▪ I. or, n. Her.
(ɔː(r))
[a. F. or:—L. aurum gold.]
The tincture gold or yellow in armorial bearings.
| 1562 Leigh Armorie (1597) 1 b, I will begin with the most pretious mettall Golde: Or. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 973 Azure they bear three Eaglets Argentine, A Cheuron Ermin grailed Or between. 1646 G. Daniel Poems Wks. 1878 I. 44 And tell you how they beare Gules, or, vert, azure,—heathen words for Red, Yellow, green, blue. 1766 Porny Heraldry (1787) 20 Or, which signifies gold, and in colour yellow, is expressed by points, pricks, or dots... The precious Stone to which it is compared is Topaz, and the Planet Sol. 1875 Fortnum Maiolica ix. 79 These arms are paly gules and or, on a fess argent a dog in the act of bounding sable. |
b. or moulu, or molu: see ormolu.
▪ II. or, adv.1 (prep., conj.1) arch. and dial.
(ɔː(r), ə(r))
Forms: see below, and cf. air adv.
[OE. ár adv. (late Northumb.): cf. ON. ár, Goth. air, OE. ǽr, OTeut. *air (?) and *airi: see ere. In early ME. ār, are, later ôr, ore, oore. But in all the uses exc. A. 1 the sense is that of the comparative, OE. ǽr, Goth. airis, OHG. êr earlier, sooner, before.
The solitary O.Northumb. instance of adv. ár in A.I., with Ormin's ār, the ār, āre of Cursor M., and Sc. are, air, can only be from the ON. positive adv. ár ‘early’. To the same origin must be assigned, so far as form goes, the Early ME. and north. ār, midl. ôr, in A. II (ôre having assumed an adverbial -e, as in there, where, etc.). But the sense here is that of the OE. comparative ǽr, ME. êr, êre: as ār existed side by side with êr in the positive, it may have intruded also into the comparative, in which êr, ere, from OE. ǽr, was the only etymological form. In this sense Sc. still has air. B. and C. have, beside er, ere, the form or in midl. (before 1225). In 13–14th c. ar (are) is found in the north, but appears soon to have been displaced by the midl. or, which is still the ordinary northern word. The northern texts of Cursor M. have the prepositional and conjunctive ar (are); but or occurs also in the Cott. text, and is frequent in Fairf. In Sc., Bearder finds the prep. or at first only in Barbour (Ueber den Gebrauch der Präpositionen in der altschott. Poesie, Halle 1894, p. 43). Ar (are) occurs also in 13–14th c. southern writings; there it may have originated in an unstressed form of OE. ǽr. The relations between the positive and comparative of this adv. present complications in all the cognate langs. In all the WGer. group, also, the comparative has developed prepositional and conjunctive uses, as in English.]
A. adv. I. As a positive (1 ár, 2–3 ār; Sc. 4–6 are, 5– air: see air adv.).
† 1. Early, at an early hour; = air adv. 2, ere. Obs.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xx. 1 Qui exiit primo mane, glossed seðe foerde ærist vel ár in merne. c 1200 Ormin 6242 Beon ar & lăte o ȝunnkerr weorrc. a 1300 Cursor M. 19033 (Edin., Cott., Gött.) Desseli baþe late and are. 1300– [see air adv. 2]. |
II. As comparative (3–4 ār, 4 aar, 5–6 Sc. air; 3– 4 ōr, 4–5 ore, 5 oore, hoore, ȝore).
† 2. At an earlier time; earlier, sooner; = ere A. 2.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 10147 Cador & hyse..to þe hauen wel raþer [v.r. ore] cam Er any Saxon to schipe nam. c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 1061 Bitwene this and the thrid night, And ar if that it are myght be. |
† 3. At a former time, on a former occasion; formerly, before; = air adv. 1, ere A. 4. Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 28687 Þa at þan fehte ar weoren. a 1300 Cursor M. 511 (Cott.) Als i tald ar [F. are, Gött. or]. Ibid. 870 (C., F., G.) Þis said i are [Tr. ere]. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 8 He sette þe Inglis to be þralle, þat or was so fre. 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 425 Mi sore Þat is dedeliche, as y seyd ore. c 1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. iii. 410 If she fayr and bryght were hoore [= ore], It is a-mended an hundird part more As to his sight. a 1450 Le Morte Arth. 2202 He thought on thyngis that bene ore. a 1500 Childe of Bristowe 342 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 123 Into the chamber he went that tide..And knelid, as he dud ore. |
† b. Before something else, in the first place. Obs.
| c 1220 Bestiary 139 Oc he speweð or al ðe uenim ðat in his brest is bred. Ibid. 208 Oc or sei ðu in scrifte to ðe prest sinnes tine [= þine]. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 88 Fro ðat time we tellen ay, Or ðe niȝt and after ðe day. a 1300 Cursor M. 916 (Cott., F., Gött.) For i most couer mi tinsal are [Tr. furst]. c 1300 Havelok 728 But or he hauede michel shame. |
B. prep. (3–5 ar, (4 are), 3– or).
1. Before (in time); = ere B. 1.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 645 So ðe flod flet de dunes on; fowerti ȝer or domes-dai. a 1300 Cursor M. 11383 (Cott.) A tuel⁓month ar [Gött. are, Tr. or] þe natiuite. 1375 Barbour Bruce xx. 607 It wes neuir led or his day So weill. a 1425 Cursor M. 9830 (Tr.) Neuer ar þis. 1467–8 Rolls of Parlt. V. 622/2 Which had been doon or that tyme. 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1570) 167 To dye or their day. 1564 Grindal Fun. Serm. 3 Oct., Wks. (Parker Soc.) 16 So should we have had the Turk, or this day, to have come to our own doors. 1632 Lithgow Trav. iv. 141 He came..in the morning ouer to Constantinople; and long or midday turned Turke. Mod. Sc. Ye'll be ower the hill lang or nicht. |
b. In the following there appears to be confusion with the conjunctive or ere (C. 1 e), for or e'er, or ever, but used simply as = ere, before.
| 1629 Milton Ode Christ's Nativity 86 The Shepherds on the Lawn, Or ere the point of dawn, Sate simply chatting in a rustick row. 1811 Wordsw. Ep. to Sir G. H. Beaumont 95 And long or ere the uprising of the Sun O'er dew-damped dust our journey was begun. |
2. Before an adv. of time taken subst., as long, now, etc., forming an advb. phrase: cf. erelong, erenow, etc.; = ere B. 2.
| a 1450 Cursor M. 17785 (Laud) Ye wold nevir yt leve or now. c 1460 Towneley Myst. vi. 4, I cam neuer or now where I am. 1559–60 MS. Cott. Cal. B. ix, The mater had bene lang or now compounded. 1786 Burns Earnest Cry & Prayer xv, I'll wad my new pleugh-pettle, Ye'll see't or lang. Mod. Sc. He'd been there oft or than, Ise warran'. I've seen him lang or now. |
C. conj. (or conjunctive adv.). (3–4 ar, (4 are), 3– or.)
1. Of time: Before (= L. priusquam, F. avant que). † a. in a conjunctional phrase: (a) or than, (b) or that: see ere C. 1 a. Obs.
| (a) c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2435 Or ðan he wiste off werlde faren, He [Jacob] bade hise kinde to him charen. 1382 Wyclif Gen. xxvii. 10 Whan..he etith, he blisse to thee or than [Vulg. priusquam, 1388 bifore that] he die. 1465 Paston Lett. II. 199 They were delyveryd owt of pryson or than the massenger come ageyn. 1506 Sir R. Guylforde Pilgr. (Camden) 39 Or than we rose from the borde the warden rose. |
| (b) a 1300 Cursor M. 2810 Are þat [Gött. ar þan, F. or þat, Tr. ar þat] hit be sunken don. Ibid. 4976 Ar þat [F. or]. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 2212 (Harl. MS.) Or [v.r. er] þat we departe fro þis place. 1542 Boorde Dyetary vii. (1870) 242 He must prouyde for necessarye thynges or that he begyn howseholde. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer Consecr. Bishops, Our savioure Christe continued the whole night in praier, or euer that [1662 before] he did chose and sende furth his xii Apostles. 1721 St. German's Doctor & Stud. 102, I would here..ask thee another question, or that I make answer to thine. |
b. Or alone, in same sense.
| c 1220 Bestiary 91 Or he bicumeð cristen. Ibid. 94 Or he it biðenken can, hise eȝen weren mirke. 13.. Cursor M. 710 (Cott.) Ar [F. or] Adam had fordon þe grith. Ibid. 5578 (Cott.) Born or he þis werld wroght [F. or þis werlde was wroȝt]. c 1330 Owain Miles 32 Now turn oȝain or to late, Ar we the put in at helle gate. c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1051 Yhit wil I mare say, Ar I pas fra þis mater away. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon i. 41 Lete us ryde hastely towarde Troy or it be take. 1535 Coverdale Prov. iv. 19 Wherin men fall or they be awarre. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. 108 Wil you drink or you go, or wil you go or you drinke? 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 169 Leaue it or it leaue you. 1665 Howard & Dryden Ind. Queen v. i, We must go meet them or it be too late. 1725 Ramsay Gent. Sheph. v. ii, Ye intend to..take your leave of Patrick or he gang. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. II. iii. 119 Yet or fell the night He rose. 1886 Stevenson Kidnapped xviii. 173 Ye shall taigle many a weary foot, or we get clear. |
† c. With redundant or, or equivalent adv.; = ere C. 1 c. Obs.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1506 Ðe firme sune..sulde auen ðe bliscing Or or ðe fader dede his ending. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 650 Ȝyf þou trowyst þat he was noghte Before or þe worlde was wroghte. c 1330 ― Chron. (1810) 74 Or Roberd wist, or þouht on suilk a dede, Ore was his hous on fire, þer Sir Robert lay. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 864 Hir yen greye..That laughede ay in hir semblaunt, First or the mouth, by covenaunt. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) viii. 83 Before or þei resceyue hem, þei knelen doun. 1485 Caxton Paris & V. 30 Tofore or he wente to hys bedde. |
d. with the addition of ever, e'er: cf. ere C. 1 d.
Ever adds emphasis: or ever = before ever, before even, before..at all, or in any way; see ever 8 c. But, in many early instances, or ever does not perceptibly differ from the simple or, ere, or before, whence perh. the later spelling or ere; see e.
| 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. v, Or ever I stent, my best was more to loke Upon the writings of this nobil man. 1450 Rolls of Parlt. V. 202/2 Make the aweners..paye, or ever they can gete deliveraunce. 1526 Tindale John iv. 49 Syr come awaye or ever that my chylde deye. 1599 Hakluyt Voy. II. 101, I was two dayes after or ever I could get in. 1606 G. W[oodcocke] Hist. Ivstine iii. 20 They..put forth to sea, or euer the Lacedemonians got knowledge of them. 1611 Bible Dan. vi. 24 And the Lyons..brake all their bones in pieces or euer they came at the bottome of the den. 1752 Wesley Wks. (1872) X. 223 Thou accursed Spirit! damned or ever thou wert born! 1784 Cowper Task i. 67 Long time elapsed or e'er our rugged sires Complain'd. 1846 Keble Lyra Innoc. (1873) 76 Stay thee, sad heart, or e'er thou breathe thy plaint. 1879 C. Rossetti Seek & F. 246 Or ever He ascended up where he was before. Mod. Sc. An' or ever I wust, there I was i' the mids o' them! |
e. or ere, for or e'er, or ever: see d, and B. 1 b.
| 1568 U. Fulwell Like Will to Like in Hazl. Dodsley III. 349 Thou shalt have somewhat of me, or ere I go. 1605 Shakes. Lear ii. iv. 288 But this heart shal break into a hundred thousand flawes Or ere Ile weepe. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. To Rdr., Forthwith or ere I could well help it, I fell a Roving. 1823 Lockhart Span. Ball., Calaynos xiii, For his soul shall dwell with him in hell, or ere yon sun go down! 1851 Mrs. Browning Casa Guidi Wind. i. 133 That not a letter of the meaning fall Or ere it touch and teach His world's deep heart. |
2. Of preference: Sooner than, rather than; = ere C. 2.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 9815 (Cott.) His hert aght ar at-brest in thrin Ar fra his comamentes tuin [Gött. Or aght his herte brest o thrinne, Or fra his comandementis tuinne]. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 502 Þe red noble Is reuerenced or [C. xviii. 201 by-fore] þe Rode. c 1470 Golagros & Gaw. 511 Or thay be dantit with dreid, erar will thai de. 1514 Earl of Worcester in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. I. 244 Never man..better loved his wife than he did, but or he wold have suche a woman abought hur, he hadde lever be without hur. 1567 Drant Horace, Epistles Ep. xvii. F j, Or he would weare a suite of silke the winter should him kil. 1814 Scott Wav. xlii, He wald scroll for a plack the sheet, or she kenn'd what it was to want. Mod. Sc. I wad sterve or I wad be obleig't to the like o' him. |
† 3. After a comparative or other: = Than. Obs.
Northern, and in later use only Sc.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1510 And hauen mete ðan, at is mel, More or ðe ȝungere twinne del. Ibid. 2928 Ðoȝ deden wiches ðo men to sen On oðere wise or soðe ben. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1543 To yow þat..weldez more slyȝt Of þat art..or a hundreth of seche As I am. 1513 Douglas æneis v. viii. 88 Felis thow nocht ȝit, quod he, Othir strenth or mannis force has delt with the? 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 135 Rather or thow suld ly in paine. 1637–50 Row Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.) 500 The Marques of Hunteley obtained more subscriptions..in the toune and shyre of Aberdeen and Bamff or any other. |
† 4. = Lest. Sc. Obs. rare.
| c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 272 That gud man dred or Wallace suld be tane; For Suthroun ar full sutaille euirilk man. |
▪ III. † or, adv.2 Obs. rare.
[? a. Fr. or now.]
As an introductory particle: = Now.
| 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) iv. xxix. (1859) 61 Or this ymage signyfyed the kynge Nabugodonosor. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 1165 Or Salomones throne had greces sex, als I saide toforne. |
▪ IV. or, conj.2 (adv.3)
(ɔː(r), ə(r))
Forms: see below.
[A phonetically reduced form of the obs. other conj., which, when disyllabic, Ormin wrote oþerr, when monosyllabic and unstressed, oþþr before a vowel, orr before a cons. The e. midl. dial. had or c 1250; and c 1300 or was in common use in north midl. and northern writers; though the fuller oþer, other continued in use, esp. in the south, till late in the 16th c. Or is properly the conjunction, not the associated adv. (see sense 2), which continued to be other, or outher, in modern Standard Eng. either (i.e. either..or); though or..or also occurs: see sense 3. Forms parallel to or are ar (reduced from aþer), er (from either); our, treated here, may be reduced from outher.]
A. Illustration of the evolution of or out of other, and of some variant forms.
(α) 3 oþer, oþþr, orr, or.
| c 1200 Ormin 6480 Her iss litell oþerr nohht I þiss land. Ibid. 16100 [Þa] þatt sellenn Haliȝ Gast..Att fullhtninng, oþerr att hanndgang, Oþþr att hadinng, forr mede. Ibid. 7588 Þatt lac..Wass tweȝȝen cullfre briddess..Oþþr itt wass tweȝȝen turrtless. Ibid. 10882 Hofenn upp and hadedd Till bisscopp orr till unnderrpreost. Ibid. 11843 To don ohht orr to spekenn ohht off ifell. c 1250 queðer..or [see B. 2 c]. ? a 1300 oþer..or [see B. 2]. c 1300 Havelok 977 King or cayser forto be. |
(β) 4 our, ouer, ouir, 4–5 ore.
| 13.. Cursor M. 19523–25 (Edinb.) Godis uirtu our [other MSS. or] grete prophete, our angel ellis þai him lete, our godis sune ellis þai him helde. Ibid. 19715 Nichte ouir [other MSS. or] dai. Ibid. 23425 Wit þi fot to ouircast a fel, ouer [other MSS. or] al þis erþe. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paulus) 737 How hard panis, ore how sar His modir tholit. a 1400–50 Alexander 2260 (Ashm. MS.) Of sum threuyn gome Of were ore [Dubl. MS. or] of wristilling. |
B. Signification. I. 1. generally. A particle co-ordinating two (or more) words, phrases, or clauses, between which there is an alternative. or otherwise: see otherwise n. phr., adv., a. A. c; or something: see something n., (a.), and adv.
Things so co-ordinated may differ in nature, or quality, or merely in quantity, in which case the one may include the other, as in ‘it will cost a pound or thirty shillings’, ‘two or three minutes’, ‘a word or two’. The second member may also express a correction or modification of the first, which may be strengthened by expanding or to or even, or rather, or at least.
| c 1200 [see A. α above]. c 1300 Havelok 573–4 Leoun or wulf, wuluine or bere Or oþer best þat wolde him dere. Ibid. 612–13 He shal him hangen, or quik flo, Or he shal him al quic graue. Ibid. 2101 Þan birþe men casten hem in poles, or in a grip, or in þe fen. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 154 If werre or wo had risen. 1382 Wyclif Matt. xviii. 20 Where two or three shulen be gedrid in my name. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 813 Be it of werre or pees, or hate or loue. 1483 Cath. Angl. 260/2 Or, aut, vel, sev, que. 1513 Douglas æneis vi. Prol. 39 Twichand our faith mony clausis he fand, Quhilk bene conforme, or than collaterall. a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV 232 b, No man hathe sene a better counterfaytor or player in any Comedie or Tragedie. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 583 And all who since, Baptiz'd or Infidel, Jousted in Aspramont or Montalban. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 45 ¶1, I took a Walk a Mile or Two out of Town. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. i, The year was spent in moral or rural amusements. 1776 Trial of Nundocomar 61/2 Did you send a verbal or a written message? 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 439 He heeded not Me or my sorrow. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) III. 485 The possession of the others or other of them. 1835 Chambers' Informat. II. 282/1 It is generally flat or but slightly undulating. 1861 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 45 A vine or two. Mod. You may walk ten or even twelve miles without finding one. |
b. When singular subjects (n. or pron.) are co-ordinated by or, strict logic and the rules of modern grammarians require the vb. and following pronouns to be singular; but at all times there has been a tendency to use the plural with two or more singular subjects when their mutual exclusion is not emphasized.
When the subjects differ in number or person, the rule is that the vb. and pronouns should agree with the last or nearest, e.g. ‘I or thou art to blame’, ‘I, or thou, or he is the author of it’ (Lindley Murray); but such constructions are apt to seem stiff and pedantic, and are consequently avoided. The question of gender causes further complication—esp. the want of a 3rd pers. pron. of common gender. To say either ‘if he or she has his friends with him’ or ‘if he or she has her friends with her’ may be misleading, while ‘if he or she has his or her friends with him or her’ is clumsy and pedantic, which is avoided by saying ‘have their friends with them’; so ‘Your brother or sister will lend their aid’. These difficulties appear to have been felt at all times, and have been sometimes avoided by making the verb immediately precede or follow the first subject, and agree with it.
| [13.. K. Alis. 75 Whan kyng, other eorl, cam on him to weorre.] 1601 B. Jonson Poetaster ii. i, As soon as ever your maid or your man brings you word. 1621 Hakewill David's Vow 328 A great towne or a great Personages house, if they bee good, do much good to the Countrey. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xiii. vi, Among whose vices ill-nature or hardness of heart were not numbered. 1813 Scott Rokeby ii. xxiv, Wilfrid, or Bertram raves, or you! a 1822 Shelley Ess., etc. II. 249 note, Tacitus, or Livius, or Herodotus, are equally undelightful and uninstructive in translation. 1823 Syd. Smith Mem. (1855) II. 234 Friendship, or propriety, or principle are sacrificed. 1849 Ruskin Sev. Lamps 126 If Tintoret or Giorgione are at hand. 1855 Fitzjames Stephen in Cambr. Ess. 176 Scott or Sir E. Lytton have generally some funny man. 1867 M. Arnold Celtic Lit. 162 Novalis or Rückert, for instance, have their eye fixed on nature. 1873 L. Stephen Ess. Freespeak. 127 The Pope, or the Archbishop of Canterbury, or even Mr. Spurgeon, are much more satisfactory guides than the prophets of the revolution. 1874 ― Hours in Library Ser. i. 273 Mr. Darwin or Barnum would claim him as their own. 1875 Gladstone Glean. VI. 179 Why should we expect of the Bishop,..or of the Judge,..that they should be adepts in historical research? 1879 Geo. Eliot Theo. Such 339 The corpus vile on which rage or wantonness vented themselves with impunity. |
c. In modern colloq. use or can introduce an emphatic repetition of a rhetorical question.
| 1939 P. Cheyney Poison Ivy vii. 122 Just then Mirabelle comes through [on the telephone]. Has that dame gotta a swell voice or has she? Ibid. xii. 198, I blew in here a coupla hours ago on the Minnetonka, an' directly I read the papers an' saw that you was stuck here, did I run here or did I? 1946 ‘Brahms’ & ‘Simon’ Trottie True vii. 201 ‘Well,’ said Bradford, torn between pride and regret, ‘she may be going to marry a Lord, but can I pick 'em or can I pick 'em?’ |
2. a. The alternative expressed by or is emphasized by prefixing to the first member, or adding after the last, the associated adverb either, formerly other or outher (the latter still in dialect use): e.g. ‘you may have either an apple or a pear’; ‘I could eat an apple or a pear either’.
The primary function of either, etc., is to emphasize the perfect indifference of the two (or more) things or courses; e.g. ‘you may take either the medal or its value’ = the medal and its value are equally at your option, you may take either; but a secondary function is to emphasize the mutual exclusiveness, = either of the two, but not both. For full illustration, see either, other, outher; the following are early examples of the various forms:
| ? a 1300 Cursor M. 5855 (Cott.) Þat I suld oþer [Gött. ethir] here his saand, Or lat þe folk vte o mi land. Ibid. 9838 (Cott.) Þat wanted oiþer [Gött. eyder, Fairf. ethir, Trin. ouþer] fote or hand. c 1300 Havelok 94–5 Oþer he refte him hors or wede, Or made him sone handes sprede. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 5 Eythir [Tanner either]..in heuene or in helle. |
¶ b. Or occurs also after neither, where the normal conjunction is nor. See these words.
| 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xxvi. 37 We fynd nat aunciently, that..Scotlande shulde..be subgiet to the realme of Ingland, nother by homage, or any other wayes. 1597 Beard Theatre God's Judgem. (1612) 129 There is neither scepter, crowne, stay, or strength of man that is able to hinder and turne aside the hand of the Almightie. a 1648 Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 221 From which they saw neither profit or honour likely to ensue. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. II. 516 An horse that had neither good eyes or feet. 1713 Steele Guard. No. 5 ¶4 Neither strict piety, diligence in domestick affairs, or any other avocation, have preserved her against love. 1757 Burke Abridg. Eng. Hist. Wks. (1812) 4 Neither on the one side or on the other. 1812 Southey Omniana I. 310 Morality can neither be produced or preserved in a people..without true religion. 1822 Heber Life Jer. Taylor p. clxxxvi. 1864 Ruskin Fors Clav. xlviii. 267 Neither rabbits at Coniston, road-surveyors at Croydon, or mud in St. Giles's. 1882 Freeman in Life & Lett. (1895) II. 267 Neither Reformers in the sixteenth century or Puritans in the seventeenth century strove in any sense for ‘religious liberty’. |
c. Or is used after whether: see whether.
Here oðer, or, took the place of the earlier disjunctive particle, OE. þe (OS. the, OFris. tha, Goth. þau). The following examples show the introduction of or:—
| [c 1205 Lay 9464–5 Heo..axeden wheðer he wolde grið þe he wolde unfrið [c 1275 oþer fiht ȝam wiþ]. c 1200 Ormin 528 Wheþþr..i þe firrste lott Oþþr i þatt comm þæraffterr. a 1225 Leg. St. Kath. 2313 Loke nu..hweðer þe beo leuere don þat ich leare..oðer þis ilke dei..deien. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3272 Egipcienes woren in twired wen, queðer he sulden folȝen or flen. 13.. Cursor M. 22167 (Edinb.) Queþir þate he be criste ouir [other MSS. or] nai. 1382 Wyclif Gen. xxvii. 21 Whethir [1388 wher] thow be my sone Esau, or noon. c 1440 Ipomydon 1844 Whethyr will ye come or nay? |
3. a. or..or is sometimes used in the sense of either..or: this is now poetic.
Formerly, sometimes a literalism of translation (cf. L. aut..aut, F. ou..ou), but perh. sometimes an actual phonetic reduction of other..other, other..or: cf. wher..or for whether..or.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 494 Þan fell þai depe, or lesse or mare. ― Ibid. 10490 Allas! allas! Þat i or born or geten was! c 1325 Poem times Edw. II (Percy Soc.) iv, Or he shal sing si dedero, or all gaineth him nouht. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 124 Ȝif he heere treuthe or o tyme or oþer. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 182 And alle tho that hadden be Or in appert or in prive. 1474 Caxton Chesse 7 Or thou art a god or a man or nought. 1576 Gascoigne Steele Gl. (Arb.) 69 He would never take or bribe or rich reward. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. i. i. 137 Loth to leaue vnsought Or that, or any place. 1615 Day Festivals xii. 325 You are not all of you, or Husbands, or Parents, or Maisters; or Wives, or Children, or Servants; or Virgins, or Widowes. 1715–20 Pope Iliad xii. 396 Or let us glory gain, or glory give! 1798 Coleridge Anc. Mar. vi. iv, Without or wave or wind. 1867 J. Ingelow Story of Doom vii. 266 Learn that to love is the one way to know Or God or man. |
† b. or..or occurs with alternative questions, direct or indirect; = whether..or. (Or alone = ‘whether’ is rare, and prob. only repr. L. an.)
| 1382 Wyclif Ecclus. xlvi. 5 Or not in wrathefulnesse of hym is lettid the sunne? [Vulg. an non; 1388 Whether the sunne was not lettid in the wrathful?] 1510 Virgilius in Thoms E.E. Rom. 23 He asked the lordes..or they wolde thereforre warre. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Mar. 29 Or hast thy selfe his slomber broke? Or made preuie to the same? 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iii. ii. 64 Tell me where is fancie bred, Or in the heart, or in the head? c 1600 ― Sonn. cxiv, Or whether doth my mind..Drink up the monarch's plague, this flattery? Or whether shall I say [etc.]? 1611 ― Cymb. iv. ii. 356 How? a Page? Or dead, or sleeping on him? 1623 Webster Devil's Law Case ii. iii, Denied Christian burial! I pray, what does that? Or the dead lazy march in the funeral? Or the flattery in the epitaphs? 1734 Pope Ess. Man iv. 245–6 Alike or when, or where, they shone, or shine, Or on the Rubicon, or on the Rhine. |
4. After a primary statement, or appends a secondary alternative, or consequence of setting aside the primary statement: = otherwise, else; in any other case; if not.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 44 He said..He wild haf treuage, or brenne alle þat he fond. c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 95 Loue me al atones, Or I wol dyen. a 1440 Sir Degrev. 156 He preyd hem to do him ryght, Ar telle hyme whereffore. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. ii. iv. 38 Then let thy Loue be yonger then thy selfe, Or thy affection cannot hold the bent. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 330 Awake, arise, or be for ever fall'n. 1703 Rowe Fair Penit. i. i. 273 Waking I dream, or I beheld Lothario. 1791 Cowper Iliad i. 95, I judge amiss, or he who rules the Argives..will be incensed. 1820 Keats Eve St. Agnes xxvi, But dares not look behind or all the charm is fled. 1840 P. Parley's Ann. 82 Leave off, sir, or I will cane you again. 1860 Abp. Thomson Laws Th. Introd. 2 [This] was an experimental discovery, or why did the discoverer sacrifice a hecatomb? Mod. It is my brother, or I'm a Dutchman! |
5. or else (also formerly as one word orels, or(r)ellis): = or if not, or otherwise; = sense 4: see else 4 b. † Formerly also = senses 1, 2. See also else adv. 4 b.
| a 1300– [see else 4 b]. 1475 Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.) 30 And takethe theire congie and licence..orellis they departethe bethout licence. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 21 To dye in their propre lande orellis ferre from thens. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 956 Is now orels shalbe. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. xxv. (1539) 48 Orels to tye a rope faste. 1526 Tindale Matt. xvi. 27 Whatt shall hit proffet a man yf he shulde wyn all the whoole warlde: so he loose hys owne soule? Or els what shall a man geve to redeme hys soule agayne with all? a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV 233 If either y⊇ Constable had bene faithfull to.., or els had kept his promes. 1577 Whetstone Life Gascoigne xl, In wo orels in endles blis. |
6. Or connects two words denoting the same thing: = otherwise called, that is (= L. vel. sive).
| c 1200 Ormin 480 An hæfedd prest..Þatt ta [= þa] bi name nemmnedd wass Abyuþþ oþþr Abyas. 1382–1420 Wyclif Gen. iii. 19 In the swoot of thi chere, or face, thou shalt ete þi brede. 1548 Turner Names of Herbes, Asplenum or asplenium named in greke asplenon, or Scolopendrion. Ibid., Helxine or pardition is called in englishe Parietorie or Pelletorie of the wal. Ibid. s.v. Rumex, With a sharper toppe or ende of the leafe. 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. xcvi. 276 The tame or garden Nigella is agayne parted into two sortes. Ibid. 277 Small knops or heads. 1608 Topsell Serpents (1658) 777 Of the Tame or House Spider. 1671 Grew Anat. Plants iv. §8 These Vascular Threds or Fibres. 1842 Act 5 & 6 Vict. c. 79 §17 From the centre of the track of the right or off wheel to the centre of the track of the left or near wheel. 1857 Chambers' Informat. II. 297/1 Australia or New Holland..Papua or New Guinea..Van Diemen's Land or Tasmania. Mod. Using a common or garden spade. |
7. Or introduces questions which, in the character of an afterthought, cast doubt on a preceding assertion or on the presuppositions behind a preceding statement or question.
| c 1907 W. B. Yeats Let. 4 July (1954) 483, I suppose the matter is technically your concern as well as mine, or is it? 1924 R. Macaulay Orphan Island xvi. 212 Matilda had the laugh of the bees after all. Or did she? I'm not so sure! 1930 E. Waugh Vile Bodies iv. 59 It really would serve him right if..he lost his job, don't you think so, Sir James..or don't you? Ibid. x. 203 They shouldn't put up symbols like that in the middle of the road, should they, or should they? 1935 V. Markham Deadly Jest xi. 138 They couldn't have come from the servants' quarters or you'd have heard. Or would you? You were dropping off. 1937 W. Faulkner Monk in Scribner's Mag. May 22/2 You force me to do what, for all you know, may be against my own principles too—or do you grant me principles? 1937 D. L. Sayers Busman's Honeymoon xii. 251 These spiky cactus-affairs didn't like too much damp. Or did they? 1950 A. White Lost Traveller iv. iv. 186 ‘Don't let's speak of falling in love, even as a joke.’ ‘Ah, but I want to speak of it,’ he said... ‘Or do I? I was certain I did when I ran into you this afternoon. Now I'm not so sure.’ 1954 ‘H. Cecil’ According to Evidence i. 16 But you didn't need any help, did you? Or did you? 1956 H. McCloy Two-Thirds of Ghost (1957) i. 8 Vera must know how everyone who cared for Amos felt about her. Or did she? Probably not. 1962 I. Murdoch Unofficial Rose i. 12 She must surely, he reminded himself, be fourteen now. Or was she? 1971 Times 20 Oct. (Motoring Suppl.) p. ii/7 The connoisseur needs taste, a limitless cheque book and the ability to differentiate at the level of an expert. Or does he? He can be impulsive, illogical and tasteless. Or can he? |
II. 8. As n.2 or adj. A Boolean function of two or more variables that has the value unity if at least one of them is unity, and is otherwise zero; also called inclusive or (= L. vel); also (exclusive or), a function that has the value unity if at least one, but not all, of the variables are unity; (= L. aut). Usu. attrib. and in capitals, esp. designating devices for realizing this function.
| [1938 C. E. Shannon in Trans. Amer. Inst. Electr. Engin. LVII. 718/1 There are many special types of relays and switches... The operation of all these types may be described with the words ‘or’, ‘and’, ‘if’, ‘operated’, and ‘not operated’. 1940 W. V. Quine Math. Logic i. 12 When ‘or’ is used in the inclusive sense..joint truth of the components verifies the compound. An ‘or’-compound in this sense can be expressed more clearly by adding the words ‘or both’. Ibid. 13 The exclusive use of ‘or’ is not frequent enough in technical developments to warrant a special name and symbol.] 1947 Proc. IRE XXXV. 758/1 The ‘or’ operation is performed by a ‘buffing’ circuit. 1949 E. C. Berkeley Giant Brains ix. 149 The ‘or’ (as in statement 7) that is defined in the truth table is often called the inclusive ‘or’ and means ‘and/or’. Statement 7, ‘1 or 2’, is considered to be the same as ‘1 or 2 or both’. There is another ‘or’ in common use, often called the exclusive ‘or’, meaning ‘or else’. 1950 [see not n. 3]. 1959 Electronic Engin. XXXI. 591/2 The two input lines are fed into an ‘or’ circuit,..which gives out a pulse whenever a pulse is received on one or both inputs. 1969 J. J. Sparkes Transistor Switching iv. 100 or gates in one logic system are and gates in the other. 1970 O. Dopping Computers & Data Processing i. 25 Several functions can be combined in one and the same equation... The order in which different operations are taken is important. The normal order is not, and, or in decreasing order of priority. 1971 J. H. Smith Digital Logic iv. 45 OR units are not extensively employed because they are usually constructed with components such as diodes, which have no amplification. 1972 [see not n. 3]. |
▪ V. or
var. hor, her Obs. poss. pron., ‘their’.
▪ VI. or
obs. form of ore, o'er (over), your.