ou

n. [ Canadian F., of Amer. Indian origin. ] A small landlocked variety of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar ounaniche) of Lake St. John, Canada, and neighboring waters, noted for its vigor and activity, and habit of leaping from the water when hooked. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. (Zool.) The wanderoo. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. ] (Zool.) A Brazilian monkey of the genus Mycetes. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., fr. oublier to forget, fr. (assumed) LL. oblitare, L. oblivisci, p. p. oblitus. ] A dungeon with an opening only at the top, found in some old castles and other strongholds, into which persons condemned to perpetual imprisonment, or to perish secretly, were thrust, or lured to fall. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sudden in the sun
An oubliette winks. Where is he? Gone. Mrs. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. ouch, nouche (a nouch being taken for an ouch: cf. Adder), fr. OF. nusche, nosche, nousche, buckle, clasp, LL. nusca, fr. OHG. nusca, nuscha. ] A socket or bezel holding a precious stone; hence, a jewel or ornament worn on the person. [ 1913 Webster ]

A precious stone in a rich ouche. Sir T. Elyot. [ 1913 Webster ]

Your brooches, pearls, and ouches. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Own. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. & adv. See Aught. [ 1913 Webster ]

imp., p. p., or auxiliary. [ Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. āhte. √110. See Owe. ] 1. Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

This due obedience which they ought to the king. Tyndale. [ 1913 Webster ]

The love and duty I long have ought you. Spelman. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ He ] said . . . you ought him a thousand pound. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Owned; possessed. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The knight the which that castle ought. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To be bound in duty or by moral obligation. [ 1913 Webster ]

We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak. Rom. xv. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To be necessary, fit, becoming, or expedient; to behoove; -- in this sense formerly sometimes used impersonally or without a subject expressed. “Well ought us work.” Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

To speak of this as it ought, would ask a volume. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ought not Christ to have suffered these things? Luke xxiv. 26. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Ought is now chiefly employed as an auxiliary verb, expressing fitness, expediency, propriety, moral obligation, or the like, in the action or state indicated by the principal verb. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Ought, Should. Both words imply obligation, but ought is the stronger. Should may imply merely an obligation of propriety, expendiency, etc.; ought denotes an obligation of duty. [ 1913 Webster ]