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French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle French , from Old French ou, from Latin ubi (where?). The grave accent was added in Middle French to differentiate from ou (or).

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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  1. where (interrogative)
    Synonym: (Louisiana) éyoù
    est la gare?
    Where is the station?
    Où tu vas, là ?
    Hey, where are you going?
    Comment savez-vous j’habite ?
    How do you know where I live?
  2. where (relative pronoun)
    • Jean-Claude Bologne, Histoire du célibat et des célibataires, 2007
      Dans un monde l’homme propose et la femme dispose, le célibataire a fait un choix conscient, dont il est pleinement responsable.
      In a world where the man proposes and the woman disposes, the single person has made a conscious choice for which he is fully responsible.
  3. at that time; when
    • 1853, Guillaume Pauthier, Chine moderne, ou description historique, géographique et littéraire de ce vaste empire[1], page 335:
      Ce n’est qu’à l’époque l’on a commencé à avoir un fonds de signes suffisants pour écrire des livres, que l’on trouve l’usage des groupes phonétiques.
      It's only at the time where one starts to see a foundation of sufficient signs to write books, that one finds the use of phonetic groups.
    Je ne l’ai pas vu aussi heureux depuis le jour il est devenu père.
    I haven't seen him so happy since the day [when] he became a father.
  4. (poetic) whither, to where
    Un ciel plus pur et des dieux meilleurs, je t’offre à Rome je me rends.
    A purer heaven and better gods I offer you in Rome, whither I go.

Usage notes

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  • is the only word in the French language that contains the letter u with a grave accent (`).

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Middle French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old French ou, from Latin ubi. The grave accent was added in Middle French to differentiate from ou (or).

Adverb

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  1. where

Descendants

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  • French: