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現在の単語数: 445語

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作成日: 2024/08/30 06:39

更新日: 2025/12/08 11:04

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People baffled after discovering what the ‘o’ in ‘o’clock’ stands for
Eve Wagstaff

The English language has a lot of strange and wonderful words that have been used so often that sometimes we forget where they originated from.

For instance, we've all used the word 'OK' or 'okay' to agree to something, it's the verbal equivalent of a thumbs up. The popular slang term "OK" has a history dating back nearly 200 years and is short for "oll korrect," and was part of a fad that included other abbreviations like OW (oll wright), KY (know yuse, or no use), and NS ('nuff said).

The term is believed to have originated from a misspelling trend in the 1830s where 'all correct' was intentionally spelled as 'oll korrect'. This was part of a broader trend of deliberate misspellings and abbreviations at the time.

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Another one is what the ‘o’ in o’clock means. Have you even considered it? Taking to social media, one user wrote: “What's the meaning of "O" in O'clock???”

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They were quickly inundated with comments from people arguing over the explanation. One user incorrectly stated: “It just stands for zero. So nine O’ clock is right at 9. Then 9:01 9:02 9 O’ 3 … it just means zero.”

However, many correct answers determined it is a contraction of the phrase "of the clock".

Dating back to Middle English, a language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century, it was later given a colloquial use, o or o' as an abbreviation of on or of, and is still used in some words, for instance, o'clock, Jack-o'-lantern, will-o'-the-wisp.

In terms of surnames, particularly in those of Celtic heritage, the common prefix O’ is from Old Irish “ó”, meaning "descendant."

Explaining more, one person wrote: “The "O" in "O'clock" stands for "of the." The phrase "O'clock" is a contraction of "of the clock," which was historically used to specify the time according to the clock. For example, saying "it's 3 o'clock" originally meant "it is 3 of the clock." Over time, "of the" was shortened to just "O'," leading to the phrase we commonly use today."

Delighting in the newfound information one user responded: “See this is why I like threads it’s the questions and answers I never thought of.”

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