or

A1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

US /ə(ɹ)/ UK /ɔː(ɹ)/ See IPA manual

Freq #87

Meanings

1

conj
Used to link alternatives, only one of which need apply.

You may stay or go.
2

conj
Otherwise; used to warn of a bad result.

Hurry up, or you'll miss the train!
3

conj
Used to link two names for the same thing.

The country Myanmar, or Burma, lies in Southeast Asia.

Thesaurus

Opposites

nor

Word family

Derived forms heorshe

Related forms either neither nor

Appears in

Idioms (12)

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Tongue twisters (1)

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A Tutor Who Tooted
A tutor, who tooted a flute, tried to tutor two tooters to toot. Said the two to the tutor: “Is it harder to toot, or tutor two tooters to toot?”

Keep toot, tooted and tooters distinct while maintaining the long vowel. Tutor varies by accent, so it need not begin exactly like toot.

Etymology

From Middle English or; partially contracted from other, auther, from Old English āþor, āwþer, āhwæþer ("some, any, either"; > either); and partially from Middle English oththe, from Old English oþþe, from Proto-Germanic *efþau (“or”).

or Middle English āþor Old English oththe Middle English oþþe Old English *efþau Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Grammar & Function Words

External links

# or

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** conj
**IPA (US):** /ə(ɹ)/
**IPA (UK):** /ɔː(ɹ)/
**Frequency rank:** 87

## Meanings
1. Used to link alternatives, only one of which need apply.
2. Otherwise; used to warn of a bad result.
3. Used to link two names for the same thing.

## Examples
- You may stay or go.
- Hurry up, or you'll miss the train!
- The country Myanmar, or Burma, lies in Southeast Asia.

## Antonyms
- nor

## Derived Forms
- heorshe

## Related Forms
- either
- neither
- nor

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: or
- Root: āþor
- Root: oththe
- Root: oþþe
- Root: *efþau

## Etymology
From Middle English or; partially contracted from other, auther, from Old English āþor, āwþer, āhwæþer ("some, any, either"; > either); and partially from Middle English oththe, from Old English oþþe, from Proto-Germanic *efþau (“or”).

## AI Etymology
Or comes from Middle English or; partially contracted from other, auther, from Old English āþor, āwþer, āhwæþer ("some, any, either"; > either); and partially from Middle English oththe, from Old English oþþe, from Proto-Germanic *efþau (“or”). Modern senses include used to link alternatives, only one of which need apply and otherwise; used to warn of a bad result. The wider word family includes derivatives such as heorshe and related forms such as either, neither, and nor.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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