or
Definitions
General English
- conjunction used for joining two parts of a sentence which show two possibilities
- conjunction used for showing that you are not sure about an amount
- conjunction used to join two words or phrases
Computing
- noun (written as OR)a Boolean function that is often used in searches to ask the search engine to find text that contains any of the search words.
- acronymAND (written as OR)
- acronym forAND (written as OR)
- noun an operator, often used in searches, that matches text that contains both search words.
Electronics
- (written as OR)A logical operation which is true if any of its elements is true. For example, if one or more of its multiple inputs have a value of 1, then the output is 1. Its output is 0 only when all of its inputs have a value of 0. For such functions, a 1 is considered as a true, or high, value, and 0 is a false, or low, value. Although OR is the same as inclusive OR, the latter is used to distinguish from exclusive OR. Also called OR operation, or logical sum.
- A logical operation which is true only if all of its elements are true. For example, if three out of three input bits have a value of 1, then the output is 1. Any other combination yields an output of 0. For such functions, a 1 is considered as a true, or high, value, and 0 is a false, or low, value. Also called AND operation, conjunction, or intersection (2).
Marketing
- acronym foroperational research (written as OR)
Medical
- acronym foroperating room (written as OR)
Military
- acronym forother rank (written as OR)
- noun a serviceman or servicewoman who is not an officer.
Accounting
- noun a study of a company’s way of working to see if it can be made more efficient and profitable
Food
- duck
Law
- noun a study of a method of working to see if it can be made more efficient and cost-effective
Origin
- A word as ancient as the English language itself, which has persisted virtually unchanged since at least 700 ad, and has cognates in other Germanic languages (German und, Dutch en), but no convincing ultimate ancestor for it has been identified
Origin & History of “or”
The Old English word for ‘or’ was oththe. this appears to have been altered in the early middle English period to other, probably due to the influence of similar words denoting ‘choice between alternatives’ and ending in -er (notably either and whether). Other was soon contracted to or, but it did not finally die out until the 15th century.
