ergo

1 of 2

adverb

er·​go ˈer-(ˌ)gō  ˈər- 

: for that reason : because of that : therefore, hence

… there is no sound, ergo, no speed of sound, in the vacuum of space.

—Stephan Wilkinson

ergo-

2 of 2

combining form

: ergot

ergosterol

Synonyms

Adverb

• accordingly
• consequently
• hence
• so
• therefore
• thereupon
• thus
• wherefore

Examples of ergo in a Sentence

Adverb

There's no win-win situation for workers of the world, in the current era at least. American steelworkers here do better, ergo Russian and South Korean steelworkers overseas do worse. —Alexander Cockburn, Nation, 3 Jan. 2000

He that comforts my wife is the cherisher of my flesh and blood; he that cherishes my flesh and blood loves my flesh and blood; he that loves my flesh and blood is my friend; ergo, he that kisses my wife is my friend. —William Shakespeare, All's Well that Ends Well, 1603

The products are poorly constructed; ergo, they break easily.

according to that line of reasoning, the eyewitness couldn't identify the aircraft, ergo it must have been from another planet

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb

Longtime Toronto pundit Damien Cox this past week suggested that the remedy might have to be a Marner trade, with the Leafs getting back young, promising (ergo: cheap) talent in the form of, say, a top-six forward and top-four defenseman. —Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2019

In the hubbub around this controversy, likely many doctors felt too embarrassed to grab the pharma handout—ergo my reborn popularity. —Kent Sepkowitz, Slate Magazine, 17 Feb. 2017

The global television audience is (at least) sixteen hundred times as big; ergo, the halftime show is more music video than live concert. —Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2017

Isaacson helps us right away with The Big One: Jobs might have felt abandoned because he was put up for adoption, ergo, sentenced to a life of searching for approval. —John C Abell, WIRED, 27 Oct. 2011

Word History

Etymology

Adverb

Middle English, from Latin, from Old Latin, because of, from Old Latin *e rogo from the direction (of)

Combining form

French, from ergot

First Known Use

Adverb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

ergo

adverb

er·​go ˈe(ə)r-gō  ˈər- 

: therefore, hence