old French affirmatif, from Latin affirmativus, from affirmare (“to assert”).

(military, especially radio communications) Yes; true; correct.


here

From Middle English her, from Old English hēr (“at this place”), from Proto-West Germanic *hēr, from Proto-Germanic *hē₂r, from *hiz + *-r, from Proto-Indo-European *kís, from *ḱe + *ís.
Cognates
Cognate with Saterland Frisian hier, West Frisian hjir, Dutch hier, German Low German hier, German hier, Danish her, Swedish här, Norwegian her, Faroese her, Icelandic hér. Also related to the English pronoun he (“this/that person”), and the words hither (“to this place”) and hence (“from this place”).

Here, now I'm giving it to you.

(slang) Used semi-assertively to offer something to the listener.

Here, I'm tired and I want a drink.

(Ireland, British, slang) Used for emphasis at the beginning of a sentence when expressing an opinion or want.


time

From Middle English tyme, time, from Old English tīma (“time, period, space of time, season, lifetime, fixed time, favorable time, opportunity”), from Proto-West Germanic *tīmō, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô (“time”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂imō, from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- (“to divide”). Related to tide. Not related to Latin tempus.
cognates
*Scots tym, tyme (“time”)
*Alemannic German Zimen, Zīmmän (“time, time of the year, opportune time, opportunity”)
*Danish time (“hour, lesson”)
*Swedish timme (“hour”)
*Norwegian time (“lesson, hour”)
*Faroese tími (“hour, lesson, time”)
*Icelandic tími (“time, season”).

der

(tennis) Reminder by the umpire for the players to continue playing after their pause.

A call by a bartender to warn patrons that the establishment is closing and no more drinks will be served.


yeah

Colloquial form of yea or yes. Compare nah.

Yeah! We did it!


qua

Crows have a language of their own in a wild state that any observant person can learn. […] Then he would straighten his head back and, with the most comical bowing and wagging, say: "Qua qua qua, qua qua qua" for perhaps a minute.

1909, The Country Gentleman, volume 74, page 266:

Qua... qua... qua... out of the blue I hear the crows cawing with great fanfare as they announce to the world at large that they are here by my side and intend to probe into my being.


cock

From Middle English cok, from Old English coc, cocc (“cock, male bird”), from Proto-West Germanic *kokk, from Proto-Germanic *kukkaz (“cock”), probably of onomatopoeic origin.
Cognate with Middle Dutch cocke (“cock, male bird”) and Old Norse kokkr ("cock"; whence Danish kok (“cock”), dialectal Swedish kokk (“cock”)). Reinforced by Old French coc, also of imitative origin. The sense "penis" is attested since at least the 1610s, with the compound pillicock (“penis”) attested since 1325.

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeic

gloss

2006, Vamp, “oh cock i should have kept with a toyota!”, in uk.rec.cars.modifications (Usenet):

(UK, Ireland, slang) Expression of annoyance.


dear

From Middle English dere, from Old English dīere (“of great value or excellence, expensive, beloved”), from Proto-West Germanic *diurī, from Proto-Germanic *diurijaz (“dear, precious, expensive”). Cognate with Scots dere, deir (“of great value or worth, highly valued, precious, beloved”), Saterland Frisian djuur (“precious, dear, costly, expensive”), Dutch duur (“costly, precious”), German teuer (“costly, precious”), German Low German düür, Danish dyr (“expensive”), Swedish dyr (“expensive”), Norwegian dyr (“expensive”), Icelandic dýr (“expensive”), Yiddish טייַער (tayer, “precious,expensive”).

cog

Dear, dear! Whatever were they thinking?

(dated) Indicating surprise, pity, or disapproval.


hot tamale

Boy oh boy it’s cold today, hot tamale!


rite

Rite, let's do it.


my

An abbreviation of an oath such as my word or my Lord

My, what big teeth you have!

Used to express surprise, shock or amazement.


fuck

Tok Pisin: fak

→⇒ Afrikaans: fok

→ Chinese: 法克 (fǎkè)

→ French: fuck, fucker

→ Icelandic: fokk

→ Japanese: ファック (fakku)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: fucke, føkke

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: fucka, føkka

→ Pitcairn-Norfolk: fak

→ Russian: фак (fak)

→ Serbo-Croatian: fak, фак

→ Welsh: ffwcio

Flen flyys
Slate.com
University of Minnesota Press
fuck

From Middle English *fukken, probably of Germanic origin: either from Old English *fuccian or Old Norse *fukka, both from Proto-Germanic *fukkōną, from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- (“to strike, punch, stab”). Compare windfucker and its debated etymology.
Possibly attested in a 772 AD charter that mentions a place called Fuccerham, which may mean "ham (“home”) of the fucker" or "hamm (“pasture”) of the fucker"; a John le Fucker in a record from 1278 may just be a variant of Fulcher, like Fucher, Foker, etc. The earliest unambiguous use of the word in a clearly sexual context, in any stage of English, appears to be in court documents from Cheshire, England, which mention a man called "Roger Fuckebythenavele" (possibly tongue-in-cheek, or directly suggestive of a depraved sexual act) on December 8, 1310. It was first listed in a dictionary in 1598. Scots fuk/fuck is attested slightly earlier, probably reinforcing the Northern Germanic/Scandinavian origin theory. From 1500 onward, the word has been in continual use, superseding jape and sard and largely displacing swive.
A range of folk-etymological backronyms, such as "fornication under consent of the king" and "for unlawful carnal knowledge", are all demonstrably false.
Sense 10, from related sense feck.
See windfucker (regional synonym: fuckwind) for more.

der

(vulgar) A semi-voluntary vocalization in place of a gasp.

Oh, fuck! We left the back door unlocked.

Fuck! Why do you have to be so difficult all the time?

Oh, fuck! I forgot to pay that parking ticket and now they want me to appear in court!

(vulgar, colloquial) Expressing dismay or discontent.

Fuck! That movie was good!

(vulgar, colloquial) Expressing surprise or enjoyment.


boom

Onomatopoeic, perhaps borrowed; compare German bummen, Dutch bommen (“to hum, buzz”). The sense "a period of economic growth" is generally taken to derive from the sense "a rapid expansion", although other origins have also been suggested.

crash boom bang

In regards to what happened to Mutsu, well, it went BOOM. To be more prosaic about it, there were a number of theories put forward as to why Mutsu's magazine for its aft superfiring turret exploded, some of them more plausible than others.

2020 January 12, Drachinifel, 47:06 from the start, in The Drydock - Episode 076, archived from the original on 2022-09-26:

Used to suggest the sound of an explosion.

Add one cup of hot water, wait a minute, and boom — your cup of ramen is ready.

So we went around the corner, looked in the garbage, and, boom, there's about 16 of the tapes he didn't like!

Hostile race relations and chronic unemployment are ignored in the suburbs of Paris, London and Sydney, and boom! there are riots.

2013, Peter Westoby, Gerard Dowling, Theory and Practice of Dialogical Community Development:

Used to suggest something happening suddenly or unexpectedly; voilà.


action

From Middle English accion, from Old French aucion, acciun, from Latin āctiō(n) (“act of doing or making”), from āctus + action suffix -iō(n), perfect passive participle of agere (“do, act”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti; see also act, active. By surface analysis, act + -ion.

The director yelled ‘Action!’ after the cameras started rolling.

Demanding or signifying the start of something, usually a performance.


welcome

From Middle English welcome, wolcume, wulcume, wilcume, from Old English wilcuma (“a wished-for guest”; compare also wilcume (“welcome!”, interjection)), from Proto-West Germanic *willjakwemō, from Proto-Germanic *wiljakwemô (“a wished-for arrival or guest”), possibly from *wiljakwemaną (“to be welcome”), equivalent to will (“desire”) + come (“comer, arrival”). The component wil- was replaced by wel- when the sense “guest” of the second component was no longer understood, likely under influence from the adverb well. Cognate with Scots walcome, West Frisian wolkom, Dutch welkom (earlier willecome), German willkommen, German Low German willkamen, Danish velkommen, Norwegian Bokmål velkommen, Norwegian Nynorsk velkomen, velkommen, Swedish välkommen, Icelandic velkominn, Faroese vælkomin, and Old French wilecome (whence Middle French willecomme (“welcome”)), from Germanic.
The verb is from Middle English welcomen, wolcumen, wilcumen, from Old English wellcumian, wylcumian, wilcumian (“to welcome, receive gladly”).
Similar constructions are found in Romance languages, such as Italian benvenuto, Spanish bienvenido, French bienvenu, Catalan benvingut, Portuguese bem-vindo and Romanian bun venit, meaning “[may you have fared] well [in] coming [here]”. These do not derive from a Classical Latin root, as no similar construction in Latin is found to exist, but are instead presumed to be the result of a calque from, considering the ruling elite of the Germanic kingdoms which succeeded the Western Roman Empire, a Germanic language into Proto-Romance (Vulgar Latin; see Latin *bene venūtus, and compare perdōnō and compāniō for similar historical calques).

gloss

“a wished-for guest”; compare also <i class="Latn mention" lang="ang">wilcume</i> (“welcome!”, interjection)

com

OpenB@DistalSideChesthigh-PalmAcross RoundVert OpenB@DistalInsideTrunkhigh-PalmUp RoundHoriz OpenB@NearCenterTrunkhigh-PalmUp

እንኳን ደህና መጣህ m እንኳን ደህና መጣሽ f እንኳን ደህና መጡ

ᑕᑕᐘᐤ

both meaning "there is room [for you], so come in"

(nonstandard, especially Southern US) Ellipsis of you're welcome.


see

From Middle English seen, from Old English sēon (“to see, look, behold, perceive, observe, discern, understand, know”), from Proto-West Germanic *sehwan, from Proto-Germanic *sehwaną (“to see”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to see, notice”).
Cognates
Cognate with West Frisian sjen (“to see”), Dutch zien (“to see”), Low German sehn, German sehen (“to see”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian Bokmål se (“to see”), Norwegian Nynorsk sjå (“to see”), and more distantly with Latin sīgnum (“sign, token”), Albanian shih (“look at, see”) imperative of shoh (“to see”).

der

See, in order to win the full prize we would have to come up with a scheme to land a rover on the Moon.


church

From Middle English chirche, from Old English ċiriċe (“church”), from Proto-West Germanic *kirikā, an early borrowing of Ancient Greek κυριακόν (kuriakón), neuter form of κυριακός (kuriakós, “belonging to the lord”), from κύριος (kúrios, “ruler, lord”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- (“to swell, spread out, be strong, prevail”).
additional etymological information
 For vowel evolution, see bury. Ancient Greek κυριακόν (kuriakón) was used of houses of Christian worship since circa 300 CE, especially in the East, though it was less common in this sense than ἐκκλησία (ekklēsía, “congregation”) or βασιλική (basilikḗ, “royal thing”). An example of the direct Greek-to-Germanic progress of many Christian words, possibly via the Goths; it was probably used by West Germanic people in their pre-Christian period. Cognate with Scots kirk (“church”), West Frisian tsjerke (“church”), Saterland Frisian Säärke (“church”), Dutch kerk (“church”), German Kirche (“church”), Danish kirke (“church”), Swedish kyrka (“church”), Norwegian Bokmål kirke, Norwegian Nynorsk kyrkje (“church”), and Icelandic kirkja (“church”). Also picked up by Slavic, via Old High German chirihha (compare Old Church Slavonic црькꙑ (crĭky), Bulgarian църква (cǎrkva), Russian це́рковь (cérkovʹ)). Romance and Celtic languages use descendants of Latin ecclēsia.

– These burritos are the best! – Church!

(slang) Used to express strong agreement.


alligator

]
From early Modern English alligater, alligarta, aligarto, alegarto, alagarto, from Spanish el lagarto (“the lizard”), from Latin lacertus (“lizard”), modern spelling possibly influenced by the unrelated Latin alligator (“one who binds”).

The same way people will count the seconds between lightning and thunder, I counted the seconds between coughs. One-alligator, two-alligator, three-alligator.

2013, Chuck Palahniuk, “December 21, 9:33 A.M. CST”, in Doomed:

Used in a common chronometric counting scheme, in which the speaker counts out loud, saying the word "alligator" between the numbers so that each number is spoken approximately one second after the last one.


shit

→ Dutch: shit

→ Swedish: shit

From Middle English schiten, shiten, from Old English sċītan, from Proto-West Germanic *skītan, from Proto-Germanic *skītaną, from Proto-Indo-European *skéydt, from *skeyd-, *skeh₁i-d (“to cut”) (compare *skey-).
Cognate with West Frisian skite, Low German schieten, Dutch schijten, German scheißen, Danish skide. More at shed.

Shit! I think that I forgot to pack my sleeping bag last night!

Holy shit!

Oh, shit!

(vulgar) Expression of worry, failure, shock, etc., often at something seen for the first time or remembered immediately before using this term.

"Oh, shit. I left my worksheet at home," she said to the language arts teacher, which got her in trouble.

(vulgar) Used to show displeasure or surprise.

All my comrades were laughing and clowning me, but shit, that didn't stop me from talking more shit.

(vulgar) Used for mere emphasis; heck, hey.


fall

Perhaps from the north-eastern Scottish pronunciation of whale.

(nautical) The cry given when a whale is sighted, or harpooned.


posh

Unknown.
Most likely derived from Romani posh (“half”), either because posh-kooroona (“half a crown”) (originally a substantial sum of money) was used metaphorically for anything pricey or upper-class, or because posh-houri (“half-penny”) came to refer to money generally.
A period slang dictionary defines "posh" as a term used by thieves for "money : generic, but specifically, a halfpenny or other small coin". An example is given from James Payn's The Eavesdropper (1888): "They used such funny terms: 'brads,' and 'dibbs,' and 'mopusses,' and 'posh' ... at last it was borne in upon me that they were talking about money."
Evidence exists for a slang sense from the 1890s meaning dandy, which is quite possibly related.
A popular folk etymology holds that the term is an acronym for "port out, starboard home", describing the cooler, north-facing cabins taken by the most aristocratic or rich passengers travelling from Britain to India and back. However, there is no evidence for this claim.
It could also possibly be a clipping of polished.
See also the articles mentioned in the References section below for additional discussion.

1889: "The czar! Posh! I slap my fingers--I snap my fingers at him." — Rudyard Kipling, The Man Who Was


hut

A short, sharp sound of command. Compare hey, hup, etc.

(American football) Called by the quarterback to prepare the team for a play.


bap

Damian rolls Mr. McNutt over and beats the tar out of him with a series of punches, glasses on or not.
BAP! BAP! SMACK! BAP! BAP! "You and your men are going to get my family killed!" hollers Damian.

2006, Ashaki Boelter., The Nok, page 55:

Elizabeth continued into the living room and saw Velvet napping on the cool linoleum under the dining room table. She stopped to stroke her silky side and the puppy's tail went bap, bap, bap against the floor in greeting.

(informal) The sound of a light blow or slap.


PU

IMO, this stinks. PU.

1994 February 28, zombie, “Future Images”, in rec.arts.comics.misc (Usenet), retrieved 2022-06-20:

1997 February 19, K.A.J., “PU, whats that smell......”, in rec.equestrian (Usenet), retrieved 2022-06-20:

1999 April 7, Thomas Mac Donald, “99 Interior Smell - PU”, in rec.autos.makers.mazda.miata (Usenet), retrieved 2022-06-20:

THIS NEWSGROUP STINKS
PU

2000 March 19, thunde...@webtv.net, “PU WHO CUT THE FRIKIN CHEESE?”, in alt.cheese (Usenet), retrieved 2022-06-20:

Phew can mean you are exhausted, hot, and other things which leave you overwhelmed. Pew is a bench you sit on in church. PU means that something stinks. I feel no connection between these words. While Phew *may* mean "what a stink", PU can mean *only* "what a stink". By the way, PU has been around at least since was a young kid 60 years ago.

2000 February 22, Karl Reinhardt, “How to spell???”, in alt.usage.english (Usenet), retrieved 2022-06-20:

PU? As in Stinks? :^)
Sam (Pee Euw) Sands

2000 October 7, Samuel Sands, “Truck”, in atl.arno (Usenet), retrieved 2022-06-20:

(slang) Alternative form of P U; expression used when encountering a displeasing smell; exaggerated pronunciation of pew.


NS

(video games, first-person shooters) nice shot


hallelujah

From Hebrew הַלְלוּיָהּ (hal'luyáh, “Praise Yah”).

bor

AND after theſe things I heard a great voyce of much people in heauen, ſaying, Alleluia: ſaluation, and glorie, and honour, and power vnto the Lord our God:

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 19:1, column 2:

An exclamation used in songs of praise or thanksgiving to God.

Hallelujah! It’s finally the weekend!

(by extension) A general expression of gratitude or adoration.


ag

Borrowed from Afrikaans ag, from Dutch ach.

Ag pleez Deddy won't you take us to the wrestling / We wanna see an ou called Sky High Lee

1962, Jeremy Taylor (lyrics and music), “Ag Pleez Deddy”:

‘Ag, fuck it,’ he said. ‘Let bygones be bygones, man.’

1979, André Brink, A Dry White Season, Vintage, published 1998, page 88:

Finally, after placing four books on the desk, he turned to a sheepish Kathy and said, ‘Ag, there's nothing wrong with these desks,’ and walked out.

1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 491:

(South Africa) Expressing annoyance, remorse, surprise etc.; oh, ah.


brother

PIE word
 *bʰréh₂tēr
Inherited from Middle English brother, from Old English brōþor, from Proto-West Germanic *brōþer, from Proto-Germanic *brōþēr, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr. Doublet of bhai, frater, friar, and pal.

We're being forced to work overtime? Oh, brother!


uncle

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwh₂os
Latin avunculus
Old French unclebor.
Middle English uncle
English uncle
From Middle English uncle, borrowed from Anglo-Norman uncle and Old French oncle, from Vulgar Latin *aunclum, from Latin avunculus (“maternal uncle”, literally “little grandfather”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂euh₂-n-tlo- (“little grandfather”), a dialectal diminutive of *h₂éwh₂ō (“grandfather, adult male relative other than one’s father”) (whence also Latin avus (“grandfather”)). Displaced native Middle English em (“uncle”) from Old English ēam (“maternal uncle”), containing the same Proto-Indo-European root, and Old English fædera (“paternal uncle”). Compare Saterland Frisian Unkel (“uncle”), Dutch nonkel (“uncle”), German Low German Unkel (“uncle”), German Onkel (“uncle”), Danish onkel (“uncle”). More at eam and eame.


bam

The wind knocked the tree over last night. Bam! It nearly scared me to death.

We all looked up from the maps, silent, and listened to the hurried footsteps in the entryway. They padded up the red carpet, bam-bam-bam, and across the landing and then up the next flight at a gallop, bam-bam-bam.

2007, Joe Biden, Promises to Keep, New York: Random House, published 2008, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 266:

Representing a loud noise or heavy impact.

She said she dumped him. Now — bam! — they're back together.

Representing a sudden or abrupt occurrence.


MB

(Internet slang, text messaging) Initialism of my bad.


yes

From Middle English yes, from Old English ġīese (“by all means, of course, yes”), derived from the same root as yea.

ya

expression of pleasure, joy or great excitement — see also yay

vâng

response that asks for more information about a request

Our second goal of the match! Yes!

An exclamation of pleasure or approval, usually transcribed with an exclamation point.

Response that confirms that the user is paying attention.

I need some help.
Yes?

(interrogative) Used to ask for more information with a request.


gracias

Borrowed from Spanish gracias (“thank you”).

bor+

Muchos gracias, my friend. —The girls are in the kitchen, Bimbo told Vera.

"Gracias, my friend. I owe you a great debt.

“No, gracias, my friend. This will do fine.”

2010, Tina Rosenberg, Glenapp Castle: A Scottish Intrigue, page 154:


bai

(Internet slang) Eye dialect spelling of bye.


hi

American English. First recorded reference is to speech of a Kansas Indian (1862); originally to attract attention, probably a variant of Middle English hey, hy (circa 1475). Also an exclamation to call attention. See hey.

Hi, how are you?

I just dropped by to say “hi”.

Anna: Pete, hi! Hi, we are here! — Pete: Hi, Anna! Hi, Marsha! — Anna: Hi! — Pete: How are you two? — Marsha: I am great!
Audio (US): (file)

2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

When out on the prairie, up galloped an Indian on his pony with his saluting "hi!"

1862, Miriam Davis Colt, Went to Kansas, L. Ingalls & Company, →ISBN, page 143:

A friendly, informal, casual greeting said upon someone's arrival.

chào (depending on the relationship between speaker and person addressed, one of the following terms may be appended: ông, bà, cô, anh, chị, em, quí vị)

I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

'Come back now!' shouted Sam. 'Hi! Come back!' But Gollum had vanished.


mea culpa

From the Latin phrase meā culpā (“through my fault”), ablative case of mea culpa (“my fault, guilt”), taken from the Confiteor, a traditional penitential prayer in Western Christianity.

My fault, due to my error; I am to blame.


night

From Middle English nighte, night, nyght, niȝt, naht, from Old English niht, from Proto-West Germanic *naht (“night”), from Proto-Germanic *nahts (“night”), from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts (“night”).
Cognate with Scots nicht, neicht (“night”), West Frisian nacht (“night”), Dutch nacht (“night”), Low German Nacht (“night”), German Nacht (“night”), Danish nat (“night”), Swedish and Norwegian natt (“night”), Faroese nátt (“night”), Icelandic nótt (“night”), Gothic 𐌽𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃 (nahts, “night”), Greek νύχτα (nýchta, “night”), Russian ночь (nočʹ, “night”), Sanskrit नक्ति (nákti, “night”), and Latin nox (“night”), whence English nox, a doublet.

Night, y'all! Thanks for a great evening!


peace

From Middle English pees, pes, pais, borrowed from Anglo-Norman peis and Old French pais (“peace”), from Latin pāx (“peace”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to fasten, stick, place”), related to Latin pacīscor (“agree, stipulate”), Latin pangō (“fasten, fix”); see pact. Displaced native Old English sibb and friþ.

der

“Hark!” said the old woman, triumphantly. “I hear a step coming. […] Do you hear him?”
“I believe you are right, mother,” replied Alice, in a low voice. “Peace! open the door.”

1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC:

"Peace, my lord, thou utterest treason! Hast forgot the king's command? Remember I am party to thy crime, if I but listen."

1882, Mark Twain, chapter 6, in The Prince and the Pauper:

(archaic) Shut up!, silence!; be quiet, be silent.


how

From a Siouan language; compare Lakota háu. Alternatively from Wyandot haau.

A greeting, used in representations of Native American speech.


goodbye

Japanese: グッドバイ (guddobai), グッバイ (gubbai)

Afrikaans: koebaai (informal), baai (informal)

From earlier goodby, Godby, Godby'e, Godbwye, God b'w'y, God bwy yee, God buy you, God be wi' you, each a progressively shorter contraction of "God be with ye" or "God be with you". Note the change of God to good by confusion with good morning, good night, etc. Modernly analysed as good + bye.

Goodbye! - Goodbye, Anna.
Audio (US): (file)

Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing.

hei konā rā

said by the person leaving to the person staying or to those remaining behind

noho iho rā

said by person leaving to the person staying

haere rā

said by person staying to the person leaving or to those leaving

אַ גוטן

used by the first person to say good-bye; used all day until nightfall

אַ גוט יאָר

used in response to a good-bye; used all morning, day, and evening


boy

Etymology tree
Proto-West Germanic *bōjō
Old English *bōia
Middle English boye
English boy
From Middle English boy／boye (“servant, commoner, knave, boy”), from Old English *bōia (“boy”), from Proto-West Germanic *bōjō, from Proto-Germanic *bōjô (“younger brother, young male relation”), from Proto-Germanic *bō- (“brother, close male relation”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-, *bʰāt- (“father, elder brother, brother”).
Cognate with Scots boy (“boy”), West Frisian boai (“boy”), Dutch boi (“boy”), Low German Boi (“boy”), and probably to the Old English proper name Bōia. Also related to West Flemish boe (“brother”), Norwegian dialectal boa (“brother”), Dutch boef (“rogue, knave”), Bavarian Bua (“young boy, lad”), German Bube ("boy; knave; jack"; > English bub), Icelandic bófi (“rogue, crook, bandit, knave”). See also bully.

gloss

"boy; knave; jack"; > English <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">bub</i>

cog

Boy, that was close!

Boy, that tastes good!

Boy, I wish I could go to Canada!

Time is running out, so I renounce a spin on a Class 387 for a fast run to Paddington on another Class 800 - a shame as the weather was perfect for pictures. Even so, it's enjoyable - boy, can those trains shift under the wires.

2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:

Exclamation of surprise, pleasure or longing.


zoom

Uncertain. The verb was attested in 1892, noun in 1918 and interjection in 1942. Apparently related to Scots soom (“to buzz, hum”), dialectal English and Scots soom, swoom, sweem (“to spin or twirl at high speed”). Compare also dialectal English sweem (“to swoon, become dizzy or faint”).

m+

Makowsky was playing the Bassgeige. Zoom... zoom-zoom.... The rest of the orchestra would join in presently.

1918, Annie Vivanti Chartres, The Outrage, page 196:

I would dance a few light fantastic steps to show which way the wind lay, and zoom! Like a breeze I was on the piano stool and doing a velocity exercise.

1939, Henry Miller, Tropic of Capricorn, Grove Press, published 1962, page 244:

Suggesting a sudden change, especially an improvement or an increase


gangway

From Middle English gangway, from Old English gangweġ (“passageway; thoroughfare”), equivalent to gang + way. Related to Dutch gang (“hallway”) and Norwegian gang (“hallway”).

inh

And he pushed his way through the crowd crying, "Gangway, gangway!" and dragging Jane and Michael after him.

1934, P[amela] L[yndon] Travers, “Full Moon”, in Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins; 1), London: Gerald Howe Ltd […], →OCLC, page 157:

доро́га

дорогу! dorógu!


thank you very much

Said to express greater gratitude than would be conveyed by thank you.

hvala najljepša

can also be used provokingly with sarcasm

najljepša Vam hvala

addressing a person formally with respect

cám ơn nhiều

ông, bà, cô, anh, chị, em, quí vị – depending on subject of gratitude

cảm ơn nhiều (ông, bà, cô, anh, chị, em, quí vị)

Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

1997 June 26, J. K. Rowling [pseudonym; Joanne Rowling], “The Boy Who Lived”, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter; 1), London: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

Expressing indignation that anyone could doubt the preceding statement.


twit

Midnights bell goes ting, ting, ting, ting, ting, / Then dogs doe hovvle, and not a bird does ſing: / But the Nightingale, and ſhe cries tvvit, tvvit, tvvit, tvvit, / Ovvles then on euerie bovve doe ſit.

1601–1602 (date written), attributed to Thomas Dekker and/or Thomas Middleton, Blurt Master-Constable. Or The Spaniards Night-walke. […], London: […] [Edward Allde] for Henry Rockytt, […], published 1602, →OCLC, signature F3, recto:

Twit twit twit / Jug jug jug jug jug jug / So rudely forc'd. / Tereu

1922 October, T[homas] S[tearns] Eliot, “Part III. The Fire Sermon.”, in The Waste Land, 1st book edition, New York, N.Y.: Boni and Liveright, published December 1922, →OCLC, page 30, lines 203–206:

(onomatopoeia) Used to represent the short, high-pitched call of a small bird, or a similar sound made by something else: cheep, tweet.


hear

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew-
Proto-Indo-European *-s
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ḱh₂owsyéti
Proto-Germanic *hauzijaną
Proto-West Germanic *hauʀijan
Old English hīeran
Middle English heren
English hear
From Middle English heren, from Old English hīeran (“to hear”), from Proto-West Germanic *hauʀijan, from Proto-Germanic *hauzijaną (“to hear”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ḱh₂owsyéti (“to be sharp-eared”), from *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”) + *h₂ows- (“ear”) + *-yéti (denominative suffix).
Cognates
Cognate with Saterland Frisian heere (“to hear”), West Frisian hearre (“to hear”), Dutch horen (“to hear”), German hören (“to hear”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål høre (“to hear”), Norwegian Nynorsk høyra (“to hear”), Icelandic heyra (“to hear”), Ancient Greek ἀκούω (akoúō, “I hear”).

inh

Y'all come back now, hear?

1995, HAL Laboratory, EarthBound, Nintendo, Super Nintendo Entertainment System:


loose

From Middle English loos, los, lous, from Old Norse lauss, from Proto-Germanic *lausaz, whence also -less, leasing; from Proto-Indo-European *lewH-, *lū- (“to untie, set free, separate”), whence also lyo-, -lysis, via Ancient Greek.

(archery) begin shooting; release your arrows


enough

From Middle English ynogh, from Old English ġenōg (“enough”), from Proto-Germanic *ganōgaz (“enough”) (compare Scots eneuch, West Frisian genôch, Dutch genoeg, German genug, Low German noog, Danish nok, Swedish nog, Icelandic nógur), from *ganuganą 'to suffice' (compare Old English ġeneah), or from *ga- + an unattested *nōgaz, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₂nó(n)ḱe (“he has reached, attained”), perfective of *h₂neḱ- (“to reach”) (compare Old Irish tánaic (“he arrived”), Latin nancisci (“to get”), Albanian kënaq (“to please, satisfy”)}.).

der

I'm sick of you complaining! Enough!


cling

Imitative of a high-pitched ringing sound.


right

From Middle English right, righte, from Old English rihte, rehte (“right; rightly; due; directly; straight”), from Proto-Germanic *rehta, from *rehtaz (“right; straight”).

Sam Tyler: Look, look, you know when I said I wasn't wrong? Well, I was. But I was right about this not being the IRA. I was right to follow my instincts. Like you said, go with your gut feeling. I'm just taking your lead.
Gene Hunt: So I'm right.
Sam Tyler: We both are.
Gene Hunt: Right.
Sam Tyler: Right.
Gene Hunt: Just as long as I'm more right than you.

2007 March 6, Julie Rutterford, Life on Mars, Season 2, Episode 3:

Tell her you’re here.
Right. Thanks, Pete.
Audio (US): (file)

— United's the best team in the country.
— Right. And they'll go all the way for sure.
— Damn right they will.

— United's the best team in the country, so they'll come up with something.
— Right. And do you think they'll go all the way?

en:acknowledging the other's utterance, independently of agreement

I have listened to what you just said and I acknowledge your assertion or opinion, regardless of whether I agree with it (opinion) or can verify it (assertion).

— After that interview, I don't think we should hire her.
— Right. Who wants lunch?

Signpost word to change the subject in a discussion or discourse.

You're going, right?

I went downstairs, right, and I was going to call her, but I found this note, right, so what am I supposed to do now?

Used to check listener engagement and (especially) agreement at the end of an utterance or each segment thereof.

all right

confirming attention, understanding, and/or agreement

Withnail: Right […] I'm gonna do the washing up.

Used to add seriousness or decisiveness before a statement.

好吧

adding seriousness or decisiveness before a statement


good

Inherited from Middle English good, from Old English gōd, from Proto-West Germanic *gōd, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (“to unite, be associated, suit”).
Cognate with Russian го́дный (gódnyj, “fit, well-suited, good for; (coll.) good”), год (god), "year", via "suitable time".
Related to gather and together, but not to god/God.
Eclipsed non-native Middle English bon, bone, boon, boun (“good”) borrowed from Old French bon (“good”), from Latin bonus (“good”).

cog

Good! I can leave now.

That is good; an elliptical exclamation of satisfaction or commendation.


man

From Middle English man, from Old English mann m (“human being, person, man”), from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann- m, from Proto-Indo-European *mon- (“human being, man”). Doublet of Manu.

mang

dialectal rendering, suggesting a Spanish accent

mane

dialectal rendering, suggesting an AAVE accent

mon

used in the vocative, in places such as Jamaica and Shropshire in England

Man, that was a great catch!

The 19 meandering minutes of Dark Star are attractive enough but, man, they go on, while poor Creedence Clearwater Revival – headliners, with Bad Moon Rising still in the charts – are watching the clock tick in the wings.

2019 August 15, Bob Stanley, “'Groovy, groovy, groovy': listening to Woodstock 50 years on – all 38 discs”, in The Guardian:

For quotations using this term, see Citations:man.

Used to place emphasis upon something or someone; sometimes, but not always, when actually addressing a man.

чове́к

an interjection used to place emphasis upon something or someone


horseshit

He says he'll pay up next week.
Horseshit!


not

From Middle English not, nat, variant of noght, naht (“not, nothing”), from Old English *nōht, nāht (“nought, nothing”), short for nōwiht, nāwiht (“nothing”, literally “not anything”), corresponding to ne (“not”) + ōwiht, āwiht (“anything”), corresponding to ā (“ever, always”) + wiht (“thing, creature”).
Cognate with Scots nat, naucht (“not”), Saterland Frisian nit (“not”), West Frisian net (“not”), Dutch niet (“not”), German nicht (“not”). Compare nought, naught and aught. More at no, wight, whit.

I really like hanging out with my little brother watching Barney … not!

Sure, you’re perfect the way you are … not!

You've got a swell chance to make this [baseball] team, you have, not! Third base is my job, Freshie. Why, you tow-head, you couldn't play marbles. You butter-finger, can't you stop anything?

1911 March, Zane Grey, “Out on the Field”, in The Young Pitcher, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 64:

"See?" "Uh-huh! Clear and lucid to the point of limpidity - 'not."

1949, E.E 'Doc' Smith, chapter XIV, in Skylark of Valeron, London: Panther, published 1974, page 134:

Because, of course, sympathy is finite -- and if you use it up on the wrong person then you won't have any left. Not.

2006 May 2, Steve Goldfarb, “Spilling out drops of wine at the Seder”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(slang) Used to indicate that the previous phrase was meant sarcastically or ironically.


codswallop

Codd-neck bottle
Galton and Simpson
Hancock's Half Hour
Hiram Codd

Unknown. Attested from a 1959 episode of the UK TV series Hancock's Half Hour. The writers (Galton and Simpson) state that the phrase was in general use when the show was broadcast. A national TV appeal in the UK in 2006 failed to find earlier references, though a humorous newspaper column from 1947 does use the fictional name "Sir Aubrey Codswallop". Originally written (1963) codswallop; the spelling cod's wallop is later.
Various etymologies are proposed from some sense of cod, such as from cod (“joke, imitation”) + -s- + wallop (“beer”) (slang), hence “imitation beer” (with interconsonantal -s- to ease pronunciation of -dw-), or from cod (“scrotum, as in codpiece”) + -s- + wallop (“to hit”), hence “to hit (with) the testicle bag,” or from cod (“fish”), hence perhaps some part of the fish, as used in the fishing industry.
A frequently given etymology, although widely rejected as a folk etymology, derives it from Hiram Codd, British soft drink maker of the 1870s, known for the eponymous Codd-neck bottle, with the suggestion that codswallop is a derisive term for soft drinks by beer drinkers, from Codd’s + wallop (“beer”), thus sarcastically “Codd’s beer”. There is no evidence that early uses had this sense; the slang term wallop (“beer”) appeared after Codd’s lifetime, initial spellings (in print from 1963) do not reflect such a derivation (*Codd’s wallop and *coddswallop with -dd- are not found), and there is an 80-year gap between the proposed coinage and attestation.
This is also the name given to the wooden device placed over the neck of a codd bottle and given a push (wallop) to dislodge the marble in the neck of the bottle. The word has also been used to describe the process of opening a codd bottle.

af

scrotum, as in <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">codpiece</i>

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, slang) Used to express disbelief: nonsense!; rubbish!


poop

Uncertain, possibly from Middle English poupen (“to make a gulping sound while drinking, blow on a horn, toot”). Compare Dutch poepen (“to defecate”), German Low German pupen (“to fart; break wind”). Also representing poo pronounced with the mouth snapped closed at the end.

cog

Poop. The copier's broken again.

I don't need him for a friend. I can have fun by myself! ... Poop.

1986 July 29, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes (comic):

(childish, euphemistic) Expressing annoyed disappointment.


alas

From Middle English alas, from Old French a las (French hélas), from a (“ah”) + las, from Latin lassus (“weary”). Compare Dutch helaas, North Frisian ielas, West Frisian eilaas.

I wanted to catch the last bus home, but alas, I was ten minutes late and had to take a taxi instead.

Helas I lamente the dull abuſyd brayne
The enfatuate fantaſies the wytles wylfulnes
Of on and hothyr at me that haue dyſdayne

Alas poore Yorick, I knew him Horatio, a fellow of infinite Ieſt; of moſt excellent fancy, he hath borne me on his backe a thouſand times: And how abhorred my Imagination is, my gorge riſes at it.

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 278, column 1:

Standing afarre off for the feare of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great citie Babylon, that mighty citie: for in one houre is thy iudgement come.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 18:10:

The thorough and shameless commercialism of Sex has alas! been reserved for what is called "Christian civilization," and with it (perhaps as a necessary consequence) Prostitution and Syphilis have grown into appalling evils, accompanied by a gigantic degradation of social standards, and upgrowth of petty Philistinism and niaiserie.

1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 188:

Used to express sorrow, regret, compassion, grief, resignation, or disappointment.


behold

From Middle English beholden, from Old English behealdan (“to hold, have, occupy, possess, guard, preserve, contain, belong, keep, observe, consider, behold, look at, gaze on, see, signify, avail, effect, take care, beware, be cautious, restrain, act, behave”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihaldan (“to hold with, keep”), equivalent to be- + hold. Cognate with Saterland Frisian behoolde (“to keep”), Dutch behouden (“to keep, restrain, preserve”), German behalten (“to keep, restrain, remember”), Danish and Norwegian beholde (“to keep”) and Swedish behålla (“to keep”).


this

From Middle English this, from Old English þis (neuter demonstrative), from North Sea Germanic base *þa- "that", from Proto-Germanic *þat, from Proto-Indo-European *tód, extended form of demonstrative base *to-; + North-West Germanic definitive suffix -s, from Proto-Indo-European *só (“this, that”).
Cognate with Scots this (“this”), Saterland Frisian dusse (“this”), West Frisian dizze (“this”), German dies, dieses (“this”), Old Gutnish þissi (“this”).

― I wish trolls could be banned from the forum immediately, without any discussion.
― This!

(Internet slang) Indicates the speaker's strong approval or agreement with the previous material.


done

From Middle English don, idon, ȝedon, gedon, from Old English dōn, ġedōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dān, from Proto-Germanic *dēnaz (past participle of *dōną (“to do”)). Equivalent to do + -en (past participle ending). Cognate with Scots dune, deen, dene, dane (“done”), Saterland Frisian däin (“done”), West Frisian dien (“done”), Dutch gedaan (“done”), German Low German daan (“done”), German getan (“done”). More at do.

suffix

en<id:past participle><pos:past participle ending>

Expresses that a task has been completed.

fini

expresses that a task has been completed

Riker: Would you be interested in selling me the ore you're carrying? / Yog: No. I have a buyer. / Riker: You haven't heard my offer. Half a gram of Anjoran biomimetic gel. / Yog: Done.

1994, René Echevarria, “Firstborn”, in Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 7, episode 21, Jonathan Frakes and Joel Swetow (actors):

Expresses agreement to and conclusion of a proposal, a set of terms, a sale, a request, etc.


draw

From Middle English drawen, draȝen, dragen (“to drag, pull, push, draw (out), go to, make, add, etc.”), from Old English dragan, from Proto-West Germanic *dragan, from Proto-Germanic *draganą, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to draw, pull”). Doublet of drag and draught.
cognates
* Albanian dredh (“to turn, spin”)
* Danish drage
* Dutch dragen
* German tragen (“to carry”)
* Old Armenian դառնամ (daṙnam, “to turn”)
* Sanskrit ध्रजस् (dhrájas, “gliding course or motion”)
* West Frisian drage

cog

(archery) Pull back your bowstring in preparation to shoot.


so

From Middle English so, swo, zuo, swa, swe, from Old English swā, swǣ, swē (“so, as, the same, such, that”), from Proto-West Germanic *swā, from Proto-Germanic *swa, *swē (“so”), from Proto-Indo-European *swē, *swō (reflexive pronomial stem). Cognate with Scots sae (“so”), Saterland Frisian so (“so”), West Frisian sa (“so”), Dutch zo (“so”), German Low German so (“so”), German so (“so”), Danish så (“so”), Norwegian Nynorsk so (“so”), Swedish så (“so, such that”), Faroese so (“so”), Icelandic svo (“so”), Old Latin suad (“so”), Albanian sa (“how much, so, as”), Ancient Greek ὡς (hōs, “as”), Urdu سو (sō, “hence”).

So, let's go home.

So, what'll you have?

So, there was this squirrel stuck in the chimney...

So, everyone wants to know – did you win the contest or not?

So, after a spell, he decided to make the best of it and shoved us into the front parlor. 'Twas a dismal sort of place, with hair wreaths, and wax fruit, and tin lambrekins, and land knows what all.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter XI, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

Used after a pause for thought to introduce a new topic, question or story, or a new thought or question in continuation of an existing topic.

إِذًا

interjection used to introduce a new topic

"You park your car in front of my house every morning." — "So?"

Used as a question to ask for further explanation of something said, often rhetorically or in a dismissive or impolite manner.

What are you doing? / So I'm just fixing this shelf.

What time does the train leave? / So it leaves at 10 o'clock.

Used as a meaningless filler word to begin a response to a question.

(archaic) Be as you are; stand still; used especially to cows; also used by sailors.


bring

onomatopoeic

Onomatopoeia


bullshit

(vulgar, slang) An expression of disbelief at what one has just heard.


hello

→ Amharic: ሀሎ (halo)

desc

→ Chinese: 哈嘍／哈喽 (hālou), 哈囉／哈啰 (hāluó), 哈囉／哈啰 (hāluó), 哈佬 (hālǎo)

→ Japanese: ハロー (harō)

→ Malay: helo

→ Scottish Gaelic: halò

Hello (first attested in 1826), from holla, hollo (attested 1588). This variant of hallo is often credited to Thomas Edison as a coinage for telephone use, but its appearance in print predates the invention of the telephone by several decades.
Ultimately from a variant of Old English ēalā, such as hēlā, which was used colloquially at the time similarly to how hey and (in some dialects) hi are used nowadays. Thus, equivalent to a compound of hey and lo. Used when drawing attention to yourself.
Possibly influenced by Old Saxon halo!, imperative of halōn (“to call, fetch”), used in hailing a ferryman, akin to Old High German hala, hola!, imperative forms of halōn, holōn (“to fetch”). More at hallo.
OED and Merriam-Webster also suggested that it is a variant of holla, a variant of holloo. Further beyond, the origin remains uncertain. OED and Merriam-Webster suggested that it has a connection between hallow (“to shout, to cry out loud”), which came from Old French holloer.
According to Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, Old French holloer is from Old Saxon halon.

ܫܠܵܡܵܐ ܥܲܠܵܟ݂ܝ

šlāmā ˁallāḵ

ܫܠܵܡܵܐ ܥܲܠܵܘܟ݂ܘܿܢ

šlāmā ˁallāwḵōn

sveiki

informal to more than one person or people of indeterminate gender

nsellmulek

formal more than one person to one person

nsellmulkom

formal more than one person to more than one persons

dumelang

as in dumelang, borra, "hello gentlemen"

Hello, everyone.

A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence.

Hello? How may I help you?

Hello. This is Marsha. ― Yes, Marsha.
Audio (US): (file)

2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

A greeting used when answering the telephone.

Hello? Is anyone there?

I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

A call for response if it is not clear if anyone is present or listening, or if a telephone conversation may have been disconnected.

You just tried to start your car with your cell phone. Hello?

(colloquial) Used sarcastically to imply that the person addressed has done something the speaker considers to be foolish, or missed something that should have been obvious.

Hello! What’s going on here?

(chiefly UK) An expression of puzzlement or discovery.

マジかよ

Are you sure?, You're kidding!, more informal


he

(more common)

If e'er he went into excess, / 'Twas from a somewhat lively thirst; / But he who would his subjects bless, / Odd's fish!—must wet his whistle first; / And so from every cask they got, / Our king did to himself allot / At least a pot. / Sing ho, ho, ho! and he, he, he! / That's the kind of king for me.

1897, Charles Dudley Warner, Hamilton Wright Mabie, Charles Henry Warner, Lucia Isabella Gilbert Runkle, Library of the World's Best Literature: A-Z, page 1791:

"Well, what is your next tale?" said Sumner, a little brusquely. "He, he! he, he! . . . he, he!" chuckled the bottle, "the text tale I'm going to tell you in a very funny one. It will make you laugh. There's a lady in it—he, he!—a very comic affair."

1921, Norman Davey, The Pilgrim of a Smile, page 247:

(uncommon, usually reduplicated) An expression of laughter.


bad

From Middle English bad, badde (“wicked, evil, depraved”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a shortening of Old English bæddel (“hermaphrodite”) (for loss of -el compare Middle English muche from Old English myċel, and Middle English wenche from Old English wenċel), or at least related to it and/or to bǣ̆dan (“to defile”), compare Old High German pad (“hermaphrodite”).
Alternatively, perhaps a loan from Old Norse into Middle English, compare Norwegian bad (“effort, trouble, fear”, neuter noun), East Danish bad (“damage, destruction, fight”, neuter noun), from the Proto-Germanic noun *badą, whence also Proto-Germanic *badōną (“to frighten”), Old Saxon undarbadōn (“to frighten”), Norwegian Nynorsk bada (“to weigh down, press”).

unk

uncertain

cog

æ-tensing, New York City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Baltimore

Bad! You know you're not allowed in the kitchen after dinner.

Used to scold a misbehaving child or pet.


sound

From Middle English sound, sund, isund, ȝesund, from Old English sund, ġesund (“sound, safe, whole, uninjured, healthy, prosperous”), from Proto-West Germanic *sund, from Proto-Germanic *gasundaz, *sundaz (“healthy”), from Proto-Indo-European *sunt-, *swent- (“vigorous, active, healthy”).
Cognate with Scots sound, soun (“healthy, sound”), Saterland Frisian suund, gesuund (“healthy”), West Frisian sûn (“healthy”), Dutch gezond (“healthy, sound”), Low German sund, gesund (“healthy”), German gesund (“healthy, sound”), Danish sund (“healthy”), Swedish sund (“sound, healthy”). Related also to Dutch gezwind (“fast, quick”), German geschwind (“fast, quick”), Old English swīþ (“strong, mighty, powerful, active, severe, violent”). See swith.

I found my jacket. — Sound.

(British, Ireland, slang) Yes; used to show agreement or understanding.


OK

→ Afrikaans: oukei

desc

→ Arabic: أُوكِي (ʔokey), أُوكَي (ʔukay)

→ Cantonese: OK (ou1 kei1), O (ou1)

→ Danish: okay, OK

→ Dutch: oké

→ Esperanto: okej

→ Estonian: okei

→ Finnish: okei

→ French: okay

→ German: okay

→ Hebrew: אוקי (okéy)

→ Hindi: ओके (oke)

→ Hungarian: oké

→ Indonesian: oke

→ Icelandic: ókei

→ Italian: ok

→ Japanese: OK (ōkē), オーケー (ōkē)

→ Korean: OK (okei), 오케이 (okei)

→ Macedonian: океј (okej)

→ Malay: okey

→ Mandarin: OK (ōukèi, ōukēi)

→ Polish: okej

→ Portuguese: OK

→ Russian: окей (okej)

→ Serbo-Croatian:

Cyrillic script: океј

Latin script: okej

→ Spanish: okay, okey

→ Swedish: okej

→ Thai: โอเค (oo-kee)

→ Turkish: okey

→ Ukrainian: окей (okej)

→ West Frisian: okee

→ Yiddish: אָקיי (okey)

Origin disputed. Wikipedia lists many possible etymologies, of which the most widely accepted is that it is an abbreviation of oll/orl korrect, a comical spelling of all correct, which first appeared in print in The Boston Morning Post on March 23, 1839, as part of a fad for similar fanciful abbreviations in the United States during the late 1830s. The expression became popular through its use in the presidential campaign of Martin Van Buren in 1840, who was nicknamed Old Kinderhook, and then slowly acquired other meanings.
The Choctaw word oke, okeh (“it is so”), common in Choctaw translations of the Bible, could also explain OK's variety of affirmative definitions. Additionally, okeh was the most common etymology of okay in dictionaries until the 1960s, and linguistically predates Boston's O.K.. However, this theory suffers from the fact that the Choctaw language was relatively obscure and generally spoken (sometimes in a pidgin form) mainly with African-American slaves.

unk

disputed

I promise to give it back. – OK.

Let's meet again this afternoon. – OK.

Shut up! – OK, OK.

OK! I get it! Stop nagging me!

Come by this afternoon. — Okay.
Audio (US): (file)

Used to indicate acknowledgement or acceptance.

rồi

acknowledges an item in a list of requests, such as when taking an order

(computing) Used to dismiss a dialog box or confirm a prompt.

OK

dismissal of a dialog box or confirmation of a prompt

OK, I'm thinking of a number…

Used to introduce a sentence in order to draw attention to the importance of what is being said.

طَيِّب

introduction of a sentence in order to draw attention

You always do this to me! When we were at your mother’s, you said that… – OK, OK, …

Used in turn-taking, serving as a request to the speaker to grant the turn to the interrupter.

Used to sarcastically or sardonically indicate agreement with the previous statement.


bet

From 16th-century criminal slang, likely from abet or Old English bætan (“to make better”); or from Old French abeter (“to entice”), from a- (“to”) + beter (“hound on, urge, to bait”); but in either case ultimately from Proto-Germanic. More at abet.

Let me bust a freestyle then (Alright, bet)

1988, Dr. Dre, MC Ren (lyrics and music), “If It Ain't Ruff”, in Straight Outta Compton, performed by N.W.A., track 4:

He asked if KRS could come by and meet up with a few of us there on Monday night, as he wanted to show him the church and have me build with him. Aight, bet.

2008 November 5, S.O.U.LMag, number 13, page 66:

Then I rocked the Kansas show and after Jay said, ‘Look, if you want, you can go on tour with us and open and close the shows, but we can’t pay you, but we’ll make sure you get the exposure.’ So I said bet […]

2013 September 16, Insight News, volume 40, number 38, published 2013 September 12, page 6:

She texted Jimenez and told him it was a nice time, but she wasn’t feeling him and apologized. “Bet,” Jimenez replied, because she kind of pissed him off with that comment.

2017 November 6, The DePaulia, volume 102, number 8, DePaul University, published 2017 November 4, page 20:

Expression of general agreement or acceptance.

What you may not have stopped to consider is that Big Clit Energy (here referred to as B.C.E.) has been around since... BCE! Eve? She looked sin in the eye and said, “Bet.”

2018 September 4, The Rice Thresher, volume 103, number 3, Rice University, page 9:

“(Drummer Brenden Accettura) texted me that and was like, ‘Should we name our band The Hot Mess Express?’ and I said, ‘Bet.’ So now that’s our name,” Abbie said, getting words out between laughs.

2019 April 30, Key Magazine, Bowling Green State University: BG Falcon Media, page 26:

Exclamation indicating acceptance of a challenge or an absurd proposal.

I started making jokes about him feeling like tough sh*t after that presentation haha. Everyone at school geeked his head up [inflated his ego]. He probably got two fruit cups from the lunch lady that day and said, “Bet! I’m gonna keep doing this!”

2019 May 31, CopyWrite Magazine, number 14, page 43:


law

‘Do tell me once for all, whether you intend to marry Mr Watts or not?’ ‘Law Mama, how can I tell you what I don't know myself?’

1791-92, Jane Austen, ‘The Three Sisters’, Juvenilia

[…] and my boots were a leetle 'eavier than they are, law bless my soul! I'd do it myself.

1870, Arthur William A'Beckett, The Tomahawk: A Saturday Journal of Satire, page 104:

Arthur Sketchley. But, law bless my 'art , it's werry orful to be a forriner, as I were a-thinkin', and never be able to make yourself understood, except in that gibberish,

2024 March 1, Arthur Sketchley, Mrs. Brown on the Skating Rink, BoD – Books on Demand, →ISBN, page 127:

(dated) An exclamation of mild surprise; lawks; in interjections, a minced oath for Lord.


look

some Northern Enɡlish dialects, esp. Bolton, Geordie

From Middle English loken, lokien, from Old English lōcian, from Proto-West Germanic *lōkōn. Further origin unknown, no certain cognates outside Germanic. Cognate with Scots luke, luik, leuk (“to look, see”), West Frisian lôkje, loaitsje (“to look”), Dutch loeken (“to look”), German Low German löken. Likely also related to German lugen (“to peek”), Alemannic German luege (“to look”), Yiddish לוגן (lugn). Possibly related to Sanskrit लोक् (lok, “to see, behold”) (from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“light”) in the sense of "illuminating" (cf. related word रुच् (ruc) "to shine, illuminate")).

unknown

Look, I'm going to explain what to do, so you have to listen closely.


blow

From Middle English blowen, from Old English blāwan (“to blow, breathe, inflate, sound”), from Proto-West Germanic *blāan, from Proto-Germanic *blēaną (“to blow”) (compare German blähen), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- (“to swell, blow up”) (compare Latin flō (“to blow”) and Old Armenian բեղուն (bełun, “fertile”)).

der

[H]e suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said 'Bother!' and 'Oh blow!' and also 'Hang spring-cleaning!' and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat.

1908 October, Kenneth Grahame, “The River Bank”, in The Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, pages 1–2:

(intransitive) Used to express displeasure or frustration.


sweet

From Middle English swete, from Old English swēte (“sweet”), from Proto-West Germanic *swōtī, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz (“sweet”), from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus (“sweet”).
Cognate and synonymous with Scots sweit (“sweet”), North Frisian sweete (“sweet”), Saterland Frisian swäit (“sweet”), West Frisian swiet (“sweet”), Dutch zoet (“sweet”), German Low German sööt (“sweet”), German süß (“sweet”), Danish sød (“sweet”), Swedish söt (“sweet”), Norwegian søt (“sweet”), Icelandic sætur (“sweet”), Latin suāvis, Sanskrit स्वादु (svādú), Ancient Greek ἡδύς (hēdús). Doublet of suave.

They're making a sequel? Ah, sweet!

Used as a positive response to good news or information.


attention

From Middle English attencioun, borrowed from Latin attentio, attentionis, from attendere, past participle attentus (“to attend, give heed to”); see attend.

(military) Used as a command to bring soldiers to the attention position.

A call for people to be quiet/stop doing what they are presently doing and pay heed to what they are to be told or shown.


thank you

→ Cantonese: thank you (feng¹ kiu⁴)

desc

→ Japanese: サンキュー (sankyū), サンキュ (sankyu)

→ Korean: 땡큐 (ttaengkyu)

→ Malayalam: താങ്ക്യൂ (tāṅkyū)

→ Mandarin: 三Q (sān kiù)

→ Tagalog: tenkyu

[ˈθeɪ̯ŋk ˌju]

[ˈðeɪ̯ŋk ˌju]

From Middle English thanke yow; a shortened expression for I thank you.

“Thank you!” said the girl after her mom gave her a gift.

Jun[ius] […] The General has new Wine, new come over. / He muſt have new Acquaintance for it too, / For I will none, I thank ye. / Pet[ilus] None, I thank ye? / A short and touchy answer. None, I thank ye: / Ye do not scorn it, do ye?

1711, attributed to John Fletcher, “Bonduca, a Tragedy”, in The Works of Mr. Francis Beaumont, and Mr. John Fletcher, volume IV, London: Printed for Jacob Tonson, at Shakespear's Head over-against Catherine-street in the Strand, →OCLC, act I, scene ii, page 2194:

I had some faint recollection of having a penny-piece in my waistcoat pocket, and, pleased with the service he had rendered to us, I gave it him as his guerdon. "Thank ye, sir—thank ye, sir—thank ye, sir," he cried, and immediately returned to his station near the footway.

1826 April 22, “G.”, “The Dukedom (from ‘The News of Literature and Fashion, Science and Art.’)”, in The Spirit of the Times; or, Essence of the Periodicals; Concentrating Every Week, All that is Worthy (as Strictly Regarding the Time) of Being Preserved, from the Whole of Our Newspapers, Magazines, &c., volume I, number XXIX, London: Printed by Milne, Banfield, and Duckworth … for J. Scott, →OCLC, page 436, column 1:

"But, thank you, Lucy, oh, thank you," said Mrs. Dalloway, and thank you, thank you, she went on saying (sitting down on the sofa with her dress over her knees, her scissors, her silks), thank you, thank you, she went on saying in gratitude to her servants generally for helping her to be like this, to be what she wanted, gentle, generous-hearted.

1925 May 14, Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway, London: Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, →OCLC:

Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing / Thanks for all the joy they're bringing / Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty / What would life be? / Without a song or a dance what are we? / So I say thank you for the music / For giving it to me

1977 December 12, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus (lyrics and music), “Thank You for the Music”, in ABBA: The Album, performed by ABBA:

Thank ya, ma'am, thank ya, thank ya, thank ya. He's a good dog. He likes ever'body. He won' be no bother. Thank ya, ma'am, thank ya, thank ya.

2002, Bill Boyd, “Striking a Deal”, in Stepdaddy: A Creative Memoir, Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, →ISBN, page 96:

Always say "thank you." When in doubt, say "thank you." Say "thank you" even if you think it is not necessary in the circumstances. Whether the recipient thinks it is or is not, it will be appreciated and remembered. It is impossible to say "thank you" too often!

2007, Jerry Goodwin, “Thank You”, in Thank You: One of Seventeen Rules …: Wonderful for Men and Women of All Ages, [Philadelphia, Pa.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 19:

His return text came about an hour later. "I Love you … For all the right reasons," he wrote. "And I'm glad 2 know u feel the true love u have 4 me again … Thank u!! You make me feel like i really am superman!!"

2014 February, Colin McEvoy, Lynn Olanoff, chapter 13, in Fatal Jealousy: The True Story of a Doomed Romance, a Singular Obsession, and a Quadruple Murder (St. Martin's True Crime Library), New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Paperbacks, →ISBN, page 136:

Adrian Shush. / Carl Thank yu. / Adrian Fer what? / Carl Fer staying. / Adrian Man tell mi to. Nuh thank mi. But you must shush.

2014, Roy Williams, Kingston 14, London, New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, →ISBN, act II, page 71:

‘No, come in,’ he said. ‘Martin, right? Have a seat.’ […] ‘Thank you, no, I won’t.’ He moved inside a little more.

2015, Amy Andrews, Limbo, Sydney, N.S.W.: Escape Publishing, →ISBN:

An expression of gratitude or politeness in response to something done or given.

دستت درد نکند (dastet dard nakonad, literally “lest your hand hurt”)

دستت درد نکنه (dastet dard nakone, literally “lest your hand hurt”)

gun robh math agaibh

Argyll; to one person, formal; to more than one person

A polite dismissal; usually used in professional contexts.


er

If he—er—disappears—well, it seems to me that we'd both benefit.

Liquid Samurai: 'FORMLESS AND INFINITE ARE WE, THE LIQUID SAMURAI. I SERVE MY QUEEN, AS WE HAVE FOR COUNTLESS--' / Mona: 'HEY, I DON'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT, BUT YOU SEEM LIKE YOU'RE MADE OF POWERFUL STUFF. CAN I, ER, STUDY YOU?'

2019 December 10, Yacht Club Games, "Story" (Mona), in Shovel Knight Showdown (version 4.1), Nintendo Switch


understood

Indicates comprehension on the part of the speaker.


what

wot (all only in British, Australian, New Zealand, New York City accents with the wine–whine merger)

From Middle English what, from Old English hwæt (“what”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Germanic *hwat (“what”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód (“what”), neuter form of *kʷós (“who”). Cognate with Scots whit (“what”), North Frisian wat (“what”), Saterland Frisian wat (“what”), West Frisian wat (“what”), Dutch wat (“what”), Low German wat (“what”), German was (“what”), Danish hvad (“what”), Norwegian Bokmål hva (“what”), Swedish vad (“what”), Norwegian Nynorsk kva (“what”), Icelandic hvað (“what”), Latin quod (“what, which”).

What, have his daughters brought him to this pass?

c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

What! That’s amazing!

What? I'm busy.

What do you want? An abrupt, usually unfriendly enquiry as to what a person desires.

“That’s riled them,” said my compaion. “Good work, what?”

1918, Denis Garstin, The Shilling Soldiers, London: Hodder and Stoughton, page 83:

Chuffy: WHAT? No, no, no, no, no. My casa is your casa, what?

1991 May 12, “Kidnapped!”, in Jeeves and Wooster, Series 2, Episode 5:

It’s a nice day, what?

(British, colloquial, dated) Clipping of what do you say? Used as a type of tag question to emphasise a statement and invite agreement, often rhetorically.

— Could I have some of those aarrrrrr mmmm ...
— What?

What did you say? I beg your pardon? This usage is often considered impolite, with the more polite "Pardon?" or "Excuse me?" preferred.

I must have been, what, about five years old.

Indicating a guess or approximation, or a pause to try to recall information.


speed

From Middle English spede (“prosperity, good luck, quickness, success”), from Old English spēd (“success”), from Proto-West Germanic *spōdi (“prosperity, success”), from Proto-West Germanic *spōan, from Proto-Germanic *spōaną (“to prosper, succeed, be happy”), from Proto-Indo-European *speh₁- (“to prosper, turn out well”). Cognate with Scots spede, speid (“success, quickness, speed”), Dutch spoed (“haste; speed”), German Low German Spood (“haste; speed; eagerness; success”), German Sput (“progress, acceleration, haste”). Related also to Old English spōwan (“to be successful, succeed”), Albanian shpejt (“to speed, to hurry”) and Russian спеши́ть (spešítʹ, “to hurry”), Latin spēs (“hope, expectation”), spērō (“hope”, verb), perhaps also to Ancient Greek σπεύδω (speúdō, “to urge on, hasten, press on”).

cog

“Speed,” Carlos, the soundman, said. […]
“Camera.”
“Rolling,” replied Bryce, the cameraman.

2000, Brian J. Hayes, A Boy Scout in Hollywood, page 30:

[…] the director called, “Roll 'em,” the sound man said, “Speed,” and Norling stepped in and said, […]

2012, Tom Mascaro, Into the Fray, page 52:

(film) Called by the soundman when the recording equipment has reached running speed and is ready to go.


shot

(colloquial, New Zealand) An expression of gratitude, similar to thank you.


AOL

From the propensity of America Online users for making unnecessary "me too" posts in Usenet discussions.

>Now Black Velvet by Alannah Miles^([sic]) has always sent shivers down my spine, something about her voice.
AOL! I've heard that one being karaoke'd, by someone with a pretty good voice, but it really needs Alannah Miles's vocals to do it justice.

2003 July 8, CCA, “[I] Apropos of Barry White news...”, in alt.fan.pratchett (Usenet):

(Internet slang, humorous) me too, I agree


kek

ㅋㅋㅋ (keukeukeu) is the childish Korean equivalent of the English "haha". Since this is often used in StarCraft matches, Blizzard, StarCraft’s developers, decided to reference it in World of Warcraft: when a player of the Horde faction types "lol" using the /say messaging command, members of the opposing faction see it as "kek".

Now Freakie boy, for a tasty doggie biscuit, can you try saying that again without any grammatical error?
kek kek kek kek kek

2007 October 13, The Cynic [username], “Re: Nobel Peace belong to me.”, in alt.politics.bush (Usenet):

Top kek.
I can't believe Apple would derp like THAT, at least the Apple of the mid-1980s.

2013 December 11, Steve Nickolas, “Re: 1984 Apple IIe Owner's Manual”, in comp.sys.apple2 (Usenet):

> "an hour or two a day" "chasing old Checkmate posts."
>
>kek

2014 February 19, Checkmate [username] (quoting [Tor] Friendly Neighborhood Vote> Wrangler Emeritus [username]), “Checkmate's Discount House of Spatulas”, in alt.usenet.kooks (Usenet):

(Internet slang, video games) Used to indicate laughter or humour.


come

From Middle English comen, cumen, from Old English cuman, from Proto-West Germanic *kweman, from Proto-Germanic *kwemaną (“to come”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷémt (“to step”), from *gʷem- (“to step”).
cognates
Cognate from Proto-Germanic with Scots cum (“to come”), Saterland Frisian kuume (“to come”), West Frisian komme (“to come”), Low German kamen (“to come”), Dutch komen (“to come”), German kommen (“to come”), Norwegian Bokmål and Danish komme (“to come”), Swedish komma (“to come”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Icelandic koma (“to come”).
Cognate from PIE via Latin veniō (“come, arrive”) with many Romance language terms (e.g., French venir, Portuguese vir, Spanish venir), Lithuanian gimti (“to be born, come into the world, arrive”), with terms in Iranian languages (e.g. Avestan 𐬘𐬀𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 (jamaⁱti, “to go”)), via Sanskrit गच्छति (gácchati, “to go”) with many Indic language terms (e.g., Hindi गति (gati)).
Cognate to English basis, from PIE via Ancient Greek.

Come come! Stop crying.

Come now! You must eat it.

(dated or formal) An exclamation to express annoyance.

Come come! You can do it.

Come now! It won't bite you.

Her. What wisdome stirs amongst you? Come Sir, now
I am for you againe: 'Pray you sit by vs,
And tell's a Tale.

c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

Come then, pure hands, and bear the head
That sleeps or wears the mask of sleep,
And come, whatever loves to weep,
And hear the ritual of the dead.

1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XVIII, page 30:

“I'm through with all pawn-games,” I laughed. “Come, let us have a game of lansquenet. Either I will take a farewell fall out of you or you will have your sevenfold revenge”.

1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter I, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

(dated or formal) An exclamation to express encouragement, or to precede a request.


why

From Middle English why, from Old English hwȳ (“why”), from Proto-Germanic *hwī (“by what, how”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey, instrumental case of *kʷis (“who”), *kʷid (“what”).
Cognate with Old Saxon hwī (“why”), hwiu (“how; why”), Middle High German wiu (“how, why”), archaic Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hvi (“why”), Norwegian Nynorsk kvi (“why”), Swedish vi (“why”), Faroese and Icelandic hví (“why”), Latin quī (“why”), Doric Greek πεῖ (peî, “where”), Ukrainian чи (čy, “if”), Polish czy, Czech či (“or”), Serbo-Croatian či (“if”). Compare Old English þȳ (“because, since, on that account, therefore, then”, literally “by that, for that”). See thy.

Why, that’s ridiculous!    Why, how kind of you!

VVhy Child, I tell thee if I vvas thy Mmother I ſhould not diſovvn thee; Don't you ſee I am as kind to you as if I vvas your Mother?

1724, [Daniel Defoe], The Fortunate Mistress; […] [Roxana], London: […] E. Applebee, […], published 1740, →OCLC, page 242:

(dated or literary) An exclamation used to express pleasant or unpleasant mild surprise, indignation, or impatience.

why buy a book when you can join a library

why buy a book when you can join the library

why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free


cough

The noun is derived from Middle English cough (“a cough; illness causing coughing”) [and other forms], from coughen (verb): see etymology 1.
The interjection is probably derived from the noun.

nb...

caughe, cogh, coghe, coght, cohw, coughe, couhe, couth, couwe, couȝe, couȝhe, cowh, cowȝe, coȝgth, kogh, koghe, koghwhe, kouhe, kouȝh, kouȝhe, kouȝwhe, kuowh, kowh

He was—cough—indisposed.

Used to represent the sound of a cough (noun sense 1), especially when focusing attention on a following utterance, often an attribution of blame or a euphemism: ahem.


shoot

Didn't you have a concert tonight? —Shoot! I forgot! I have to go and get ready…

She practically stopped dancing, and started looking over everybody’s heads to see if she could see him. “Oh, shoot!” she said. I'd just about broken her heart—I really had.

1951, J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 96:

A mild expletive, expressing disbelief or disdain


cheese

→ Icelandic: sís

→ Japanese: チーズ (chīzu)

Say "cheese"! ... and there we are!

(photography) Said while being photographed, to give the impression of smiling.


there

From Middle English there, ther, thare, thar, thore, from Old English þēr, þǣr, þār (“there; at that place”), from Proto-West Germanic *þār, from Proto-Germanic *þar (“at that place; there”), from Proto-Indo-European *tó-r (“there”), from demonstrative pronominal base *to- (“the, that”) + adverbial suffix *-r̥.
Cognate with Scots thar, thair (“there”), North Frisian dear, deer, där (“there”), Saterland Frisian deer (“there”), West Frisian dêr (“there”), Dutch daar (“there”), Low German dar (“there”), German da, dar- (“there”), Danish der (“there”), Norwegian der (“there”), Swedish där (“there”), Icelandic þar (“in that place, there”).

inh

There, there. Everything is going to turn out all right.

Used to offer encouragement or sympathy.

There! That knot should hold.


cut

From Middle English cutten, kitten, kytten, ketten (“to cut”) (compare Scots kut, kit (“to cut”)), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse *kytja, *kutta, from Proto-Germanic *kutjaną, *kuttaną (“to cut”), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *kwetwą (“meat, flesh”) (compare Old Norse kvett (“meat”)). Akin to Middle Swedish kotta (“to cut or carve with a knife”) (compare dialectal Swedish kåta, kuta (“to cut or chip with a knife”), Swedish kuta, kytti (“a knife”)), Norwegian Bokmål kutte (“to cut”), Norwegian Nynorsk kutte (“to cut”), Icelandic kuta (“to cut with a knife”), Old Norse kuti (“small knife”), Norwegian kyttel, kytel, kjutul (“pointed slip of wood used to strip bark”). Displaced native Middle English snithen (from Old English snīþan; compare German schneiden), which still survives in some dialects as snithe or snead. See snide. Adjective sense of "drunk" (now rare and now usually used in the originally jocular derivative form of half-cut) dates from the 17th century, from cut in the leg, to have cut your leg, euphemism for being very drunk.

cog

(film and television) An instruction to cease recording.


wow

Attested since the 16th century; borrowed from Scots wow; ultimately a natural exclamation.

Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class VI § 870. Wonder

Wow, I sure was surprised!

Out on thir wanderand spiritis, wow! thow cryis.

1513, Gavin Douglas, Virgil Æneid (translation) vi. Prol. 19:

An indication of excitement, surprise, astonishment, or pleasure.

Wow! How do they do that?

An expression of amazement, awe, or admiration.

Wow… good job using all of our supplies on the first day.

Used sarcastically to express disapproval of something.


checkmate

From Middle English chekmat, from Old French eschec mat, from Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta), from Classical Persian شاه مات (šāh māt, “the king [is] amazed”).

der

Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta)

shah mat

said when making the conclusive move in chess

(chess) Word called out by the victor when making a move that wins the game.

(by extension) Said when one has placed a person in a losing situation with no escape.


one thousand

One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, ...

Used in a common chronometric counting scheme, in which each iteration is sequentially numbered and supposed to be approximately one second in length.


sugar

Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch
sugar

From Middle English sugre, sucre, from Middle French sucre, from Old French çucre (circa 13th century), from Old Italian zucchero (or another vernacular of Italy), from Arabic سُكَّر (sukkar), from Persian شکر (šakar), from Middle Persian [script needed] (škl), 𐫢𐫞𐫡 (šqr /šakar/), from Sanskrit शर्करा (śárkarā, “ground or candied sugar", originally "grit, gravel”). Akin to Ancient Greek κρόκη (krókē, “pebble”). Doublet of jaggery and sucro-.

Oh, sugar!

"Oh, sugar! I suppose that's so," reflected Tobias, filling his pipe.

1920, James A. Cooper, Tobias O' the Light: A Story of Cape Cod:

But they do not even hope for such a thing in '08, and fear far worse: Sister Suzanne Thibault, a lifelong Republican so mild she shouts, “Oh, sugar!” when annoyed, posits that if Hillary Clinton were nominated, “She'd get killed, literally assassinated. We have too many right-wing people out there who would do that."

2007, Melinda Henneberger, If They Only Listened to Us: What Women Voters Want Politicians to Hear:

“Oh, sugar.” His room was empty.

2012, Macy Beckett, Sultry with a Twist:


correct

Borrowed from French correct, from Latin correctus (“improved, amended, correct”), past participle of corrigere, conrigere (“to make straight, make right, make better, improve, correct”), from com- (“together”) + combining form of regō, regere (“I rule, make straight”).

Used to indicate acknowledgement or acceptance.


fire

From Middle English firen, fyren, furen, from Old English fȳrian (“to make a fire”), from the noun (see above). Cognate with Old Frisian fioria (“to light a fire”), Saterland Frisian fjuurje (“to fire”), Middle Dutch vûren, vueren, vieren (“to set fire”), Dutch vuren (“to fire, shoot”), Old High German fiuren (“to ignite, set on fire”), German feuern (“to fire”).


life

From Middle English lyf, from Old English līf, from Proto-West Germanic *līb, from Proto-Germanic *lībą (“life, body”), from *lībaną (“to remain, stay, be left”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick, glue”). Cognate with Scots life, leif (“life”), North Frisian liff (“life, limb, person, livelihood”), West Frisian liif (“belly, abdomen”), Dutch lijf (“body”), Low German lif (“body; life, life-force; waist”), German Leib (“body; womb”) and Leben (“life”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish liv (“life; waist”), Icelandic líf (“life”). Related to belive.

cog

(obsolete) Synonym of God's life (an oath)


pull

Verb from Middle English pullen, from Old English pullian (“to pull, draw, tug, pluck off”), of uncertain ultimate origin. Related to West Frisian pûlje (“to shell, husk”), Middle Dutch pullen (“to drink”), Middle Dutch polen (“to peel, strip”), Low German pulen (“to pick, pluck, pull, tear, strip off husks”), Icelandic púla (“to work hard, beat”).
Noun from Middle English pul, pull, pulle, from the verb pullen (“to pull”).

cog

(gun sports) Command used by a target shooter to request that the target be released/launched.


power

From Middle English power, poer, from Old French poeir, from Vulgar Latin potēre, from Latin posse, whence English potent. Compare French pouvoir. Displaced the native Old English anweald.

(Philippines, colloquial) cheer used to express support


bo

We may fairely cry bo-bo-boe; it may well make us hoarse, but it will nothing advaunce it.

1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 37, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

An exclamation used to startle or frighten.


by

From Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near; by; around; about”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi.
Cognate with West Frisian by (“by; near”), Afrikaans by (“at; by; near”), Saterland Frisian bie (“near; by”), Dutch bij (“near; by”), German Low German bi (“by; near; at”), German bei (“by; near; at”).

bye

archaic for preposition and adverb, not used for abbreviation, preferred for noun and interjection


k

(colloquial, text messaging, Internet slang) OK