Word Confusion: O vs O’ vs Oh vs Ooh

Posted May 11, 2015 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
18 Jan 2023

Oh, noooo . . . as Mr. Bill would say. It’s an escalating series of Os that writers do get wrong. There’s the vocative (always capitalized when addressing someone/something) O most frequently seen in Christmas carols, prayers, and poetry. It’s followed by the colloquial o’ that’s so handy in dialect dialogues, then the oh-so-standard oh, so beloved and well-used, and finally the ooh of surprise and jollity.

You may also want to explore “Oh là là versus Ooh la la” and/or “Oh versus Owe“.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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O O’ Oh Ooh
Robert Frost quote laid over a rolling landscape of hills in France

A quotation from Robert Frost: “Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I’ll forgive Thy great big joke on me.”


Newspaper ad for a 1921 movie about Mounties

O’Malley of the Mounted by William S. Hart Productions / Paramount Pictures from the St. Louis Argus, 15 Apr 1921, is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.


Mr. Bill figure saying oh no

Mr Bill courtesy of Gohrlay’s Brain at Wikifiction.

“Oh, nooooo . . .” says Mr Bill.


45 rpm record

Ooh! Look-a-There, Ain’t She Pretty by Waylon is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A 45-rpm record by Bill Haley and his Comets, Decca 1959.

Part of Grammar:
Abbreviation 1, 4;
Exclamation 1;
Noun 1;
Prefix 2;
Suffix 3

Plural for the noun: Os, O’s, os, oes

Prefix;
Preposition
Abbreviation 1, 2, 3;
Exclamation 4;
Interrogative 5;
Noun 6, 7;
Verb, intransitive 8

Plural for the noun: ohs, oh’s

Third person present verb: ohs
Past tense or past participle: ohed
Present participle: ohing

Exclamation;
Noun;
Verb, intransitive

Plural for the noun: oohs
Gerund: oohing

Third person present verb: oohs
Past tense or past participle: oohed
Present participle: oohing

Abbreviation:
Ocean

[From Latin octarius, in prescriptions] A pint 1

[Baseball] Out, outs

Octavo

Old

Oregon

Ohio

Other half 4

Exclamation:
Archaic spelling of oh


A.k.a., Vocative O, ALWAYS capitalized in English


Natural exclamation 1

[Archaic] Used before a name in direct address, as in prayers and poetry

Noun:
Fifteenth letter of the alphabet 1

  • A human blood type (in the ABO system) lacking both the A and B antigens

[Also oh] Zero (in a sequence of numerals, especially when spoken)

A shape like that of a capital O

A circle

Prefix:
[Chemistry] Used in combination 2

Suffix:
Informal slang variants or derivatives 3

Used as the terminal vowel of combining forms

Prefix:
Found in Irish patronymic names, it originally denoted the bearer as the son of

Preposition:
Short for of or on and used to represent an informal pronunciation

Abbreviation:
Ohio 1

Off hand 2

[Real estate] Open house

(US; Army; Aviation] Observation helicopter designations 3

Exclamation:
Used to express a range of emotions including joy, surprise, anger, disappointment, or when reacting to something that has just been said 4

Used in direct address to attract the attention of the person spoken to

Used to express acknowledgment or understanding of a statement

Used to introduce an example or approximation

Interrogative:
Expression of mild skepticism 5

Noun:
Variant spelling of the O noun 6

[Informal; used in electronic communication] A person’s wife, husband, or partner 7

Verb, intransitive:
To utter or exclaim oh 8

Exclamation:
Used to express a range of emotions including surprise, delight, or pain

Noun:
An utterance of ooh

Verb, intransitive:
Utter such an exclamation

Examples:
Abbreviation:
The Atlantic O. and the Pacific O. are the world’s largest.

If we print 16 pages, we’ll have an o.

We need to schedule these for M., O., and D.

We’re going to O., Md., and Wash.

The opposing team had two Os already, and it wasn’t looking good with this batter coming up.

Exclamation:
“O Holy Night”

Give peace in our time, O Lord.

Noun:
A person with blood type O is a potential universal donor.

Count it down with me: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.

It’s o-shaped.

Prefix:
I have to see the orthodontist.

The o-Xylene “is an aromatic hydrocarbon with the formula C6H4(CH3)2” (o-Xylene).

Suffix:
Righto, I’ll get right on it.

He’s some old wino.

Chemicophysical pertains to physical chemistry.

Gallo wines are on the cheap end.

Prefix:
The O’Neills, the O’Boyles, and the O’Learys were all there.

Preposition:
I could do with a cup o’ tea.

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya.

Walk ahead o’ me.

It’s four o’clock already!?

Dinna follow the will-o’-the-wisp lest he lead ye astray.

Abbreviation:
OH is the official U.S. Postal Service abbreviation for the state of Ohio.

I think, OH, we’ll have to postpone it.

I have an OH this weekend.

Exclamation:
“Oh no,” said Margaret, in distress.

Me? Oh, I’m fine.

Oh, shut up.

Oh, yeah?

Oh, Mary, can you pick up the mail?

Oh, I see. You can’t come until tomorrow.

Interrogative:
“You left the keys in the door again!” “Oh?”

Noun:
Count it down with me: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.

It’s oh-shaped.

I often go to gigs on my own as my OH doesn’t have the same musical tastes as me.

Verb, intransitive:
There was a lot of ohing and ahing when the crowd came through into the Designer Showcase house.

“A quarter of an hour elapsed, and then, after several rings at the door-bell, a smothered laugh, and a good deal of ohing and ahing, the door was thrown open, and one by one, as they were announced, in came the expected characters” (Goodrich).

Exclamation:
Ooh, this is fun.

Ooh, my feet!

“‘Ooh!’ Saxon murmured, pointing to a lump on her wrist” (London).

Noun:
It’s the same every Fourth of July as the excited viewers ooh and aah about the fireworks.

We listened to the oohs and aahs of the enthusiastic audience.

“The oohs and ahs from the people he or she works with will pack a lot of emotional impact into your gift” (Hopkins).

Verb, intransitive:
The inn’s visitors oohed and aahed at the Christmas tree.

Everyone oohed and aahed as the gifts were unwrapped.

They oohed and aahed over the baby.

History of the Word:
  1. Natural exclamation first recorded in Middle English.
  2. Perhaps from the exclamation, oh, reinforced by abbreviated forms such as hippo, photo.
  3. From the Greek.
  4. 1990s, an abbreviation of other half.
Mid-18th century from the Irish ó, ua meaning descendant.
  1. On July 1, 1963, the Post Office Department implemented the five-digit ZIP Code, which was placed after the state name in the last line of an address. To provide room for the ZIP Code, the Department issued two-letter abbreviations for all states and territories. For more information, read Publication 59, Abbreviations for Use with ZIP Code (US Postal Service).
  2. Unknown.
  3. 1945.
  4. Mid-16th century, as a variant of O3.
  5. Unknown.
  6. Mid-16th century and a variant of O 1.
  7. 1990s, an abbreviation of other half.
  8. Unknown.
Natural exclamation first recorded in English in the early 20th century.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for O vs O’ vs Oh vs Ooh

Apple Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com: o, o’, oh

The Free Dictionary: ooh

Goodrich, Samuel Griswold (ed.) Robert Merry’s Museum and Parley’s Magazine. vol 23-24, p 46. Boston: S. T. Allen & Company, 1852. <https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Robert-Merrys-Museum-Parleys-Magazine-Vol/4666582191/bd>.

Hopkins, Tom. The Guide to Greatness in Sales: How to become a complete salesperson. Tom Hopkins Intl: 1993. <https://amzn.to/3iKzYDw>. Print.

London, Jack. The Valley of the Moon. Macmillan Company, New York: 1913. Open Road Media: 2020. <https://amzn.to/3Hd8Xlk>. Ebook.

“o-Xylene.” Wikipedia. 29 Nov 2021. Web. 12 Dec 2021.GNU FDL-1.3, via Wikipedia. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-Xylene>.

“oh.” Wiktionary.org. n.d. Web.n.d. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oh>.

Your Dictionary.com: oh

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Pinterest Photo Credits

Mr Bill Image #4 courtesy of the Mr Bill Gallery at Idolosol.com, <http://idolosol.com/mr-bill.html#gal_post_3640_mr-bill-2.jpg>.

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