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O . O, the fifteenth letter of the English alphabet, derives its form, value, and name from the Greek O, through the Latin. The letter came into the Greek from the Ph/nician, which possibly derived it ultimately from the Egyptian. Etymologically, the letter o is most closely related to a, e, and u; as in E. bone, AS. ban; E. stone, AS. stan; E. broke, AS. brecan to break; E. bore, AS. beran to bear; E. dove, AS. d/fe; E. toft, tuft; tone, tune; number, F. nombre.
O . Among the ancients, O was a mark of triple time, from the notion that the ternary, or number 3, is the most perfect of numbers, and properly expressed by a circle, the most perfect figure.
O n. The letter O, or its sound.
O n. Something shaped like the letter O; a circle or oval.
O n. A cipher; zero.
O a. One.
O interj. An exclamation used in calling or directly addressing a person or personified object; also, as an emotional or impassioned exclamation expressing pain, grief, surprise, desire, fear, etc.
O' . A prefix to Irish family names, which signifies grandson or descendant of, and is a character of dignity; as, O'Neil, O'Carrol.
O' prep. A shortened form of of or on.
O'er prep. & adv. A contr. of Over.
O's pl. of O
Oad n. See Woad.
Oaf n. Originally, an elf's child; a changeling left by fairies or goblins; hence, a deformed or foolish child; a simpleton; an idiot.
Oafish a. Like an oaf; simple.
Oak n. Any tree or shrub of the genus Quercus. The oaks have alternate leaves, often variously lobed, and staminate flowers in catkins. The fruit is a smooth nut, called an acorn, which is more or less inclosed in a scaly involucre called the cup or cupule. There are now recognized about three hundred species, of which nearly fifty occur in the United States, the rest in Europe, Asia, and the other parts of North America, a very few barely reaching the northern parts of South America and Africa. Many of the oaks form forest trees of grand proportions and live many centuries. The wood is usually hard and tough, and provided with conspicuous medullary rays, forming the silver grain.
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