ao
English
Anagrams
Anuta
References
- Greenhill, S.J., Blust. R, & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283.
Bahnar
Etymology
From Proto-Bahnaric *ʔa:w, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ʔaawʔ (“upper garment”). Cognates include Vietnamese áo, Khmer អាវ (aau), Muong ảo.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʔaːw/
Carabayo
References
- Seifart and Echeverri, Evidence for the Identification of Carabayo, the Language of an Uncontacted People of the Colombian Amazon, as Belonging to the Tikuna–Yurí Linguistic Family, PLoS ONE 9(4) (2014)
Estonian
Guaraní
Hawaiian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈao̯/, [ˈɐo̯]
Etymology 1
From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qaləjaw (compare Tagalog araw).
Etymology 3
From Proto-Polynesian *qao, from Proto-Oceanic [Term?] (compare Maori ao).
Italian
Mandarin
Romanization
ao
Usage notes
- Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
Maore Comorian
Maori
Etymology 1
From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qalejaw (compare Tagalog araw).
Etymology 3
From Proto-Polynesian *qao, from Proto-Oceanic [Term?] (compare Hawaiian ao).
Derived terms
References
- “ao” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.
- Tregear, Edward (1891) Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, Wellington, New Zealand: Lyon and Blair, pages 14-5
Minanibai
References
- Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67
Portuguese
Contraction
Quotations
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:ao.
Rapa Nui
Etymology
From Proto-Polynesian *ao (“to scoop up”). Cognates include Tokelauan ao and Maori ao.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈa.o/
- Hyphenation: a‧o
Samoan
Etymology 1
From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian [Term?] (compare Tagalog araw).
Etymology 2
From Proto-Polynesian *qao, from Proto-Oceanic [Term?] (compare Hawaiian ao).
Swahili
Pronunciation
Audio (Kenya) (file)
Inflection
Tagalog
Pronunciation
- (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈʔaʔo/ [ˈʔa.ʔo]
- Rhymes: -aʔo
- Syllabification: a‧o
Ternate
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈa.o]
References
- Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh
Tokelauan
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈa.o]
- Hyphenation: a‧o
Etymology 1
From Proto-Polynesian *qaho. Cognates include Hawaiian ao and Samoan ao.
Etymology 3
From Proto-Polynesian *ao. Cognates include Maori ao and Samoan ao.
Etymology 4
From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *qao. Cognates include Maori ao and Samoan ao.
Etymology 5
From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *qao (“authority”). Cognates include Tahitian ao (“heaven”) and Samoan ao (“chief”).
Etymology 6
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Etymology 7
From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *ao. Cognates include Tahitian ao and Tuvaluan ao.
Synonyms
Tongan
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a.o/
Etymology 1
From Proto-Polynesian *qao, from Proto-Oceanic [Term?] (compare Hawaiian ao).
Derived terms
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Vietnamese
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔaːw˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔaːw˧˧]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ʔaːw˧˧]
Etymology 1
Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 澳 (“bay, inlet”, SV: áo). Compare Thai อ่าว (àao), Khmer អាវ (ʼaaw).
Noun
(classifier cái) ao • (㘭, 坳, 泑, 𪵲, 𬇚)
- pond
- Nguyễn Khuyến, "Thu điếu (Autumn Fishing)"
- Ao thu lạnh lẽo; nuớc trong veo;
Một chiếc thuyền câu bé tẻo teo;- The cold autumn pond; the clear water;
A tiny, itsy-bitsy, fishing boat;
- The cold autumn pond; the clear water;
- Ao thu lạnh lẽo; nuớc trong veo;
- 1686 Matsuo Bashō, Haru no Hi, "No. 41"; 2007 Vietnamese translation by Nhật Chiêu; English translation by Reginald Horace Blyth
- Ao cũ, con ếch nhảy vào, vang tiếng nước xao.
- The old pond; A frog jumps in — The sound of the water.
- Nguyễn Khuyến, "Thu điếu (Autumn Fishing)"
Derived terms
- ao đầm
- ao hồ
Further reading
- "ao" in Hồ Ngọc Đức, Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (details)
Yoruba

Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ā.ó/
Etymology 2
Cognate with Igala àwó, Olukumi awó, Itsekiri éwó, proposed to be derived from Proto-Yoruba *à-wó, ultimately from Proto-Yoruboid *à-wó
Alternative forms
- àwó (Ọ̀wọ̀)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /à.ó/
Derived terms
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ā.ō/
Noun
ao
- (Ekiti) Alternative form of awo (“secret, that which is secretive”)
- Synonyms: àṣírí, ohun ìkọ̀kọ̀
- (Ekiti) Alternative form of awo (“cult, sect; especially pertaining to Ifa or the Ifa oracle”)
- (Ekiti) Alternative form of awo (“the worship of Ifá”)
- (Ekiti) Alternative form of awo (“priest of Ifá or Ọrúnmìlà”)
- Synonyms: babaláo, aláo, ọlị́fá
- (Ekiti, by extension) Alternative form of awo (“respected member of a guild; especially one of musicians and dramatists”)
- (Ekiti) a prefix in given names and surnames used by Ifa priests and their descendants
Derived terms
Related terms
- Ịfá
- ilé-awo
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /à.ō/
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ā.ò/
Derived terms
- aò-ojú (“glasses”)