Or Definition

ôr; ər when unstressed
conjuntion
Used to indicate an alternative, usually only before the last term of a series.
Hot or cold; this, that, or the other.
American Heritage
A coordinating conjunction introducing an alternative.
Webster's New World
Used to indicate the second of two alternatives, the first being preceded by either or whether:
Your answer is either ingenious or wrong. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
American Heritage
Used to indicate the first of two alternatives, with the force of either or whether.
American Heritage
Before; ere.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
preposition
Before.
American Heritage
noun
The representation of the metal gold: indicated in engravings by small black dots on a white field.
Webster's New World
A logical operator that returns a true value if one or both operands are true.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
abbreviation
Operating room.
Webster's New World
Operations research.
American Heritage Medicine
Oregon.
Webster's New World

(law) Oregon, as used in case citations.

Wiktionary

(military) The lowest NATO military rank code, equivalent to British army private.

Wiktionary
suffix
One that performs a specified action.
Accelerator.
American Heritage
State; quality; activity.
Valor.
American Heritage
affix
A person or thing that (does a specified thing)
Mortgagor, incisor.
Webster's New World
Quality or condition.
Favor, error.
Webster's New World
prefix

(no longer productive) A prefix of Old English origin meaning: "from the outset", "original", "out", "out of", or "without".

Ordalian, ordeal, orlay, ort.
Wiktionary

Origin of Or

  • From Middle English or-, from Old English or- (“or-”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”), from Proto-Indo-European *uds- (“up, out”). Cognate with West Frisian oar-, Dutch oor-, German ur-, Gothic [script?] (us-). Identical with Old English ā- (“a-”). More at a-.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from other or (from Old English) (from oththe) and from outher (from Old English āhwæther, āther either)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English variant of er from Old English ǣr soon, early and from Old Norse ār ayer- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English -or, -our from Old French -eor, -eur Anglo-Norman -our, -ur all from Latin -or -ōr-

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English -our from Old French -eur from Latin -or -ōr-

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English from Old French from Latin aurum

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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