Oto

¹

Or O·toe

[oh-toh]

noun

plural

Otos ,

plural

Oto .

1. a member of a Siouan-speaking tribe of North American Indians who formerly inhabited the lower Missouri River basin and now live in Oklahoma.

oto-

²

1. a combining form meaning “ear,” used in the formation of compound words.

   otology.

oto-

combining form

1. indicating the ear

   otitis

   otolith

Word History and Origins

Origin of Oto¹

< Greek ōto-, combining form of oûs ear ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of Oto¹

from Greek ous, ōt- ear

Example Sentences

Fort Calhoun traces its roots to a meeting between explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the Oto and Missouri tribes in August 1804 — 63 years before Nebraska became a state.

Read more on Seattle Times

The film adds the wrinkle that the voice on the cassette with which Kafuku runs lines belongs to his wife, Oto.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

We rehearsed several scenes that weren’t in the script, to focus on my character’s relationship with Oto.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The couple had a young daughter who died some years before, and when Oto dies suddenly, she leaves Yusuke paralyzed with grief.

Read more on New York Times

We learn, from the film’s first act, that Oto has died, and that she had betrayed her husband before that.

Read more on Washington Post

When To Use

What does oto- mean?

Oto- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “ear.” It is often used in medical terms, especially in anatomy and pathology.Oto- comes from the Greek oûs, meaning “ear.” Related to the Greek oûs is English’s own word ear; so is the Latin word for ear, auris, which is the ultimate source of such words as aural. Learn more about oûs at our entry for otic, an adjective used in anatomy meaning “of or relating to the ear.”What are variants of oto-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, oto- becomes ot-, as in otitis.