lo

Lo is a term that appears in several unrelated contexts. In historical and literary English, lo is an interjection meaning “behold” or “look,” often used to draw notice in biblical or archaic prose, as in phrases like “Lo, he cometh.”

In modern usage, lo is also encountered as a language code. The ISO 639-1 code lo designates the Lao language (Laotian). This two-letter code is used in language tags, locale identifiers, and various linguistic and computing contexts to reference Lao.

As a surname and given name, Lo appears in Chinese-derived communities. In Cantonese, Lo is a common romanization of various surnames, including Luo (羅/罗). It can also function as a given name or part of a given name in some cases, particularly within diaspora populations where Chinese surnames are adapted to local naming practices.

Beyond these uses, Lo does not have a single dominant meaning, and its interpretation depends on cultural and linguistic context. It may appear in historical texts as an exclamation, in language catalogs as a code, or in contemporary names among people of Chinese heritage. See also related forms such as Luo, Luo’s romanization variants, and language codes for cross-referencing.