ought
Top
n. & adv. (a̤t)
See Aught.
Ought
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.]
This due obedience which they ought to the king.Tyndale.
The love and duty I long have ought you.Spelman.
[He] said . . . you ought him a thousand pound.Shak.
2. Owned; possessed. [Obs.]
The knight the which that castle ought.Spenser.
3. To be bound in duty or by moral obligation.
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak.Rom. xv. 1.
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.
To speak of this as it ought, would ask a volume.Milton.
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things?Luke xxiv. 26.
Note: 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.
Syn. -- Ought, Should. Usage: 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.
Top
The principal term with which we express obligation and duty, but also the conclusion of less weighty practical reasoning: ‘if we want a drink we ought to find a café.’ See also categorical/hypothetical imperative, ethics.
Translations:
Top
Ought
Dansk (Danish)
1.
aux. v. - burde, skulle
idioms:
- ought to have burde have
2.
n. - nul
3.
pron. - noget
Nederlands (Dutch)
zou moeten, iets, nul
Français (French)
1.
aux. v. - devoir
idioms:
- ought to have devrais, devrait, devriez avoir
2.
n. - zéro (arch)
3.
pron. - pour autant que, pour ce que
Deutsch (German)
1.
aux. v. - sollten
idioms:
- ought to have müßte haben
2.
n. - was auch immer, Null
3.
pron. - null
cont. - dürfte nicht, müßte nicht
Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - θα έπρεπε/όφειλε, πρέπει, οφείλω
n. - οτιδήποτε, (καθομ.) μηδέν, νούλα, ζερό
idioms:
- ought to have όφειλε να έχει
Italiano (Italian)
qualcosa, nullità
idioms:
- ought to have avrebbe dovuto
Português (Portuguese)
v. - dever
n. - zero (m), algo (m), alguma coisa
idioms:
- ought to have deveria ter
Русский (Russian)
следует, надо было
idioms:
- ought to have следует иметь
Español (Spanish)
1.
aux. v. - deber, deber de, convenir, ser conveniente
idioms:
- ought to have debería haber, debería tener
2.
n. - cero a la izquierda, nulidad, nada
3.
pron. - algo, alguna cosa
Svenska (Swedish)
v. - bör, borde, skall, torde
n. - ett måste, åld. nolla
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 应当, 应该
idioms:
- ought to have 应该有
2. 应当, 应该
3. 责任
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 責任
2.
pron. - 應當, 應該
adv. - 應當, 應該
3.
aux. v. - 應當, 應該
idioms:
- ought to have 應該有
한국어 (Korean)
1.
aux. v. - ~해야 한다
2.
n. - 무, 보잘 것 없는 사람
3.
pron. - 다른 어떤 것
日本語 (Japanese)
aux. v. - 少しも
n. - 零
idioms:
- ought to have すべきであった
العربيه (Arabic)
(فعل) يجب (الاسم) واجب
עברית (Hebrew)
aux. v. - היה צריך, היה חייב
n. - שום-דבר (מיושן)
pron. - משהו (מיושן)
If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy
The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Copyright © 1994, 1996, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Read more
