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The Alphabetary Heraldic

Genealogical Glossary

—O—

O : [Ogham Q-Celtic] ose.[1]

ô : a long o.

Ō : a long o.

Ó : ua : [Ir] O’; grandson; the ancient Gaelic prefix for a s pagan : countryman.

O# : [IGI] ordinance number, which sometimes appears as a field for IGI Batch or Source data.

Ō, ô : [Sumerian] open vowel, one of the three primal vowels.

o. : oath; optimus.

o. : oeste : [Sp] west.

o.c. : only child; opere citato.

o.c. : opere citato.

O.C. : Order in Council, the government act granting land in Upper Canada, now Ontario, to the wife or heir of an American Loyalist exiled to Canada during the War of the American Revolution.[2]

O.D. : Doctor of Optometry.

O.D. : oculus dexter : right eye.  Opp. O.S.

O.E. : OE : Old English.

O.F.S. : Orange Free State, now South Africa.

O.L. : OL : Old Latin.

O.M. : optimus maximus.

o.p. : out of print.

O.S. : oculus sinister : left eye.  Opp. O.D.

O.S. : Old Style.

O.S.B. : Order of Saint Benedict.

o.s.p. : obiit sine prole : [Sp abbreviation] died without issue.  Cf. ob.s.p.

O.T. : OT : Old Testament.

o.t.p. : of this parish.

o/p : out of print.

o/s : Old Style.

O’- : Ó- : Oh- : O’h- : [ad 400 Ir] grandson of; descendant of; an ancient Irish prefix used to form a patronymic byname.  We do not know the original meaning of this prefix, but it seems to define a gens, or an especially large descendancy group, based on common descent from some remote ancestor.  It is different from Mac ‘son of’ in that it refers to long succession of several generations, rather than direct filiation.  One of the earliest examples of a gentilitious byname is O’Neill, which dates from the fourth century.[3]  When the prefix stands as a pronominal to an ancestor name starting with a vowel, it often requires the medial aspirant -h- to facilitate sonance, is as illustrated by the surname Oh Airt or O’Hart.[4]  The corresponding female prefix is ni or nic ‘daughter of.’[5]  Cf. Mac-, ni, nic.

oaf : changeling, dolt, blockhead, idiot; a foolish child left by the fairies.

oäkta : [Sw] illegitimate.

oath : [Sx] an affirmation, negation, or promise attested to by God.

ob : [Hb] litter, sedan chair.  Cf. ben, seg, mah.

OB : Order Book.

ob- : towards, to, opposite, against, over.

ob. : obiit : died.

ob. : obispo : [Sp] bishop.

ob. : obolus, a halfpenny, ½ penny.

ob. : oblatum, gift, wafer.

oblatum : ob. : gift; wafer; Eucharistic bread.

obolus : obolam : ob. : a halfpenny, ½ penny.

ob. : obiter, incidently.

ob. cælebs : obiit cælebs : died unmarried.

ob. unm. : [Lt-En] died unmarried, obiit cælebs, obiit innupta.

ob.adul.s.p. : obiit adulescens sine prole, died in his adolescence (14-27 years) without issue.

ob.inf.s.p. : obiit infans sine prole : died in his minority (0-6 years) without issue.[6]

ob.inf.s.p.m. : obiit infans sine prole mascula : died in his minority (0-6 years) without male progeny.

ob.pue.s.p. : obiit puer vel puella sine prole, died in boyhood/girlhood (7-13 years) without children.

ob.s.p. : obiit sine prole : died without issue.

ob.s.p.l. : obiit sine prole legitimâ, died without legitimate is­sue.

ob.s.p.legit. : obiit sine prole legitimâ.

ob.s.p.m. :  obiit sine prole masculâ : died without male issue.[7]

ob.s.p.m.s. :  obiit sine prole masculâ superstite : died without surviving male issue.

ob.s.p.s. :  obiit sine prole superstite : died without surviving issue.

ob.v.f. : obiit vitâ fratris : died during his brother’s lifetime.

ob.v.m. :  obiit vita matris : died while his mother was alive

ob.v.p. :  obiit vita patris : obiit vitâ patris : died while his father was alive.

obæratus : indebted.

Obatallah : [Macumba] the creator.

Obatallah’s mistakes : [Macumba] the shamanistic lesbians and gays who serve Oya as priests and priestesses.[8]  Cf. Oya.

obedientiary: a monastic officer serving under an abbot.

obeisance : bow, a courtesy, an act of reverence made by inclining the body or knee.

ober : [Gm] over, upper.

obierunt : they died.

obiit : ob. : obt. : he or she died.

obiit ante patrem : he died before his father.  A more common expression is obiit vita patris.  Cf. genuitque.

obiit cælebs : he died unmarried.

obiit cælebs sine prole : he died unmarried without issue.

obiit circa : died about.

obiit in adulescens ætate : died in his adolescent years (14-27 years).

obiit in iuvenili ætate : died in his youth, died in his prime, died between 28 to 48 years (20 and 45 years).[9]

obiit in peregrinatione inter redeundum ab Hierosolymis : he died traveling abroad while returning from Jerusalem.[10]

obiit infans : died in infancy (0-6 years), died in his minor­ity.[11]

obiit innupta sine prole : she died un­married without issue.

obiit iuventus sine prole : he died when young (28-48 years) without offspring.

obiit post partem : she died after giving birth.  Cf. puerperal sepsis.

obiit sine herede de corpore suo : he died without heirs of his body.[12]

obiit sine herede de se exeunte, et sic descendit hereditas Thomæ fratri suo : he died without producing an heir, and so his hereditary rights descended to his brother Thomas.

obiit sine herede ex uxore Elisabeth : he died without an heir by his wife Elizabeth.[13]

obiit sine prole : ob.s.p. : he died without issue, died childless; døduden afkom [Dn], døde barnløs [Nw], död utan bröstarvinge [Sw].  Cf. d.s.p.

obiit sine prole anno Domini 1508, 23. die mensis Octobr. : he died without issue in the year of our Lord 1508, on the 23rd day of the month October (1508/10/23).[14]

obiit sine prole legitimâ : ob.s.p.l. : ob.s.p.legit. : he died without legitimate issue.

obiit sine prole masculâ : ob.s.p.m. : he died without male issue.  The preposition sine requires the ablative case, so the substitution of masculus is erroneous.[15]

obiit sine prole masculâ superstite : ob.s.p.m.s. : he died without surviving male issue.

obiit virgo : she died a virgin.

obiit vita fratris : he died during his brother’s lifetime.

obit : obiit, obivit : funeral solemnity; an anniversary service for the soul of the deceased, held on the day of death.

obiter : ob. : incidently.

obituary : a brief biography of someone recently deceased.  Cf. necrology.

obitus : death, dead, downfall, destruction, pass­ing.

object-homoërotic : characteristic of a man firmly attached to his own masculine nature, but attracted to younger and more feminine boys or men.[16]  Opp. subject-homoërotic.

oblati : slaves placed in monasteries by their own­ers.

oblatio : oblation, gifts of land, money, property, or children to a monastery.

oblationem : offerings, female slaves placed in monasteries by their owners.[17]

obligación : [Sp] obligation.

obligatory joking relationship : permitted disrespect; a pattern of familiarity and joking between two individuals of the same generation, who share a relationship wherein conflict is perhaps unavoidable, but where there is some social necessity to avoid conflict.[18]  For example, a husband may find it necessary to express fondness and jocularity to his sister-in-law, in order to preserve good relations with his wife.  This obligatory joking may be satire, practical joking, or even sexual joking.  Cf. jocular relationship, mild joking relationship, relationship.

oblique marriage : [1066-221 bc, Ch Zhōu dynasty] Hu & Wi(1) & Wi(2) =WiSi(y) & Wi(3) =Wi(e)BrDa; the practice of marrying brides belonging to two generations; the marriage of a feudal Chinese noble to one principal wife and eight secondary wives, divided into three groups.  Each of the bridal three groups came from a different feudal state, but they all shared the same sibname with the principal bride.  Each group was composed of a principal bride received into the donee’s family, called yīn, complemented by the bride’s younger sister or younger half-sister (dì) and the bride’s older brother’s daughter (jiù), making a triad of Wi, WiSi(y), WiBr(e)Da. The custom of marrying one’s wife’s fraternal niece disappeared in the third century bc, and the Táng Code (ad 627-683) prohibited marriage between persons belonging to different generations.[19]  Cf. affines, patriarchy and matriarchy.

oblique marriage : the kinship system of the Miwok natives of California.

oboe : hautboy.

obolat : one-half acre.  Cf. librate.

obscænum : foul, shameful, obscene.

obscene : immodest, offensive, disgusting, inauspicious, ill-omened.

obsequies : funeral rites, funeral solemnities.

obsequious : obsequium : obedient, compliant, not resisting.

obsignate : to ratify, seal.

obsignation : confirmation, ratification by sealing; the act of affixing a seal.

obsoletus : worn out, decayed.  Cf. exstinctus.

obstetricate : ostetricor : to perform the office of a midwife; to assist as a midwife.

obstetrication : the office of a midwife.

obstetrix : midwife, a woman who provides assistance during childbirth.  Cf. accoucheur.

obt. : obiit : he or she died.

oc- : ob-, towards, to, opposite, against, over.

Occidua Wallia : Cornwall.

occisa : she was killed.

occisi : they were killed.[20]

occision : occisio : the act of killing.

occisus apud : he was killed at, perished at.

occisus consilio uxoris : killed at the urging of his wife.[21]

occisus erat apud Killingeworth : he was killed at Killingworth.

occisus est : he was killed.

occisus famelicus in locis desertis : died of starvation in the wilderness.[22]

occisus fulmine ictus : struck dead by lightning.

occisus glande ictus : death by firearms.

occisus in aëroplano : death by air transport, death by waftage.

occisus in aquam summersus : killed by drowning.

occisus in bello : death by warfare, killed in war.

occisus in campo : killed on the battlefield.

occisus in machina : death by machinery.[23]

occisus in vehiculo : death by motor vehicle.

occisus spiritum toxicum ductus : death by poison gas.

occisus strangulatus : death by mechanical suffocation.

occisus sua dextra : died by his own hand, com­mitted suicide.

occisus veneno imbutus : killed by poisoning.[24]

occisus vita patris : killed during his father’s life­time.

occupier: possessor.

ocquinisco : to squat, bend over for sex.  Cf. conquinisco.

oct- : eight.

oct- : octa- : [Gk] eight.

octa- : oct- : [Gk] eight.

octad : [Gk] eightsome.  Cf. pentad.

Octalogue : the Ten Commandments viewed as a core set of Eight Commandments, divided into two groups.  Robert Graves proposed that Commandments II and III should be viewed as prefatory clauses, introducing the remaining Eight Commandments in two, distinct phases, positive and negative.  The initial grouping, under Commandment III ‘Thou shalt not take God’s name in vain,’ includes the three positive imperatives, Commandments V, IV, and I, ‘Honour …, Observe …, Thou shalt worship ….’  In the second grouping, under Commandment II, ‘Thou shalt not make nor adore the simulacrum of any star, creature, or marine monster,’ he placed the five positive imperatives, Commandments X, VI, VIII, IX, and VII, ‘Thou shalt not bewitch, … kill, … steal, … bear false witness, … commit adultery.’  Graves further proposed that bewitching equates to the Moon, Goddess of Enchantment.  He said that killing denoted Mars, God of War, that stealing connoted Mercury, as the God of Thieves, who stole man from God.  He further held that falseness is an aspect of Juppiter, as the deceptive God of Falsehood, by whom all were expected to swear oaths.  Graves equated adultery with Venus, Goddess of Vulgar Love.[25]

octaroon :  [1920 En] light octaroon; someone whose one (1) great-grandparent belonged to a race heterogeneous to his other 7 great-grandparents.  Cf. ethnic identifies, macaroon, octaroon, Ochavado [Sp], -on.  Opp. dark black.

octav- : eighth.

octava dies : octave, the eight days that follow a feast.

octave : octavus : eight days after a festival; the eighth day after a festival.

October : 8ber : /10/ : [ad 8] a month of 31 days; literally the 8th month; the 10th month of the Gregorian Calendar, and tenth month of the Scottish NS Julian Calendar, but the eighth month numbered from March in the English OS Julian Calendar.  Cf. November, Octubre [Sp], September.

octogenarian : one 80 years of age and older.

octogenary : 80 years.

oculo- : eye, oculus, lumen.

oculus dexter : O.D. : right eye.

oculus sinister : O.S. : left eye.

od- : [Gk] song, poem.

od- : hod- : [Gk] way, road.

odi et amo : I hate and love.

Odin : Wodin : Wuotan : the Nordic god equivalent to the Greek god Hermes.  Odin stands for transformation and rapid change, and his color is purple.  His day is Wednesday.

odont- : [Gk] tooth.

Odysseus and Penelope : Hu & Wi; Odysseus, or Ulysses [Lt] or Ulixes, was the King of Ithaca, and became a hero in the Trojan War.  He was the son of Laertes, the husband of Penelope, and the father of Telemachus, and the story of his long and wayward travels home formed the basis of the Odyssey, an epic poem attributed to Homer.

OE : O.E. : Old English.

oed : [We] age, aged.

Oedipus conflict : the outward love-hate relationship of the adolescent vis-à-vis his parent.  In progressive individuation, the ego attempts to reconcile his persona with the latency of his hidden id.  As the ego evolves from latency into adolescence, he passes through six steps, namely the (1) fetal stage, (2) birth trauma, (3) autism, (4) symbiosis, (5) separation, and (6) conflict. In regressive individuation, the same Oedipus complex provides five archetypal steps into the well of virginal milk, namely the libidos (1) phallic, (2) anal, (3) oral, (4) vaginal, and (5) uterine.[26]

oestrus : estrus.

of : a preposition noting extraction or adherence; or belonging to a place or family; residing at.

of- : ob-, towards, to, opposite, against, over.

off. : offi. : official.

offence : offensa : crime, transgression, injury, act of wickedness; attack, the act of an assailant.

offender : criminal, transgressor, one who has comitted a crime.

offendress : a woman who offends.

office : officium : magistracy, agency, a public charge or employment.

officers in the military : [address] Captain the Lord John ——.  It is customary to express first the military rank, followed by any other title the officer might hold.

officiosi : pathics.

officium : duty, sexual duty.

offspring : propagation, generation; children, descendants.

oft. : often.

ogee : the distinctive profile of a typical molding design, exhibiting double curves.  The lower curve is convex, whereas the upper curve is concave, such that the ogee defines the shape of an S.  The pattern was a popular decoration used along the edges of stone arches, and remains a standard shape in woodworking.

Ogham alphabet : Goidelic alphabet.  Cf. alphabet.

Ogham inscriptions : [600 bc] primitive inscriptions of the old Q-Celt (600 bc) or the newer P-Celt (400 bc) that survive in the British Isles.  We have a total of approximately 375 Ogham inscriptions.  Ireland has some 316 Ogham inscriptions, Wales has 40 inscriptions, and the Isle of Man has 10 inscriptions.  One inscription survived at Silchester in southern England, and a few Pictish Ogham inscriptions have been found in Scotland, as far north as the Shetland Islands.  Ogham script often runs upward, in a vertical manner, for it was originally written as notches on wooden staves.

Oghams : cypher alphabets; vestiges of the Celtic Ogham alphabet that are sometimes characterized by their appearance or the place of their discovery.  The categories in the Book of Ballymote include the wheel Ogham, bird Ogham, pig Ogham, and color Ogham, as well as Oghams of the tree, hill, church, castle, fruit.  Cf. cypher alphabets.

ogift : [Sw] unmarried.

Oglala : Ogallala : [NE] to scatter one’ own; a tribal name among the Sioux.  Cf. Lakota.

Oglala shaman : winkte.

Ogma Sunface : ‘Ogma Sun-face son of Breas : Ogma the God of Eloquence[27] : the early god of the Goidels, who invented the Ogham alphabet of 20 letters, or 15 consonants and 5 vowels.[28]  Lucian (floruit ante ad 200) described Ogma as a Hercules returned from battle, carrying his club and lion skin, and drawing his teams of prisoners, whom he tethered by golden chains attaching their ears to the tips of their tongues.[29]  Cf. alphabet, Goidelic alphabet.

ogre : a monster of the East.

ogress : a female monster of the East.

ogresses : black cannon balls used in heraldry.

Ogum : [Macumba] the virgin male warrior.[30]

-oid : [Gk] like.

oide : [Gk] song.  Cf. tragoidia.

OIr : Old Irish.

OItal : Old Italian.

Okanagon trickster god : coyote.

Okla. : OK : Oklahoma.

Olaus : Olaf, Olave.

Old English : OE : O.E. : [ante 1100] the Anglo-Saxon language that predated Middle English, before it was radically changed by Norman influence, and the adoption of Norman French as a chancery script.

Old Style year-date conversion : the modern genealogical convention of dropping notations of the English Old Style year-date to convert the Julian year-date into our common historical reckoning by the Gregorian calendar.  The English-Scots date of 1 February 1687/88 converts simply to 1 February 1688 in Common Era (c.e.) reckoning.  Disparity between the English and Scottish year-dates only occurred from 1 January to 24 March each year, between 1603 and 1752, so it is fairly easy to identify an O.S. / N.S. notation.  To illustrate these odd systems of reckoning, we may compare and consider three dates that all occurred in the same period of merely nine (9) days:  13 February 1705 (O.S.),[31] 19 February 1706 (N.S.),[32] and 22 February 1706 (Gregorian).[33]  If uniformly converted to Gregorian-style dates, these historical dates would respectively equate to 1706/2/24, 1706/3/2, and 1706/2/22.  The genealogist should always be careful not to confuse this peculiar Stuart and Hanoverian notation with a double year-date corresponding to a regnal year.  Cf. double year-date.

Old Style, English : O.S. : [1603-1752] the English reckoning of year-dates based on the Julian Calendar, which commenced on Lady Day, 25 March.  In direct quotations and transcriptions, the genealogist may copy Old Style dates exactly as they were written.  In historical narratives and pedigrees, the genealogist should and ought to convert all Old Style year-dates to common historical reckoning, by converting them uniformly into the historical standard, or the New Style year-dates of the Gregorian calendar.  The documentary date 2 February 1676’7 or 1676/7 O.S./N.S. may be quoted verbatim, but should be converted to 2 February 1677 in one’s narratives.  The popular practice of using a genealogical computer program to retroactively create so-called “double-date” notations happens to be grossly erroneous and misleading, and violates historical methods, by confounding factual data with historical narrative.  The brief English-Scottish convention of O.S./N.S. year-date notations is a peculiarity of history, but should never be imitated by modern historians.  The genealogist should carefully distinguish between (1) bogus, imitative, and retroactive so-called “double dates,” and (2) legitimate and academic “double year-dates” corresponding to regnal years.  Cf. double year-dates, Scottish New Style.

Old Style, Julian : Vecchio Stile : [1582 It] the traditional, old-style reckoning by the Julian Calendar.  The term Old Style came into use at different times, as the countries of Europe and elsewhere gradually adopted the New Style Gregorian Calendar.  It is critical that historians correctly apprehend to what ‘Old Style’ they refer.  Anglo-American genealogists normally intend ‘Old Style’ to denote the English Old Style Julian Calendar, which was radically different from the Roman Old Style.  Cf. English Old Style.

Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund : [1940] the earliest of four Social Security Trust Funds established in the United States.  Cf. Social Security Trust Funds.

oldebarn : [Dn] ChChCh; great-grandchild.

oldefader : [Dn] FaFaFa; great-grandfather.

oldefar : [Nw] FaFaFa; great-grandfather.

oldemoder : [Dn] FaFaMo; great-grandmother.

oldemor : [Nw] FaFaMo; great-grandmother.

older : of older age, maior natu.  Cf. natu, younger.

oldest female : doyenne.

oldest male : doyen; dean.

-ole : -le : -ule : little.

-olence : -lence : -ulence : state or quality of being full of.

-olent : -ulent : full of.

oleo- : oil.

olera : mentula.

olig- : [Gk] few.

oligarchy : [Gk] aristocracy, a form of government that places supreme power in the hands of a small number.

Oligocene epoch : year 37 million bc.

olla : cunnus.

ollave : [1400 Ir] a master poet, an ancient Celtic poet of the highest rank.  The Celts permitted only two persons to sit side-by-side with the king at his table, namely the queen and the master-poet (ollave), or Chief Poet (Tugen).  The Irish required the ollave to complete 12 years of study, and to realize seven degrees of wisdom.[34]  A candidate for ollaveship had to master 150 Oghams, or verbal cypher alphabets.  The Book of Ollaves comprises a section of the Book of Ballymote (1400).  Cf. bard, Penkerdd [We].

ollaveship : [Ir] the status or office of a master poet in Ireland.[35]

ollula : cunnus.

Olympiad : olympias : a Grecian epoch of four years, superseded by the fifteen-year Indiction in ad 313.  To calculate the Olympiad and its year (1-4 years), one subtracts the year in bc reckoning from the number 776, and then adds one for the Olympiad and one for the year of that Olympiad, in this fashion:  776-(bc year), =X/4+1, =(current Olympiad) + 1 =(current year of Olympiad).  For example 776-bc 4, =772¸4, =193, and thus 4 Olympiad CXCIII, =4710 Julian year, =A.U.C. 749, =4 bc, the year supposed by some to have been the actual birth year of the Christ.  Historically the Christian Era began four years later in 1 ad, =4 Olympiad CXCIV.  Cf. ad.

olympics : the games that customarily marked the commencement of a new olympiad.  The U.S. Congress absurdly restricted the free use of this ancient, sacred word in the 1970s.

-oma : [Gk] tumor, tuber.

-oma : [Gk] tumor.

Omaha and Ponca shaman : mingu-ga.

Omaha system : a bifurcate merging patriliny that is virilocal.  It classes parents together parallel uncles and aunts, and equates parallel cousins with siblings.  The ego’s matrilineal cross cousins cannot belong to his patriliny, but they can be lineage mates of his mother.  The patrilateral cross cousins are ‘lowered’ a generation, whereas the matrilineal cross cousins are ‘elevated’ a generation.  In the Omaha system, a MoBrSo is equated with MoBr, and MoBrDa is equated with Mo, whereas FaSiSo is equated with Ne, and FaSiDa is equated with Ni.  Cf. bifurcate merging terminology.  Opp. Crow system.

omasenge : an Ambo shaman in southwest Africa.[36]

omitted days : Cf. Julian Calendar, Gregorian Calendar.

omkring : [Sw, Nw] about.

omn- : all.

omnes hii acceperunt uxores alienigenas, et fuerunt ex eis mulieres quae pepererant filios : All these had taken strange wives:  and some of them had wives by whom they had children.[37]

omni- : all, pan- [Gk].

Omo man : the fossil remains of an African Homo sapiens, dated in the Middle Quaternary period.  Cf. Hominidae.

omophilophilos : [Gk] an entirely new Greek word, backformed from a translation of the new English word homosexual.  As classical Greek has an exhaustive lexicon for gay an lesbian relations, the invention of this English-based word seems somewhat extraordinary.[38]

omstreeks : [Du] about.

-on : [NL suffix] a noble gas, such as radon.

-on : -ion : [NL suffix] a unit; a quantum, such as a photon or magneton; a basic hereditary component, such as an operon or cistron.

-on : -one : [NL suffix] a chemical compound that is not a ketone or other oxo compound.

Onan : Hu & Br(e)Wi=Wi; the second son of Judah.  When his elder brother Er died, Judah instructed Onan to enter into a levirate marriage with Er’s widow Tamar, or Onan’s sister-in-law.  Onan complied, but did not consummate the marriage.  In an act of coitus interruptus with his elder brother’s widow, he spilled his semen on the ground, and therefore violated Levirate law.  Onan’s disobedience displeased God, and therefore Onan was slain.

onanism : [1727] coitus interruptus, self-gratification; masturbation.  The story of Onan addressed the waste of semen, but said nothing of masturbation.  The association of Onan with masturbation was a later invention.

oncle : [Fr] PaBr; uncle.

onco- : [Gk] bulk, mass, tumor.

oncogene : a gene believed to play some rôle in the development of a specific cancer.

oncology : [1857] the study of tumors, a learning fundamental to the study of cancer.

oncovirus : a retrovirus that replicates and progresses switfly; a human T-cell leukemia virus known as either HTLV-1 or HTLV-2 that causes certain forms of the human blood-cell cancer called leukemia.  Cf. lentivirus.

ondele : [Af] the masculine spirit that enters a woman and makes manifest her lesbian desires.[39]

one and one in blood relationship : a dó a’s a dó I ngaol : [Ir] brother and sister; siblings.  Cf. two and two in blood relationship.

onecht : [Du] illegitimate.

one-drop law : the racist principle holding that even one drop of admixed blood will classify the proband as a member of the minority race.  For example, a person who is seven parts white, but one part black, may be nonetheless regarded as entirely black for the purpose of slavery.  Cf. ethnic identities, racism.

oneness : monad.  Cf. threesome, twosome.

one-night stand : a casual and transient sex relationship viewed by the partners as a one-time event, rather than a prelude to some liaison or mateship.

one-parent household : a family either matrifocal or patrifocal.  In the United States in the 1990s, some 30% of all white children belonged to single-parent households, whereas the number of black children in such households exceeded 50%.

one-parent households : [1599] 17% of all families had only one parent in Ealing, Middlesex, in 1599.[40]

one-parent households : [1599] 28% of all families had only one parent in Ryton, Durham, in 1599.[41]

ongehuwd : [Du] unmarried.

onkel : [Dn, Nw] PaBr; uncle.

Onkel : [Gm] PaBr; uncle.

onobeloi : men hung like mules.[42]

Ont. : Ontario.

onym- : [Gk] name, word.

oo- : [Gk] egg.

Oo.E.Z.Ph. : Ο, Ε, Ζ, Φ : [469 bc] the alternative four letters that the Dionysian devotee Simonides of Ceos, or Simoides of Syracuse (556-circa 467 vel 469 bc), is supposed to have added to the Greek alphabet, namely Omega, Epsilon, Zeta, and Phi (Ο, Ε, Ζ, Φ), or letters 24, 5, 6, and 21.  The orthodox legend said that he invented instead Omega, Epsilon, Zeta, and Psi (Ο, Ε, Ζ, Ψ), or letters 24, 5, 6, and 23.  Cf. Oo.E.Z.Ps., Simonides of Ceos.

Oo.E.Z.Ps. : Ο, Ε, Ζ, Ψ : [469 bc] the four letters that Simonides of Ceos, or Simoides of Syracuse (556-circa 467 vel 469 bc), the Dionysian devotee, added to the Greek alphabet, namely Omega, Epsilon, Zeta, and Psi (Ο, Ε, Ζ, Ψ), or letters 24, 5, 6, and 23.[43]  Some say he added instead, Omega, Epsilon, Zeta, and Phi (Ο, Ε, Ζ, Φ), or letters 24, 5, 6, and 21.

oom : [Du] PaBr; uncle.

op- : ob-, towards, to, opposite, against, over.

op- : opt- : [Gk] eye; to see.

op. : opp. : opposite.

op. cit. : opere citato.

open professions : the law and church seats in the English king’s court, which were not hereditary nor vendible, and were open to men of ability, regardless of their ori­gin.[44]

opera : the male part in the act of intercourse.

opera : works.  Cf. opus.

operæ libertorum : slave set free after promising to perform specified work, similar to an indentured servant.[45]  Cf. bondsman.

operarius : laborer.

opere citato : o.c. : op. cit. : in the work cited.

operon : [1961] a genetic operator closely linked and combined with the structural genes it regulates.  Cf. cistron.

ophthalm- : [Gk] eye.

opp. : oppositus.

oppeto : to go to meet; to die, perish.

oppidanus : of a town, in a town; in some remote place outside Rome.

opposite sex : [anthropology] os.  Opp. ss.

opposite-sex children : FaDa, MoSo; sons of mothers, daughters of fathers.  Opp. same-sex children.

oppositus : opposita : opp. : opposite, adverse, facing each other; placed in front; contra, antonym.  Cf. index entry, idem, same.

opprimo : to press together, for sexual gratification, as adolescents might do.  Cf. comprimo, English method, intercrural copulation.

opt- : op- : [Gk] eye; to see.

optimas : aristocrat.

optimus : o. : best.

opus : the male part in the act of intercourse.

opus : work.  Cf. opera.

opus beneficii : beneficial act, Almosen.

opus circulatorium : wheeling work.  Cf. rota philosophica.

opus postumus : a work published after one’s death; hinterlassenes Werk.

or : gold, a heraldic color.

-or : one who does.

-or : -or : action, the result of action.

-or : -our : state of.

ora- : [Gk] to see.

oral-anal sex : arousing one’s sex partner by rimming or massaging his or her anus with one’s mouth.  Cf. rimming.

oral-penile sex : arousing a male by stimulating his penis with one’s mouth, in an act of female-male intercourse, or male-male intercourse; blow job; sucking.  Cf. oral-vaginal sex.

oral-vaginal sex : stimulating a female by using one’s mouth to touch her vagina; a sexual act performed by male-female, or female-female partners; cunnilingus.  Cf. oral-penile sex.

Orange Free State : O.F.S. : now South Africa.

orator : a public speaker; petitioner; a man of eloquence.

oratory : speech that is deliberately emotional or rhetorical.  Cf. declamation.

oratress : oratrix : a female orator.

orbitas : orbity.

orbity : orbitude : orbitas, orbitudo : the loss or want of parents or children; orphanage; the loss of a husband or wife; widowhood; any privation.

orbo : to bereave the loss of a spouse, parent, or child.

orbs : a triad of orbs; a typical sign for a pawnbroker.

orbus : [+ablative] bereft of, deprived, orphan; orphaned; child­less; widowed.

orbus liberis : deprived of children, childless.  Said of living persons, whereas deceased persons are said to have obiit sine prole ‘died without issue.’  Cf. sine prole.

orbus liberis masculis : bereft of male children.

orbus parentis : orphan, bereft of one’s parents.

orbus senex : deprived of elders, orphan.

ord. : ordained, ordinary, ordinance.

order : a fourth class of living beings, among at least seven orders of classification; a category more specific than class, but less specific than family.  If the taxonomist needs to subdivide an order, he may elect to use additional subclasses, such as superfamily, or stirps.  Cf. classification, taxonomy.

order : ordo : established process, method, regular disposition; command, precept, mandate; rank, class, a religious fraternity.

Order of Saint George: Order of the Garter.

Order of the Garter : [1344] an exclusive military knighthood that admits only 25 members at one time, and holds a solemn Feast on the Eve of Saint George’s Day, 23 April.  Each of the knights has a banner and stall in Saint George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, and that is where they assemble after the feast to conclude their ceremony.

ordin- : order.

ordo : order, nature.  Cf. nature.

Oreg. : OR : Oregon.

Oreithyia : the marcher queen of the Amazons.  Her domestic counterpart was Queen Hippolyte, seated at Themiscyra.  Cf. Amazon army of Oreithyia, Antiope, Hippolyte.

Orestes and Pylades : FaBrSo=Ph & FaBrSo=Er; ardent friends and lovers.  Orestes was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the brother of Electra.  His mother Clytemnestra fell in love with Ægisthus, and they conspired to murder Agamemnon.  The son Orestes fled to his uncle Strophius, King of Phocis, and thereafter became the ardent friend and lover of his cousin Pylades, son of Strophius.  The oracle of Delphi advised Orestes to avenge his father by murdering his mother, so Orestes later returned home to kill both his mother and her usurper lover.  Thereafter, the gods pursued and persecuted Orestes and his companion Pylades, but they were finally saved by Orestes’ sister Iphigenia, a priestess of Diana.  When Minerva was informed that the oracle of Delphi had instructed Orestes to kill his mother, she acquitted him of the crime.[46]

org. : organization.

organ and tissue transplantation: the second use of human organs and tissues for medical purposes.  Organs commonly transplanted today include the heart, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, liver, and intestines.  Tissues commonly transplanted are eyes, skin, bones, heart valves, veins, and tendons.  Eye donations usually figure as a separate category of transplant.  The United States has outlawed the buying and selling of human organs and tissues, but it has authorized a large network for assigning donated organs to registered candidates.  The donation of a single human body can conceivably benefit 50 other people.  During the 1990s, a Chinese exile alleged that the Chinese government was selling the bodies of death-row prisoners, but the Chinese government never answered the charges.

orgasm : the physiological release that characterizes the peak of sexual frenzy.  Orgasms are sometimes more frequent and often more pronounced in males rather than females.  Anthropologists have concluded that sexual orgasms must occur in female humans, macaques, and bonobos, but remain skeptical about the occurrence of physiological orgasms among other female primates.

orgies : [1353] Boccaccio described a secret society that met twice each month for feasting and sex orgies, in his Decameron (1353).  Cf. Free Spirit.

orientation : sexual orientation; a specific sexual preference within the continuum of sexual affections, which was defined by Kinsey as a range of seven grades, 0 through 6.  The middle grade 3 represents bisexuality, whereas the lowest and highest grades 0 and 6 represent the primary orientations of heterosexuality or homosexuality.  Cf. Kinsey.

orientation : the rearing of a child in his native or adoptive family.  Cf. family of orientation, family of procreation.

orig. : origin, original.

originative : [1827] creative; having the ability or potential to originate.  Cf. progenitive.

origo : origin, source, beginning.

origo gentis : origin of the gens.

oriri : to originate, start.

orisha : [Macumba] god.

-orium : -ory : place for.

oriundus : descended from.

oriundus fuit : it was descended from, it sprang from.

Ork. : Orkney Islands, Scotland.

Orlando : the half-male, half-female character invented by Vita Sackville-West.

orle : [1500] a decorative wreath worn around the point of a basinet helmet.

Orléans : Cf. Duc d’Orléans.

orlop : [1550 Du] overlop, overloop; deck; one of two decks above the waterline that were standard features of any large ship.[47]  Orlops were originally two partial decks, at the fore and aft of a ship, and the opening between the two orlops was reserved for cargo.  As ships grew even larger, the orlops were expanded to make a single deck running the entire length of the ship.  Thus, large ships came to have three decks, the upper deck, gundeck, and orlop.  Cf. false orlop.[48]

orlop : [1600 En] false orlop; a partial third deck of a large ship, devised as an additional hold below the waterline, for the stowage of cables and extra stores.[49]  The false orlop constituted the same kind of lower hold as the orlop originally had been, and it could be added below the waterline of a man-of-war or merchant ship as the fourth deck.  Cf. gundeck, upper deck.

orlop : [1650 En] the lowest, third deck of a large ship, built below the waterline, along the entire length of the vessel.[50]

ornaments outside the escutcheon : the ten ornaments that are typically shown around the shield, such as the crown, coronet, mitre, helmet, mantling, chapeux, wreath, crest, scroll, and supporter.

ornis : ornith- : [Gk] bird.

ornith- : ornis : [Gk] bird.

ornitho- : [Gk] bird, avus.

ornus : [Lt] Ae : æ : æ : \a\ : [Old En] aesc, æsc : the ash.

orphan : orphanus : a child deprived by death of one or both parents.  Approximately 483,000 orphans became available for adoption each year in the United States in the 1990s.  Cf. orbus.

orphan at birth : [1997] a child born of a surrogate mother but having no proximate, biological parents.  This extraordinary concept arose when Howard and Jean Garber determined to incubate a fertilized egg left behind by their deceased daughter.  The egg was fertilized by an anonymous sperm donor, frozen, and preserved with liquid nitrogen.  The resulting child would effectively have an unknown father and a dead mother at the moment of its birth.

orphan chamber : a office or court headed by an orphan master and charged with the administration of affairs pertaining to orphans, especially the settlement of inheritance, and the appointment of guardians.

orphan’s court : [1700] a state court established for the purpose of managing the affairs of orphans, and arranging guardianship, fosterage, and adoption.  Governments began to recognize orphans as wards of the state in the early seventeenth century, and this phrase thereafter became customary in the U.S.[51]

orphrey : elaborate embroidery that decorates church vestments and rich varieties of lay attire.

orta : she was born.  Cf. nata.

orth- : [Gk] straight, correct.

ortho cousins : parallel cousins, the offspring or lineal descendants of a same-sex pair of siblings, namely a pair of brothers, or a pair of sisters.  Cf. cousins, parallel cousins.

orthoepy : the study of the pronunciation of words.

orthography : the art or practice of spelling.

orthopsychology : the descriptive study of healthy conditions, both mental and emotional.[52]  Opp. psychopathology.

ortum ducere (duxit) ab : origin or birth leads from.

ortus : [masculine] he rose from, he was born, [+abl] he descended from.  Origin, birth, the rising of heavenly bodies in the east.  Cf. natus.

ortus : to be born.

ortus in Saxonia : he originated in Saxonia.[53]

Orunsen : [Yoruba] Oya.

-ory : -orium : place for.

os : [anthropology] opposite sex.  Opp. ss.

OS : Old Style.  The English OS Julian Calendar had has its New Year Lady Day or 25 March, so it was different from the Scottish New Style (NS) year, and different also from the continental Gregorian Calendar (GC) for a time.  Cf. JC, Julian Calendar.  Opp. GC, Gregorian calendar.

Osa : [Af] Oya.

-osa : -osus : -osum : -ous : -ose : full of.

-ose : -iose : full of.

-ose : -osus : -osa : -osum : full of.

-osis : [Gk] diseased condition of.

osmidrosis : perspiration with a peculiar smell.

OSp : Old Spanish.

ossuary : ossuarium : charnel house, burial chamber, a place where the bones of dead people are kept.  The ossuaries of Paris contain the remains of some 6 million people.  Cf. catacombs.

ost- : oste- : [Gk] bone.

oste- : ost- : [Gk] bone.

osteo- : [Gk] bone, os, ossis.

-osum : -osus : -osa : -ous : -ose : full of.

-osus : -osa : -osum : -ous : -ose : full of.

ot- : [Gk] ear.

Ote : Otue : Octubre : [Sp] October.

ote moa : ‘ote moa : [Otaheite] fellatio, as practiced by the mahu of Tahiti.  Cf. mahu.

oubliette : [Fr] secret dungeon, the place where a prisoner is forgotten and starved to death.  Cf. dungeon.

oud-oom : [Du] eldest.

oudste : [Du] eldest.

oud-tante : [Du] FaFaSi; grandaunt.

-ouna : [Hb] the female suffix patronymic.  Cf. -ova, -ovna.

ound- : und- : wave.

our : pertaining to us, belonging to us; a possessive pronoun.

Our … : Cf. Right trusty …

our fathers were brothers : clann na beirte dearbhráthar : [Ir] a descriptive Irish circumlocution for the English classificatory term cousin.[54]

Our right and trusty and entirely beloved cousin and counsellor : the Sovereign’s address to a marquess, provided the marquess is a Privy Councillor.  Cf. marquess.

Our right and trusty and well-beloved cousin and counsellor : the royal address for a viscount belonging to the Privy Council.[55]  Cf. viscount.

Our right trusty and entirely beloved cousin and counsellor : a royal address to an earl belonging to the Privy Council.[56]

Our right trusty and right entirely beloved cousin and counsellor : a royal address to a duke belonging to the Privy Council.[57]  Cf. duke.

ouraios : Cf. uraeus.

ouranography : [Gk] a description of the heavens.  Cf. Urania.

Ouranos : Uranus.  Cf. Oya.

Ouriganos : Hurricane, the west African thundergod, said to have given his name to English with the spelling hurricane.  Cf. Ouranos, Oya, Uranus.

Ouroboros the Dragon : the serpent who bites his own tail to symbolize a philosophical paradox.

ouros : [Gk] guardian; Guardian Queen.  Cf. Urana.

ouros : [Homeric Gk] mountain, implying the presence of a Mountain Goddess, Queen of the Winds.

ouros : [Homeric Gk] wind.  Wind power resides in the Queen of the Winds who inhabits a mountain cave, and sometimes speaks to visitors as an oracle.

ourus : Cf. urus.

-ous : -ious : -eous : full of.

-ous : -osus : -osa : -osum : full of.

outbox : a box containing replies and settlements waiting to be filed or posted.  Cf. letterbox.  Opp. inbox.

outhouse : barn, stable, coachhouse, or cowhouse attached or belonging to the main dwelling house.

outlander : foreigner, one of another country.

outlandish : foreign, not native.

-outlaw : [1997, new kin term] an affine analogous to an inlaw, but legally excluded from kinship, often emotionally divorced from affinity, and often physically barred from rites of passage.  Most jurisdictions in the U.S. consider same-sex liaisons to be illicit, and some consider homosexual relationships to be punishable.  Some Americans happen to recognize certain outlaws as real affines, practically equivalent to inlaws.  Some Americans happen to disavow and disclaim their outlaws, refusing to admit outlaws as affines.  Many same-sex relationships remain confidential and unacknowledged.  Therefore some outlaws might exist in fact, but never rise to the level of cognizance and affinity, and never achieve or realize any familial ties with their affined inlaws.  Opp. inlaw.

out-of-Africa theory : the evolutionary postulation that all species of mankind originated in Africa, and migrated to other parts of the world.  Homo erectus arose in Africa about 1,000,000 bc, and spread to China (Pekin man), Indonesia (Java man), and Australia.  Homo sapiens arose in Africa about 90,000 bc or 60,000 bc, and migrated into Europe about 35,000 bc, spreading to Mongolia, China, and Australia.  The migration out of Africa was probably not continuous and successive, for anthropologists have found evidence of coëvolution, suggesting that developments into homo sapiens might have resulted from local evolution.  Cf. Eve.

-ova : [Slovakian] the female suffix patronymic.  Cf. -ouna, -ovna.

ovaries : the pair of reproductive organs in a female that produce eggs.

ovary : ovarium : [1658] a reproductive organ in a female that produces eggs; the seed repository that contains the ovule.  In vertebrates, an ovary also produces female hormones.  Females normally have a pair of ovaries.

over and besides : [1524] in addition to.

overgrootmoeder : [Du] PaPaMo; great-grandmother.

overgrootvader : [Du] FaFaFa; great-grandfather.

ovi- : egg.

-ovich : [Rs] a patroymic suffix used to form a man’s byname, as in Ivanovich, meaning son of Ivan.  Cf. -ovna.

Ovimbundu : a people who reside in the Benguela Highlands of northern Angola, and are distinct from the Mbundu people who live north of them.

Ovimbundu shaman : a medicine man in northern Angola.[58]  Cf. Kimbundu shaman.

oviparous: bringing forth eggs; not vivparous.

-ovna : [Rs] a patronymic suffix used to make a woman’s byname, such as Ivanovna, meaning daugher of Ivan.  Cf. -ovich.

ovo- : egg.

ovulate : to produce eggs; to discharge eggs from the ovary.

ovulation : [1888] the production of eggs in an ovary, and the discharge of eggs from the ovary; the female aspect in the second period of prenatal change.  Cf. individuation, menstruation.

ovum : [1706] a female gamete; macrogamete.

OW : Old Welsh.

owl : a bird considered by the Chinese to be an evil omen.  Chinese legend holds that an owl will eat its own parents.

ox : a castrated bull used to pull a plough or wagon.  Cf. uxor.

Oxford : Oxon. : Isiacum : Isidis Vadum : Oxonia : Oxonia : Oxoniensis : Oxoniensibus : Oxonium : Oxforda : Oxfordia : Oxonium :

oxgang : bovate.

Oxon. : [suspension] Oxford, a abbreviation used to express almost any Latin declension of name Oxford.

Oya : [Af & Brazil] thundergod; the warrior goddess in the Macumba and Yoruba religions.  She is the sister of Yemanja and Oshun.[59]  Cf. Uranus.

Oyá : Oya : [Nigeria, Cuba] the twice-born Athena, first born as a woman, and reborn as a transvestite priest; the female aspect of Shango; macha [Sp], the masculine woman.  Oya’s color is purple, and she stands as the goddess of storms, lightning, windstorms, and volcanos, and therefore she is a female manifestation of Uranus.  She represents the nature of transformation, and therefore poses as the trickster goddess, cross-dressing as a man.  Her number is nine (9), and she wears a rainbow skirt of nine colors.  Her aspect called Ochumare represents a rainbow after a storm.  Oya is sometimes depicted with nine heads, which correspond to the nine tributaries of the River Niger, and her name gave rise to the city of Owo, Nigeria.  This lesbian goddess is equivalent to Osa in Africa, Orunsen in the Yoruba religion, Yansa in Brazil, Yequa in Puerto Rico.  Cf. Eshu (m), Iansa, Ochumare, Orunsen [Yoruba], Osa [Af], Pompagira (f); Shango (m), Yansa [Brazil], Yequa [PR].

oyer and terminer : a trial; literally to hear and determine.[60]

Oyster Island : [Du] the old Dutch name for Ellis Island, NY.