ought
verb
[ ɔːt ]
• used to indicate duty or correctness, typically when criticizing someone's actions.
• "they ought to respect the law"
• used to indicate something that is probable.
• "five minutes ought to be enough time"
Origin:
Old English āhte, past tense of āgan ‘owe’ (see owe).
ought
noun
• archaic term for nought.
Origin:
mid 19th century: perhaps from an ought, by wrong division of a nought ; compare with adder1.
ought
pronoun
• variant spelling of aught1.
aught
pronoun
• anything at all.
• "know you aught of this fellow, young sir?"
Origin:
Old English āwiht (see aye2, wight).
