wowe
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Old English wāwa, a variant of wēa, from Proto-Germanic *waiwô (hence a doublet of we (“woe”)).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
wowe (plural wowes)
- Woe, discomfort; a state of intense depression and sorrowfulness.
- A lack of luck or fortuitousness; bad fortune.
- A unlucky or unfortunate event; something that feels negative.
- Injury, painfulness; the result of physical harming.
- (rare) upsetness, unhappiness.
Usage notes edit
This word would have come to sound the same as woe in the Early Modern English period and was probably conflated with it.
References edit
- “wōwe, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-12-30.