different between dought vs ought

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: dout, IPA^(key): /da?t/
• Rhymes: -a?t

Etymology 1

A back-formation from doughty (compare Scots doucht, from douchty). Related to dow.

Noun

dought (usually uncountable, plural doughts)

1. (Scotland, Northern England, obsolete) might, strength

References

• Wright, Joseph (1898) The English Dialect Dictionary?^[1], volume 1, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 136

Etymology 2

From Middle English doghte, from Old English dohte (first and third person singular past tense of dugan (“to avail, be useful”)).

Verb

dought

1. (dialect) alternative past of dow

Middle English

Adjective

dought

1. Alternative form of dou?t

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English oughte, aughte, a?te, ahte, from Old English ?hte, first and third person singular past tense of Old English ?gan (“to own, possess”), equivalent to owe +? -t.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??t/
• Rhymes: -??t
• (US) IPA^(key): /?t/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /?t/
• Homophone: aught

Verb

ought

1. (obsolete) simple past tense of owe

Verb

ought

1. (auxiliary) Indicating duty or obligation.

2. (auxiliary) Indicating advisability or prudence.

3. (auxiliary) Indicating desirability.

4. (auxiliary) Indicating likelihood or probability.

Usage notes

• Ought is an auxiliary verb; it takes a following verb as its complement. This following verb may appear either as a full infinitive (such as “to go”) or a bare infinitive (such as simple “go”), depending on region and speaker; the same range of meanings is possible in either case. Additionally, it's possible for ought not to take any complement, in which case a verb complement is implied, as in, “You really ought to [do so].”
• The negative of ought is either ought not (to) or oughtn't (to) (yet oughtn't've: oughtn't *(to) have)

Synonyms

• should (In all senses)

Translations

See also

• ought to
• Appendix:English modal verbs
• Appendix:English tag questions

Pronoun

ought

1. Alternative spelling of aught; anything
   • 1658, Joseph Hall, The Devout Soul, Or, Rules of Heavenly Devotion Also the Free Prisoner, Or, the Comfort of Restraint

     Is it a small benefit, that I am placed there […] where I see no drunken comessations, no rebellious routs, no violent oppressions, no obscene rejoicings, nor ought else that might either vex or affright my soul?

Adverb

ought (not comparable)

1. Alternative spelling of aught; at all, to any degree.

Noun

ought (plural oughts)

1. A statement of what ought to be the case as contrasted with what is the case.

See also

• aught
• naught
• nought

References

• ought in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ought at OneLook Dictionary Search

Etymology 2

Noun

ought (plural oughts)

1. Alternative spelling of aught; cipher, zero, nought.

Anagrams

• tough

Middle English

Alternative forms

• ou?t, eawiht, aht

Etymology

From Old English ?ht, ?ht, shortening of ?wiht, ?wiht.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?u?xt/, /au?xt/

Pronoun

ought

1. anything, everything
2. something

Descendants

• English: ought, aught, owt
• Scots: owt
• Yola: aught

References

• “ought, pron.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.