Word Confusion: Lo versus Low

Posted August 29, 2013 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

I ran across this particular confusion when reading a Digital Book World post and the author used “low and behold these are the kids”. I wasn’t sure if cattle were mooing, if the reader was supposed to moo or if the kids were goats . . .?

This one is really simple to get right. Almost always, a lo will be biblical and usually it’s an angel proclaiming something. It’s not hard to figure out. Think behold, hey, or look as in Lo, the burning bush.

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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Lo Low

Meditating Angels Pray by Artie_Navarre.

And lo and behold, it’s working.

Low Battery Charging Mobile Battery by beegraphicsstudio is in the public domain, via Pixabay.
Part of Grammar:
Abbreviation; Interjection Adjective 1; Adverb 1; Noun 1, 2;
Verb 2, intransitive & transitive

Plural for the noun: lows
Gerund: lowing

Third person present verb: lows
Past tense or past participle: lowed
Present participle: lowing

Abbreviation:
Liaison officer

Interjection:
Calls attention or expresses wonder or surprise

Adjective:
Of less than average height from top to bottom or to the top from the ground 1

Below average in amount, extent, or intensity

Small

Ranking below other people or things in importance or class

Depressed or lacking in energy

Adverb:
In or into a low position or state 1

Quietly

At or to a low pitch

Noun:
A low point, level, or figure 1

A particularly bad or difficult moment

[Informal] A state of depression or low spirits

An area of low atmospheric pressure

  • Depression

A sound made by cattle 2

  • A moo

Verb, intransitive:
[Of a cow] Make a characteristic deep sound 2

Verb, transitive:
To utter by or as by mooing 2

Examples:
Abbreviation:
Get the LO to see to that.

He’s the school’s police LO.

She acted as the LO between the FBI and the police department.

Interjection:
Lo these many years ago.

Lo and behold . . .

And lo, the angels sing.

Adjective:
The table was too low to use as a dining table.

They are surviving on a low income.

Be sure to cook it over low heat.

Ammunition’s getting low, sarge.

Third world countries have a lower standard of living.

Graffiti is considered a low art form.

He has a low cunning.

I was feeling low.

Adverb:
She pressed on, bent low to protect her face.

We were talking low so we wouldn’t wake Dean.

The sopranos have to sing rather low.

Noun:
His popularity ratings are at an all-time low.

The highs and lows of an actor’s life.

In the distance, we heard the low of a distant herd.

“The lowing of a cow or the voice of a ploughman could scarcely be heard from Cashel to the farthest point of Kerry” (How).

“At evening, the distant lowing of some cow in the horizon brought a sense of peace to the farmhouse” (How).

Verb, intransitive:
The cattle are lowing.

“In the fields the other side of the bridge, cattle were lowing” (Haines).

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes.

Verb, transitive:
A cow lows when she needs to be milked.

Cows lowing at the bull indicate a readiness to mate.

Derivatives:
Adjective: low-alcohol, low-altitude, low-born, low-budget, low-cal, low-carb, low-carbon, low-class, low-cost, low-cut, low-density, low-down, low-fi, low-flying, low-grade, low-heeled, low-impact, low-income, lowish, low-key, low-level, low-lying, low-maintenance, low-minded, low-necked, low-nicotine, lowball, lowbrow, lowdown, lower, lowest, well, you get the idea . . .
Adverb: lower, lowest
Noun: low-angle shot, low-fi, low-hanging fruit, low-loader, lowball, lowbrow, lowdown, lowing, lowlife, lowlight, lowness, overlowness
Verb, transitive: lowball
History of the Word:
From Middle English from the Old English, , before the 12th century.
  1. From Middle English from the Old Norse lágr which is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch laag; it is also related to lie low.
  2. From Old English hlōwan is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch loeien which is from an Indo-European root shared by Latin clamare meaning to shout.

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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 Lo versus Low

Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.

Apple Dictionary.com

Haines, Pamela. The Golden Lion. Scribner, 2001. Web. n.d. <https://amzn.to/3S2w6du>.

“How to Use Lowing in a Sentence.” Dictionary.com. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://sentence.yourdictionary.com/lowing#PFUw7L4tIVtIzMAQ.99>.

Merriam-Webster: lo

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Pinterest Photo Credits:

Death and the Gravedigger by Carlos Schwabe is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Revised as of 15 Apr 2024
By: Kathy Davie