noun
jo
jo
noun
1
A sweetheart or darling (chiefly Scots).
"The old ballad calls out to "my bonnie jo.""
2
A wooden staff used in the Japanese martial art of jōdō.
"Students practiced strikes and blocks with the jo."
How to Use Jo
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAn old Scots term of endearment, or a martial-arts staff — two unrelated words that happen to be spelled the same.
Word Forms
jos plural, jo plural
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The old ballad calls out to "my bonnie _____."
Etymology
The "sweetheart" sense comes from Scots jo ("joy"), tracing back through Old French joie to Latin gaudia; a doublet of "joy."