ergo

¹ American  

[ur-goh, er-goh] / ˈɜr goʊ, ˈɛr goʊ /

adverb

1. therefore.

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ergo- ² American  

especially before a vowel, erg-

1. a combining form meaning “work”.

   ergograph.

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ergo- ³ American  

1. a combining form of ergot.

   ergotoxine.

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ergo ¹ British  

/ ˈɜːɡəʊ /

noun

1. informal short for ergometer

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ergo ² British  

/ ˈɜːɡəʊ /

1. therefore; hence

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ergo Cultural  

1. Latin word meaning “therefore”; usually used to show a logical conclusion: “Birds are warm-blooded animals, and reptiles are cold-blooded animals; ergo, no bird is a reptile.”

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Etymology

Origin of ergo¹

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1350–1400

Origin of ergo-²

Combining form representing Greek érgon

Origin of ergo-³

From French

Explanation

The adverb ergo is a fancy version of "therefore." Use it as a connector between thoughts and sentences that logically follow. You were present during the robbery; ergo, you were called as a witness. Ergo appeared in late Middle English meaning "therefore," probably from the Old Latin root regere, "to guide." You can see the relation to the word as it is used today, to present a connection between ideas where a second sentence or idea is "guided" by, or draws a logical conclusion from the first one. Satirist Jonathan Swift once wrote, “Words are but wind; and learning is nothing but words; ergo, learning is nothing but wind.”

Example Sentences

She is a character in a workplace comedy and ergo utterly resigned to the job being hell.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025

Let’s give the last word, plus one of mine, to the famous phrase of French philosopher and scientist Rene Descartes: “Cogito ergo sum ridens” — “I think, therefore I am laughing.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2025

There is someone who writes to me almost weekly about media’s failures — and I assume, ergo, my failure — and he won’t be mollified.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 16, 2024

They never consider, for a moment, the phrase "post hoc ergo propter hoc."

From Salon • Sep. 14, 2023

He punched his hat back, concentrated, stiffened his hands, palms upward, in a supplicating gesture and began softly to chant Tantum ergo sacramentum, Veneremur cernui in as beautiful Latin as I have ever heard.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin