ибо

Russian

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic ибо (ibo). By surface analysis, univerbation of и (i) +‎ бо (bo), which is a calque from Ancient Greek καὶ γάρ (commonly used in Ancient Greek since the conjunction γάρ (gár, “because”) cannot appear first in a sentence). Compare или (ili) for similar derivation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈibə]

• Audio:

  (file)

• (obsolete) IPA^(key): [ɪˈbo]

Conjunction

и́бо or ибо́ • (íbo or ibó)

1. (literary) for, because, as, since

   Synonyms: потому́ что (potomú što), та́к как (ták kak), поско́льку (poskólʹku)

   • 1876, Russian Synodal Bible, Mark 13:6:

     ибо многие придут под именем Моим и будут говорить, что это Я; и многих прельстят.

     ibo mnogije pridut pod imenem Moim i budut govoritʹ, što eto Ja; i mnogix prelʹstjat.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

• Though described as literary as of the 20th century, particularly since the 21st century colloquial usage also occurs, where it may be used humorously or as slang, "spicing up" the speech; compare also the Ukrainian бо (bo). Regardless of these trends, Russian ибо (ibo) typically remains being prescribed as literary only.
• The word's usage is increasingly frequent on the Internet due to its briefness compared to потому что (potomu što), although remaining rare in spoken speech.
• The form ибо́ (ibó) is original, but was mostly replaced by и́бо (íbo) already by the 17th century. Occasionally, however, ибо́ (ibó) is attested in poetry well into the 19th century.