Etymograph

English

oh

Oh comes from Middle English o ‘oh, ah’, and goes back to Latin ō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEō1
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400oh1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500o1‘oh’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1614oh1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English oh
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., The Preface: “Oh by what plots, by what forſwearings, betrayings, oppreſsions,…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEōWiktionary, English oh
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400ohWiktionary, English oh
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500oWiktionary, English oh‘oh’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1614ohWiktionary, English oh. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., The Preface: “Oh by what plots, by what forſwearings, betrayings, oppreſsions,…”

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Another origin of oh

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEō
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150ō
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500o‘oh, ah’
  4. Englishtodayoh

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Today it means

intj Expression of surprise.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “oh”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin ō / oh