woe

English

Etymology

FromMiddle Englishwo,wei,wa,fromOld Englishwā,wǣ,fromProto-West Germanic*wai,fromProto-Germanic*wai(interjection),ultimately fromProto-Indo-European*wáy(interjection).

See alsoDutchwee,GermanWeh,weh,Danishve,Yiddishוויי(vey);alsoLatinvae,Albanianvaj,Frenchouais,Ancient Greekοὐαί(ouaí),Persianوای(vây)(Turkishvay,a Persian borrowing),Proto-Slavic*uvy(whenceRussianувы́(uvý)), andArmenianվայ(vay).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation)IPA^(key):/wəʊ/
• (General American)enPR:wō,IPA^(key):/woʊ/

• Audio(General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-əʊ
• Homophone:whoa(wine–whinemerger)

Noun

woe(countableanduncountable,pluralwoes)

1. Greatsadnessor distress; a misfortune causing such sadness.

   Synonyms:grief,sorrow,misery

   • 1667,John Milton,“(please specify the page number)”,inParadise Lost.[…],London:[…][Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker[…];[a]nd by Robert Boulter[…];[a]nd Matthias Walker,[…],→OCLC;republished asParadise Lost in Ten Books:[…],London: Basil Montagu Pickering[…],1873,→OCLC:

     Thus saying, from her side the fatal key, / Sad instrument of all ourwoe,she took.

   • 1717,Alexander Pope,“Eloisa to Abelard”,inThe Works of Mr. Alexander Pope,volume I, London:[…]W[illiam]Bowyer,forBernard Lintot,[…],published1717,→OCLC:

     Soon as thy letters trembling I unclose / That well-known name awakens all mywoes.

   • 1808,[Hannah More], chapter VI, inCœlebs in Search of a Wife.[…],volume I, London:[…][Strahan and Preston]forT[homas]Cadell and W[illiam]Davies,[…],→OCLC,pages68–69:

     But if there was a competition between a ſick family and a new broach, the broach was ſure to carry the day. This would not have been the caſe, had they been habituated to viſit themſelves the abodes of penury andwoe.

   • October 14 2017,Sandeep Moudgal,The Times of India,Rains devastate families, political parties make beeline to apply balm on open wounds:

     The Friday night rains which wrecked families in Kurabarahalli saw all the three major political parties making a beeline to express their condolences, listen to theirwoesand provide compensation in the hope of garnering their goodwill ahead of the 2018 assembly elections.

2. Calamity,trouble.
   • 1611,The Holy Bible,[…](King James Version), London:[…]Robert Barker,[…],→OCLC,Revelation8:13:

     And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice,Woe,woe,woe,to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

3. Acurse;amalediction.
   • 1692–1717,Robert South,Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions,volumes(please specify |volume=I to VI),London:

     Can there be awoeor curse in all the stores of vengeance equal to the malignity of such a practice?

Derived terms

• for weal or woe
• in weal and woe
• tale of woe
• woebegone
• woe betide
• woeful
• woe is me
• woe to

Translations

grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity

• Arabic:حَزَن(ḥazan)
• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac:ܘܵܝܵܐ(wāya)

• Bulgarian:беда(bg)f(beda),злочестиеn(zločestie),скръб(bg)f(skrǎb)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Bi thống(zh)(bēitòng),Cực kỳ bi ai／Cực kỳ bi ai(zh)(bēitòng),Cực kỳ bi ai(zh)(bēitòng)

• Cornish:gewm
• Czech:trápení(cs)n,strastf,běda(cs)f,hoře(cs)n
• Dutch:droefheid(nl),lijden(nl),ellende(nl),ongeluk(nl)
• Egyptian:(jꜥnw)
• Finnish:suru(fi),tuska(fi)
• French:tristesse(fr)f,douleur(fr)f,mi sắc re(fr)f,malheur(fr)m
• German:Weh(de)n,Jammer(de)m,Kummer(de)m,Leid(de)n
• Greek:θλίψη(el)f(thlípsi),συμφορά(el)f(symforá)
• Hebrew:אבוי(he)(avoy),צער(he)m(tsa'ar),יגון(he)m(yagon)
• Italian:dolore(it)m,disgrazia(it)f,guaio(it)m
• Latin:dolor(la),luctus
• Low German:

  German Low German:Wehn

• Maori:aitu
• Norwegian:sorg(no)m
• Occitan:dolor(oc)f,patiment(oc)m,patiràsm
• Polish:nieszczęście(pl)n,żałość(pl)f,cierpienie(pl)n,niedola(pl)f
• Portuguese:desgraça(pt)f,infelicidade(pt)f,mágoa(pt)f
• Romanian:durere(ro)f,suferință(ro)f,mâhnire(ro)f,nenorocire(ro)f
• Russian:печа́ль(ru)f(pečálʹ),грусть(ru)f(grustʹ),го́ре(ru)(góre)
• Scottish Gaelic:dòlasm,truaighef,sgadm
• Spanish:pena(es)f,infortunio(es)m,ay(es)m
• Swedish:sorg(sv),ve(sv)
• Turkish:üzüntü(tr),sıkıntı(tr),kaygı(tr),ur(tr)dert(tr),gam(tr),keder(tr),teessür(tr),
• Vietnamese:khốn(vi)

Adjective

woe(comparativemorewoe,superlativemostwoe)

1. (obsolete)Woeful;sorrowful
   • 1303,Robert of Brunne,Handlyng synne:

     hys clerk was wo to do þat dede

   • 1590,Edmund Spenser,“Book II, Canto VIII”, inThe Faerie Queene.[…],London:[…][John Wolfe] forWilliam Ponsonbie,→OCLC,stanza 53:

     And looking vp, when as his shield he lakt, / And sword saw not, he wexed wondrouswoe

   • 1610–1611(date written),William Shakespeare,“The Tempest”,inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies[…](First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard,andEd[ward]Blount,published1623,→OCLC,[Act V, scene i],page17:

     Prospero:I amwoefor't, Sir.

Interjection

woe

1. (archaic)An exclamation ofgrief.
   • 1610–1611(date written),William Shakespeare,“The Tempest”,inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies[…](First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard,andEd[ward]Blount,published1623,→OCLC,[Act I, scene ii],page 2:

     Miranda:Owoe,the day.

Translations

exclamation of grief

• Arabic:وَيْل(wayl)
• Aramaic:

  Jewish Babylonian Aramaic:וַי(way)

• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Ai(zh)(āi)

• Cornish:go
• Czech:běda(cs)
• Esperanto:ve(eo)
• Finnish:voi(fi)
• French:hélas(fr)
• German:weh(de)
• Gothic:𐍅𐌰𐌹(wai)
• Greek:ουαί(el)(ouaí),φευ(el)(fef)

  Ancient:οὐαί(ouaí),φεῦ(pheû)

• Hebrew:אוֹי(he)(oy),אֲהָהּ(he)(aháh)(Biblical),וַי(he)(vay)(Talmudic)
• Japanese:ああ(ja)(ā),あたら(ja)(atara)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish:وەی(ckb)(wey)

• Latin:vae,heu,ēheu(la)
• Old English:wæ
• Persian:وای(phát)(vây)
• Polish:biada(pl)
• Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi:ਹਾਏ(hāē)

  Shahmukhi:ہائے(hā'ē)

• Romanian:vai(ro)
• Russian:го́ре(ru)(góre)
• Spanish:ay(es)
• Sranan Tongo:eru
• Urdu:ہائے(hā'yē)

Anagrams

• owe

Limburgish

Alternative forms

• wu,wuë(Eupen)
• wooe(Krefeld)
• boe(Maastrichtian)
• wo

Adverb

woe

1. where

   Woeis Sjeng?―Where is Sjeng?

Middle Dutch

Etymology

FromOld Dutch*wuo,fromProto-Germanic*hwō.

Adverb

woe

1. (eastern)Alternative form ofhoe

Middle English

Pronoun

woe

1. Alternative form ofwe(“we”)