woo

See also woo woo

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle English wowen, woȝen, from Old English wōgian (“to woo, court, marry”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Scots wow (“to woo”). Perhaps related to Old English wōg, wōh (“bending, crookedness”), in the specific sense of "bend or incline one toward oneself". If so, then derived from Proto-Germanic *wanhō (“a bend, angle”), from Proto-Indo-European *wonk- (“crooked, bent”), from Proto-Indo-European *wā- (“to bend, twist, turn”); related to Old Norse vá (“corner, angle”).

Alternative forms

  • wo, wow, wowe (obsolete)

Verb

woo (third-person singular simple present woos, present participle wooing, simple past and past participle wooed)

  1. (transitive) To endeavor to gain someone's support.
  2. (transitive) (of a man) To try to persuade a woman to marry him.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
to endeavor to gain someone's affection

Etymology 2

Interjection

woo

  1. (slang) Expressing joy or mirth; woohoo, yahoo.
    "I got you a new cell phone." "Woo, that's great!"
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Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English wā, wēa.

Noun

woo (plural woos)

  1. torment; anguish

Synonyms

Descendants

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Last modified on 21 May 2013, at 18:57