O (). 1. 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 Phœnician, 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. bn; E. stone, AS.
stn; E. broke, AS. brecan to break; E. bore, AS. beran to bear; E.
dove, AS. dfe; E. toft, tuft; tone, tune; number, F. nombre.
The letter o has several vowel sounds, the principal of which are its
long sound, as in bone, its short sound, as in nod, and the sounds
heard in the words orb, son, do (feod), and wolf (book). In connection
with the other vowels it forms several digraphs and diphthongs. See
Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 107-129.
2. 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 was also anciently used to represent 11: with a dash over it (),
11,000.
O (), n.; pl. O's or Oes (z). 1. The letter O, or its sound. "Mouthing
out his hollow oes and aes." Tennyson.
2. Something shaped like the letter O; a circle or oval. "This wooden O
[Globe Theater]". Shak.