"O" Word Origins

otaku

Japanese · 1980

From Japanese オタク (otaku), which grew out of お宅 (otaku), a formal way of saying "your home" or "you." Fans in the early-1980s Macross anime fandom used it to address each other, and outsiders picked it up as a label — originally a bit of an insult, later reclaimed with pride by fans themselves.

OTC

English

An initialism of over the counter.

OTD

English

An initialism, of out the door or on this day depending on context.

OTE

English

An initialism of 'on-target earnings', standard in recruitment advertising.

OTG

English

An initialism of on the go; in the hardware sense, of USB On-The-Go.

other

Old English

From Old English ōþer ("other, second"), tracing back through Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning simply "other" — the same ancient root that gives German ander and Swedish annan.

otherways

Origin

From other + ways.

otherwise

Old English

From Old English on ōþre wīsan, literally "in another manner" — a fusion of "other" and "-wise" (meaning "in the manner of").

otherworld

Origin

From otherworld.

otherworldism

Origin

From otherworld + -ism.

otherworldly

Origin

A compound of "other world" (a realm beyond the ordinary or beyond death) and the adjective-forming suffix "-ly."

otiose

Origin

From Latin ōtiōsus (“idle”), from ōtium (“ease”).

Otis

Middle English

A patronymic surname derived from Middle English genitive case of the Germanic given name Ote, Ode, cognate to modern Otto.

oto

Origin

The fish sense is simply a shortening of "otocinclus."

OTP

English

An initialism with two unrelated expansions — "one true pairing" from online fandom, and "one-time password" from computer security.

otsu

Japanese

From Japanese 乙 (otsu), meaning "second" — used in older classification systems.

Otsuka

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 大塚 (Ōtsuka).

ott

Origin

A shortened, casual form of "otter."

Ottawa

Origin

From the Ojibwe word odaawaa, meaning "trader," tracing back to a Proto-Algonquian root for trading.

otter

Old English

From Old English otor, tracing back through Germanic roots to a Proto-Indo-European word for "water" — the same distant root behind the word "hydra."

Otto

Germanic

From German Otto, an old short form of Germanic names starting with a root meaning "wealth" or "riches" — the same root behind the "Ed-" in names like Edward and Edmund.

ottoman

Origin · 1800

Named after Osman I, founder of the Ottoman dynasty. The furniture sense arose in the early 1800s because reclining on low couches was associated with Middle Eastern style at the time.

ou

Origin

The bird name comes from Hawaiian ʻōʻū.

oubliette

Origin

Borrowed from French oubliette, from oublier (“to forget”).

ouch

German · 1800

Its exact origin is debated. Some trace it to German autsch by way of Pennsylvania German communities in the 1800s; others say it's simply a natural pain-cry that English speakers have used since the 1600s.

ought

Old English

From Old English āhte, an old past-tense form of "owe" — originally meaning something closer to "was obligated to."

oui

French

Borrowed directly from French oui, meaning "yes."

Ouija

French · 1890

Contrary to the popular belief that it blends French oui and German ja (both meaning "yes"), the name reportedly came from a word the board itself spelled out when asked what it should be called, during an 1890s séance.

ounce

Latin

From Latin uncia, meaning "a twelfth part," which also gave English the word "inch."

our

Old English

From Old English ūre, tracing back to a Proto-Germanic word meaning "of us."

ours

Middle English

Formed in Middle English from "our" plus "-s," following the same pattern as "his."

ourselves

Origin

Formed from "our" plus "-selves," matching the pattern of other reflexive pronouns like "themselves."

ousia

Origin

Borrowed from Ancient Greek οὐσία (ousía), from οὖσα (oûsa), the feminine present participle of εἰμί (eimí, “I am”).

oust

Latin

From Anglo-Norman ouster, ultimately from a Latin verb meaning "to obstruct" or "stand in the way of" — despite appearances, it is not related to the word "out."

ouster

Origin

From Old French ouster, oustre, a nominalization of Anglo-Norman oustre (“to oust”).

out

Old English

From Old English ūt, from a very old Germanic root meaning "away, outward" — found in related forms across most Germanic languages.

out of the blue

English

From the image of a bolt of lightning falling from a clear blue sky; the fuller form 'a bolt from the blue' is still used.

outa

Afrikaans

Borrowed from Afrikaans outa.

outage

Origin

Formed from "out" plus the suffix "-age," on the model of "shortage."

outback

Origin

Formed simply from "out" plus "back," describing land far back from settled coastal areas.

outbid

Origin

From "out-" (surpassing) plus "bid."

outblossom

Origin

From out- + blossom.

outbreak

Old English

From Old English ūtābrecan, "to break out," built from "out-" and "break."

outbuilding

Origin

From out + building.

outburn

Origin

From out- + burn.

outburst

Middle English

From Middle English outbersten, built from "out-" and "burst."

outcast

Middle English

From Middle English outcasten, built from "out-" and "cast," meaning literally to throw or cast out.

outcome

Origin

Formed from "out" and "come," describing what comes out of a situation.