Wiktionary

hoot

See also: Hoot

English edit

Pronunciation edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Middle English houten, huten, hoten, of North Germanic origin, from or related to Old Swedish huta (“to cast out in contempt”), related to Middle High German hiuzen, hūzen (“to call to pursuit”), Swedish hut! (“begone!”, interjection), Dutch hui (“ho, hallo”), Danish huj (“ho, hallo”).

Noun edit

hoot (plural hoots)

  1. A derisive cry or shout.
  2. The cry of an owl.
    I heard the hoot of an owl.
  3. (slang) A fun event or person.
    The party at the weekend was such a hoot! Thanks for the invite.
  4. A small particle; a whit or jot.
    Synonym: (dated) hooter
    We don't care a hoot about what you think.
    • 1878, John Hanson Beadle, Western Wilds, and the Men who Redeem Them, Jones Brothers, →OCLC, page 611:
      Well, it was Sunday morning, and the wheat nothing like ripe; but it was a chance, and I got onto my reaper and banged down every hoot of it before Monday night.
Usage notes edit
  • (derisive cry) The phrase a hoot and a holler has a very different meaning to hoot and holler. The former is a short distance, the latter is a verb of derisive cry.
  • (small particle) The term is nearly always encountered in a negative sense in such phrases as don't care a hoot or don't give two hoots.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit

Verb edit

hoot (third-person singular simple present hoots, present participle hooting, simple past and past participle hooted)

  1. To cry out or shout in contempt.
    • 1711, John Dryden, “Satire IX”, in Dryden’s Juvenal:
      Matrons and girls shall hoot at thee no more,
  2. To make the cry of an owl, a hoo.
  3. To assail with contemptuous cries or shouts; to follow with derisive shouts.
    Mary felt extremely offended when the workers hooted at her.
    • 1708, Isaac Bickerstaff [Jonathan Swift], Predictions for the Year 1708‎[1]:
      And I will be content, that Partridge, and the rest of his Clan, may hoot me for a Cheat and Impostor, if I fail in any single Particular of Moment.
  4. To sound the horn of a vehicle.
    When you arrive to pick me up, hoot, and I'll come outside.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
See also edit

Etymology 2 edit

A variant of utu (influenced by etymology 1), borrowed from Maori utu (“payment, revenge, payback”).[1][2]

Noun edit

hoot (uncountable)

  1. (New Zealand, slang) Money, especially in the form of cash given as payment.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:money

References edit

  1. ^ “hoot, n.2”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
  2. ^ Jonathon Green (2024) “hoot n.1”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Anagrams edit

Chickasaw edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From hoyo +‎ -t.

Pronunciation edit

Verb edit

hoot

  1. dependent participle of hoyo (“to look for”)

Derived terms edit

Finnish edit

Noun edit

hoot

  1. nominative plural of hoo

Anagrams edit

Middle English edit

Adjective edit

hoot

  1. hot

Descendants edit

  • English: hot

Scots edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Imitative. Compare English tut, Scottish Gaelic och.

Interjection edit

hoot

  1. Precedes a disagreeing or contradictory statement.
  2. An expression of annoyance or disapproval.

Usage notes edit

Derived terms edit

Noun edit

hoot (plural hoots)

  1. A term of contempt.

Verb edit

hoot (third-person singular simple present hoots, present participle hootin, simple past hootit, past participle hootit)

  1. (transitive or intransitive) To dismiss idly with contempt or derision; to flout; to pooh-pooh.

Derived terms edit

References edit

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