oi
interjectionnouninterjectionpronouninterjectioncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ɔɪ//
Said to get someone's attention; hey.
interjection
- 1
Said to get someone's attention; hey.
Oi, you with the red hat – what do you think you're doing?
Oi! Stop that!
- 2
An expression of surprise.
Oi! This is new!
- 3
An informal greeting, similar to hi.
Oi! How's it going?
Etymology
Variant of the interjection hoy with h-dropping in working class and Cockney speech; first recorded in the 1930s. Compare also unrelated Portuguese oi and Japanese おい (oi).
noun
- 1
An exclamation of 'oi'.
Such is the vocal power of water bailiffs and farmers that their ‘Ois!’ can be projected at small boys from anything up to five miles away and still induce heart-failure.
- 2
A working-class punk rock subgenre of the 1970s, sometimes associated with racism.
A way for Oi musicians to avoid responsibility for acts of violence that were preceded by listening to Oi is the claim that what people do with their music is out of the control of the musicians themselves.
Oi! is characterized by cleaner guitars and slower tempos than most punk music, and many Oi! songs feature sing-along, "soccer chant" choruses.
interjection
- 1
Variant of oyAlternative spelling of oy.
Etymology
Variant of oy, from Yiddish.
pronoun
- 1
Eye dialect of I
Why, where be oi, and what be oi a doin’, / A sleepin’ out, just when the dews du rise?
interjection
- 1
Variant of oyAlternative spelling of oy.
Etymology
Borrowed from oyez, 2nd person plural imperative of the verb oir (“to listen”), as used as an interjection in duplicated form “Oyez, oyez” by public speakers of medieval times to draw attention before a public address; see oi oi.
Forms
- plural
- ois
oi · Said to get someone's attention; hey.
oil · Liquid fat.Oil · A surname from Indonesianoily · Covered with or containing oil.