ought
UK /ɔːt/ · US /ɔt/ verb, noun
Also a form of owe
Forms oughts
- verb Indicating duty or obligation. “I ought to vote in the coming election.”
- verb Indicating advisability or prudence. “You ought to always stand back from the edge of the platform.”
- verb Indicating desirability. “He ought to read the book; it was very good.”
- verb Indicating likelihood or probability. “We ought to arrive by noon if we take the motorway, shouldn't we?”
- noun (philosophy, metaphysics) A statement of what ought to be the case as contrasted with what is the case.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English oughte, aughte, aȝte, ahte, from Old English āhte, first and third person singular past tense of Old English āgan (“to own, possess”), equivalent to owe + -t.
Cognate with Sanskrit ईश्वर (īśvará, “capable of, liable”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun See Aught.
- verb Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Obs.]
- verb Owned; possessed. [Obs.]
Etymology [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ought”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details