yo

Meaning

Intj

1. (slang) A greeting similar to hi.
2. (slang) An interjection similar to hey.
3. (slang) An expression of surprise or excitement.
4. (slang) Present! Here!
5. Emphatic conclusion to a statement.

Det

Pronunciation spelling of your.

Pron

third-person singular, familiar

Noun

1. Abbreviation of year(s) old; also y.o., y/o.
2. Initialism of yarn over.

Noun

The letter Ё, ё.

Num

Short for yoleven.

Noun

Obsolete form of yue, a traditional Chinese unit of volume.

Synonyms

hey

hi

Hi

yes sir

oi

yoe

Pronounced as (IPA)

/jəʊ/

Etymology

As a greeting first attested in 1859, attested first as a cry of sailors and huntsmen (first attested in the 1400s; compare e.g. huzzah, giddyup). Originally from Middle English yo, io, ȝo, yeo, yaw, variant forms of ya, ye (“yes, yea”), from Old English ġēa (“yes, yea”), from Proto-Germanic *ja (“yes, thus, so”); or perhaps from Old English ēow (“Wo!, Alas!”, interjection). Compare Danish, Swedish, German, Norwegian jo (“yes (flexible meaning)”), Dutch jow (“hi, hey”) and Dutch jo (“hi, hey”). More at yea, ow, ew.
Modern popularity apparently dates from World War II (claimed to be a common response at roll calls; see definition 4), and then most intensely attested in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it thence spread globally from American dominance of pop culture post-WWII.