| 释义 |
woe, int., adv., n., a.|wəʊ|
Forms: α. 1–6, 8–9 Sc. and north. wa, 3–5, 9 north. waa, (Sc. or north. 4, 6, 9 way, 5 ua, 7 weay, 7–9 wea, 8 weea), 5– Sc. wae; (with is) Sc. 4, 6 wais, 6 waiss, wayis, 7 waies, wayes, 8 waes; (with is the) Sc. and north. 7 wee'st, 8 wae'st, wa-ist, wazist, 9 wa(a)st, waest; 5 Sc. superl. of adj. wast, wayest; 1 Northumb., 3 Lay. wæ. β. 2– wo, (3 woa, wao, wuo, 4 who, 5 whoo, wooe, 6 Sc. voo, woi), 4–6 woo, 4– woe. γ. 3 Orm. waȝȝ, 2–3 wei, 3–4 wai, way, 4 weye, we.
[Com. Indo-European interjection, used as a natural exclamation of lament; its forms fall into types distinguished by variety of vocalism, and reduplicated forms are characteristic of several of the Germanic langs.; most of these langs. have developed a substantival use of the simple forms (through such constructions as that in A. 6), and English and German have developed an adj. use.
OE. wá, also wǽ, corresp. to OS., MLG. wê, (M)Du. wee, OHG., MHG. wê (G. weh, also wehe), ON. vei, vǽ (Sw., Da. ve), Goth. wai οὐαί, and further to L. væ, Lett. vai, OIr. fē, W. gwae. (Arm. vay and late Gr. ὀά, οὐά, οὐαί are new formations.) Teut. *wai is the source of the exclamations F. ouais, It. guai, Sp. guay.
The γ-forms are from ON. vei (cf. wellaway). The spelling wo has been long prevalent in exclamatory use, and is still affected in poetry.
The forms properly substantival (as distinct from the above forms, which belong primarily to the int. and adv.) are:—OE. wéa, also the reduplicated wáwa wowe, MLG. wêwe, OHG. wêwo m., wêwa f. (MHG. wê, gen. wêwes str. n., wêwe, wéhe wk. m., str. and wk. f.); otherwise the orig. interjectional forms are used as ns.
OE. wéa entered into compounds in the sense of ‘grievous, evil, bad’; one of these, wéamód peevish, survived into ME., see wemod; so Gothic wai in waidēdja ληστής (f. *waidēþs = OE. wéadǽd crime), OHG. wê in wêwurt evil fate, misfortune; cf. Lett. vājš weak, ill.
Partially disguised compounds are wellaway, wellawo, and wail v.]
A. int. and adv.
I.
1. a. As an exclamation of grief or lamentation: = Alas! Often in combination with another int., as ah, lo (see wale int., wellawo); cf. waesucks. arch.
c725Corpus Gloss. Int. 327 Ua, euwa [= eow + wa].
c1250Death 167 in O.E. Misc. 178 Wai hwi noldestu er of þisse beon icnowe? 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6446 Awey [v.r. awai] seli ȝonge þinges, frendles were hii þere. c1320Cast. Love 188 A-wei, to sone he hit for-les. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 15879 Cried he neyþer wo ne way, But ded he was, & þer he lay.
c140026 Pol. Poems xxiv. 366 Allas, oure synnes..say, ‘wo, wo, wo!’ c1470Henry Wallace iv. 760 At hir he speryt giff scho forthocht it sar. ‘Wa, ya’, scho said. 1676Dryden Aurengz. v. 76 Ah wo, wo, wo! the worst of woes I find! 1729G. Adams tr. Sophocles, Antig. v. iv, Wo! and wo! Again, thou hast ruined an unhappy Man. 1854Patmore Angel in Ho., Betrothal 126 And if, ah woe, she loves alone.
†b. with following clause or phrase expressing the object of the lament. Obs.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 21 O, seið þus þe boc, wei þet he eure hit wule iþenche in his þonke. a1250Owl & Night. 120 Wai [v.r. way] þat hit nis þarof bireued. c1275Lay. 8013 Wei þat ich nadde bi war. a1400in Minot's Poems (ed. Hall) App. ii. 23 We for his Ending!
II. Construed with a dative (or, later, its equivalent), with or without a verb of being or happening, in sentences expressing the incidence of distress, affliction, or grief.
2. In prophetic or denunciatory utterances of the type of OE. wá biþ þǽm mannum = affliction or grief shall be the lot of the men; woe be to us = may affliction or distress light upon us; woe is him = cursed is he. Obs. or arch.
Beowulf 183 Wa bið þæm ðe sceal þurh sliðne nið sawle bescufan in fyres fæþm. 971Blickl. Hom. 61 Wa biþ þonne þæm mannum þe ne onᵹytaþ þisse worlde yrmþa. a1023Wulfstan Hom. xxx. (1883) 146 Wa byð ðam þe þær bið ᵹeteohhod to. c1300Harrow. Hell (Harl. MS.) 102 Wo ys him þat þe knowe ne shal! 13..Northern Passion 249 (Camb. Gg.) Who be þat man At þat treson fyrst began. 1390Gower Conf. I. 98 Sche seide: ‘Ha treson, wo thee be’. a1400–50Wars Alex. 4564 Wailaway to wriches & wa is ȝow in erthe. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xiii. 55 Wa be to þe, Bethsaida! c1450Mirk's Festial 4 Then woo schall be to hom þat schall here þys rebuke yn þat day. 1475Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.) 41 Heh allas!..and woo be the tyme they saide, that ever we shulde put..trust to the Frenshe partie. 1533Frith Mirr. ii. A vij, Woe be to them that couple and knytte houses to gether. 1542Boorde Dyetary xvi. (1870) 273 Bacon is good for carters and plow⁓men,..but & yf they haue the stone,..they shall synge, ‘wo be the pye!’ c1560A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxxiv. 151 Waiss ȝow. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 187 Way is the Hirdis of Israell. 1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 59 Woe were vs, if wee were at the rule and gouernement of creatures. 1636Earl of Manchester Al Mondo (ed. 3) 162 Woe is him whose bed is made in hell. 1680in Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot. XLV. 246 Woes us that we can nether shew nor receive kindness without danger. 1748Richardson Clarissa (1768) V. 25 Wo be to the Villain, if he recollect not this! c1860Faber Child's Death vi, Thou are welcome, thrice welcome:—yet woe is the day! 1880Blackmore Mary Anerley xi, But woe is him, if a nasty foe..smite him to the quick.
3. a. In merely declaratory statements of the type of OE. him bið or is wá = he will be or is distressed, afflicted, grieved, or sorrowful; ME. him is (full) wo = he is (much) distressed or grieved. Obs. exc. as in b.
c893ælfred Oros. iii. vii, Þæm folce wæs æᵹþres waa, ᵹe þæt hie þæt mæste yfel forberan sceoldon, ᵹe eac þæt hie his sciran ne dorstan. a1000Sal. & Sat. 104 Huru him bið æt heartan wa, ðonne he hangiende helle wisceð ðæs engestan eðelrices. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 149 Tedet anima mea uite mee. Wuo is mi soule þat ich bide here swo longe. c1200Ormin 11904 Himm wass waȝȝ & ange Off þatt he nohht ne wisste off Crist. c1205Lay. 1660 Swa swiðe wa him was þat al his wit he for-læs. a1225Ancr. R. 96 Me is wo þet tu hit wost. a1250Owl & Night. 882 Þat beoþ her, wo is hom þes. a1300Cursor M. 3749 Me es sua waa, almast i weede. c1380Sir Ferumb. 209 Him was ful wo þan on is þoȝt, & ofte sekede amonge. a1400Morte Arth. 2684 Be alle the welthe of the werlde, so woo was theme neuer! c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 816 Cuthbert sawe, him was full wa.
b. very freq. in woe is me (occas. † to, unto me): I am distressed, afflicted, unfortunate, grieved. Now only arch. and dial.
c1205Lay. 28345 Wa is me þat ich was mon iboren. a1240Ureisun in O.E. Hom. I. 185 Wa is me þet ic am swa fremede wiþ þe! c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiii. (George) 146 Wais me, douchtir, for þe. a1400–50Wars Alex. 3075 ‘Wa is me!’ quod he,..‘wa is me vnhappy!’ c1400Anturs Arth. 196 (Douce MS.) ‘Wo is me for þi wo!’ quod Waynour. c1480Henryson Swallow & Other Birds 265 Now ar þaj deid, and wo is me þairfore! 1513Douglas æneis xi. i. 133 Bot netheles, quhat harm, ful wayis me! 1526Tindale 1 Cor. ix. 16 Wo is it vnto me [Wyclif wo to me, Coverdale wo vnto me, 1611 Woe is vnto me] yf I preache not the gospell. 1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. Sept. 25 My sheepe bene wasted, (wae is me therefore). 1683G. M[eriton] Yorks. Dial. 6 Waies is me Husband, our awd Breads all gane. 1729G. Adams tr. Sophocles, Antig. ii. v, Wo is me a Wretch! 1785Burns Death & Dr. Hornbook xxiii, Waes me for Johnie Ged's Hole now..if that thae news be true! 1842Tennyson Morte d'Arthur 120 To whom replied King Arthur, much in wrath: ‘Ah, miserable and unkind, untrue,..Woe is me!’ 1892Furnivall Hoccleve's Minor Poems p. xliv, Lastly (woe is me!) I printed it in 1878 from [etc.].
4. a. woe worth (in 16th and 17th cent. sometimes hyphened): may evil befall or light upon; a curse upon; cursed be or shall be: often in phr. woe worth the day (the while, the time). arch.
c1205Lay. 1562 Wa wrðe auer þene smið. c1230Hali Meid. (1922) 37 Wa wurðe þat chaffere. c1275Lay. 8011 Wo worþe onread [earlier text Wale wale vnræd]. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 7396 Cursed kaytif and wa worth þe. c1350Will. Palerne 4118 And ȝif i wrong seie any word, wo worþ me euer. a1400Sir Perc. 139 ‘Wo worthe wykkyde armour!’ Percyvelle may say. a1470Henry Wallace iv. 744 Allace That I was maide, wa worthe the coursit cas! a1500Chaucer's Dreme 1715 Alas my birth, wo worth my life. 1549Latimer Ploughers (Arb.) 34 Wo worth the, O Deuyll, wo worth the,..that thou haste made Englande to worshyppe false Goddes. 1563Homilies ii. Passion ii. 199 May we not iustly crye wo worth the tyme that euer we synned? 1593Nashe Christ's T. 66 Fall England, farewell peace, woe-worth our Weale and tranquillitie. 1683G. M[eriton] Yorks. Dial. 16 Weayworth this Trash. 1684Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 7 Then they all wept again, and cryed out: Oh, Wo worth the day. 1714Gay Sheph. Week i. 17 Woe worth the Tongue! may Blisters sore it gall, That names Buxoma, Blouzelind withal. 1785Burns Sc. Drink xv, Wae worth that brandy, burnin trash! 1810Scott Lady of L. i. ix, Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day, That costs thy life, my gallant grey! 1870Lowell Study Wind. 244 Woe worth the hour that I beheld thee born.
†b. As an independent exclamation: = sense 1.
1553T. Wilson Rhet. i. 43 Wo worthe, thei are dedde. 1598Marston Sco. Villanie i. 23 Woe worth when trees drop in their proper kinde!
¶c. woe worth me! used occas. loosely = woe is me.
1887Swinburne Locrine v. ii, Estrild. Woe worth me! Sabrina. Nay, woe worth Her wickedness. 1891Conan Doyle White Company ix, Wo worth me when Agatha the tire-woman sets eyes upon it!
d. Similarly, woe betide you (etc.). In mod. use colloq. with weakened sense: You (etc.) will get into trouble (if{ddd}). Also without obj.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 86 And ar þis weddyng beo wrouȝt wo þe beo-tyde! Ibid. iii. 116 Er Ich wedde such a wyf wo me bi-tyde! 1588Shakes. Tit. A. iv. ii. 56 Now helpe, or woe betide thee euermore. 1808[see betide v. 1 c]. 1819Keats La belle Dame sans Merci ix, And there I dream'd, ah! woe betide, The latest dream I ever dream'd. 1819Scott Ivanhoe xxvi[i], Go to the sick man's chamber..; and woe betide you if you again quit it without my permission! 1840Dickens Old C. Shop vi, If you're not sharp enough I'll creak the door, and wo betide you if I have to creak it much. 1868[see betide v. 1 c].
5. Without verb.
a. const. dative (or its equivalent) = woe be, woe worth, woe betide. arch.
c897ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xliv. 328 Hit is ᵹecweden: Wa eow þe gadriað hus to huse. Ibid. xlix. 378 Wa me ðæs ic swuᵹode! 971Blickl. Hom. 25 Wa eow þe nu hlihaþ. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xviii. 7 Wa þysum middan⁓ᵹearde þurh swicdomas. c1200Vices & Virtues 19 Wa hem ð att hie æure iscapene waren. 1382Wyclif Rev. viii. 13, I..herde the voys of an egle..seiynge..Wo! wo! wo! to the dwellinge men in erthe. 1390Gower Conf. II. 355 Wo the while, he was a thief! c1400Love Bonavent. Mirr. (1908) 139 Woo to vs ȝif we wole folewe hym that wolde sette his fete in the hille of lordschippe. c1460Play Sacram. 853 Woo the whyle that bargayn I dyd euer make. 1535Coverdale 1 Cor. ix. 16 And wo vnto me [1611 woe is vnto me], yff I preach not the Gospell. 1589Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 55 Then woe mine eyes vnlesse they beautie see. 1610Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 15 O woe, the day. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 389 Wo to him, that in the desart Land Of Lybia travels. 1721Ramsay Prospect of Plenty 25 Wae to that hand that dares..Defile the stream. 1794Burns Song, Lovely Lass Inverness 13 Now wae to thee, thou cruel lord, A bluidy man I trow thou be. 1829Digby Broad Stone Hon., Godefridus 205 But woe the while! our fathers' minds are dead. 1842Lytton Zanoni i. ii, Woe to thine ears hadst thou heard the barbiton that night!
b. const. preps. on, for.
1823Scott Quentin D. xxx, Some articles we will minute down with which he shall comply, or wo on his head! 1851Carlyle Sterling i. xiv, It has ended thus. Wo on it! 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxvi, Oh, woe for them..when they shall wake!
†6. to do or work (a person) woe: to inflict distress or trouble upon; to afflict; to do harm to. Also without regimen. Obs.
Orig. woe is adv. in this phr., but later apprehended as n. (B. 1). (Cf. other langs., e.g. G. weh(e tun.)
c1000Ags. Ps. (Th.) cxviii. 138 Þa me grame wæron worda þinra, and me wa dydan. a1200Moral Ode 289 in O.E. Hom. I. 177 Ac ȝet ne deð heom nout so wo in þo loþe biende bute þat hi witeð þat heore pine ne scal neure habben ende. a1225Ancr. R. 364 Is hit nu wisdom mon to don so wo him suluen? c1230Hali Meid. (1922) 49 Hu moni earmðen anan awakeneð þer-wið, þat wurcheð þe wa inoh. c1250Gen. & Ex. 880 Abram hem folwede and wroȝte woa. Ibid. 2100 Ðeden ut-comen .vii. neet,..And .vii. lene after ðo, Ðe deden ðe .vii. fette wo. a1300Cursor M. 5531 Bot ai þe mare þai did [þ]am wa Þis folk multiplid ai maa. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxx. (Theodera) 624 Þe feynd, oure fa, Cesit nocht to wirk hyr way. c140026 Pol. Poems x. 65, I do þe wele, why dost me woo? c1425Wyntoun Cron. i. xvi. 1571 Iubiter sulde noucht..wyrk hym mar wa na dispyte. a1500Bernard. de cura rei fam. iii. 55 He kest the stone in þe watter, & bad it waa worghe. 1509Hawes Past. Pleas. xviii. (Percy Soc.) 86 It doth right well appere..that love hath done you wo. 1553Respublica 1648 Theis ladies..prepare to weorke vs woo and doo vs all mischiefe.
B. n. (See also A. 6.)
1. a. A condition of misery, affliction, or distress; misfortune, trouble; grievous or sorrowful state. poet. or rhet. Freq. in phr. tale of woe, a narrative of (one's) misfortunes. Now usu. joc.
c1200Ormin 897 Baþe hemm fell to þolenn wa þurrh ifell wifess irre. Ibid. 4766 Tenn menn..Forrlæs þe gode Job þatt daȝȝ,..& ȝet bilammp himm oþerr wa. c1250Gen. & Ex. 237 Issa was hire firste name..Siðen ȝhe brocte us to woa, Adam gaf hire name eua. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7770 Þe king & oþer riche men..wolde euere abbe ynou wanne þe pouere adde wo. a1300Cursor M. 2196 Nembrot..Þat in his time wroght mikel waa. 13..Ibid. 22472 (Edin.) Quar-to sold we be born to-day, Quen al þing sal com to way? c1375Sc. Leg. Saints vi. (Thomas) 250 He vald firste quyke þam fla, & bryne þame syne in doile & va. c1400Rom. Rose 4951 Youthe hem putte in Iupardye, In perell and in mych woo. c1480Henryson Prais of Aige 12 Wrechitnes has wroht all welthis wele to wo. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccccxxxiv. 308 b/2 The capitayne..had dayly great payne and wo to defende their towne. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. v. iii. 309 For neuer was a Storie of more Wo, Then this of Iuliet, and her Romeo. 1655Milton Sonn., Massacre Piedmont 14 From these may grow A hunder'd-fold, who..Early may fly the Babylonian wo. 1667― P.L. i. 3 The Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast Brought Death into the World, and all our woe. 1770Goldsm. Des. Vill. 160 Pleased with his guests, the good man learned to glow, And quite forgot their vices in their woe. 1790Coleridge Genevieve 8 Within your soul a voice there lives! It bids you hear the tale of Woe. 1813Byron Giaour 983 My days, though few, have pass'd below In much of joy, but more of woe. 1814― Lara i. ii, Lord of himself,—that heritage of woe. 1821Scott Kenilw. xxii, A screech-owl denouncing some deed of terror and of wo. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. III. ii. viii, This scene of wo. 1848Mrs. Gaskell Mary Barton iii, Her giddiness, her lightness of conduct, had wrought this woe. 1882E. Field Compl. Tribune Primer 111 (heading) A tale of woe. 1951Sport 16–22 Mar. 4/2 Listen to the tale of woe from Swindon Town, who..suffered their 16th away league defeat... Swindon..lost goalkeeper Norman Uprichard at a goalless stage of the game. 1967Baker & Jones Coffee, Tea or Me? xvi. 199 Kelman savored a crisp piece of sausage pizza as he thought about our tale of woe. 1973Times 11 June 18/8 Yet it is not all a tale of woe. An entirely new management structure has been brought into force, and Liverpool was the first port in the world to link a computer service to its cargo handling.
personified.c1400Rom. Rose 4995 With hir labour and travaile Logged ben with sorwe and woo.
b. in conjunction with weal.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 216 A fruit, ðe kenned wel and wo. 13..K. Alis. 3449 There his folk come wel or weye, Him tofore nys bote deth. a1340Hampole Psalter i. 2 Day & nyght, þt is assiduelly, in wele & wa. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiii. (George) 235 Fore wele na way Of þis place sal I nocht ga. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 687 Cleopatra, Ȝe nere out of myn hertis remembraunce For wel or wo for carole or for daunce. c140026 Pol. Poems v. 66 God haþ lent ȝow discrecioun Boþe of wele and of woo. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 182 Greit cause thay haif for till repent, Zot will thay nocht do so, Nouther for weill nor wo. 1812J. Wilson Isle of Palms i. 351 Whate'er betide of weal or woe. 1860Motley Netherl. vi. I. 299 Two important commonwealths, upon whose action..the weal and wo of Christendom was hanging.
c. In particularized use; chiefly pl., Misfortunes, troubles, griefs.
1382Wyclif Rev. ix. 12 Oo woo passid, and lo! ȝit comen two wos. 1567Satir. Poems Reform. iii. 153 All the wois that Ouid in Ibin Into his pretty lytill buik did wryte. a1568Montgomerie Misc. Poems iii. 9 That curst inconstant cative till accuse, Quhais variance of all my wois I wyt. 1599Drayton Heroic. Ep., Q. Isab. to Mortimer 16 One woe makes another woe seeme lesse. 1642J. Taylor (Water P.) Mad Fashions A 2 b, Those Rebells that doe breed her [sc. Ireland's] woes. 1697Dryden æneis xii. 892 Latinus tears his Garments as he goes, Both for his publick, and his private Woes. 1714Young Force Relig. i. 258 Now she revolves within her anxious mind, What woe still lingers in reserve behind. a1720Sewel Hist. Quakers (1795) I. 61 The Lord sent me to you, to warn you of the woes that are coming upon you. 1832W. Irving Alhambra I. xii. 152 Who has not been touched with the woes of his lovely and gentle queen, subjected by him to a trial of life and death, on a false charge of infidelity? 1920Discovery May 146 The most fundamental cause of all our present economic woes.
†d. transf. A cause of misfortune. Obs. rare.
c1400Beryn 1176 My wele, my woo, my paradise, my lyvis sustenaunce!
†2.
a. Physical pain or distress; disease or infirmity. Obs. or merged in sense 1.
a1225Ancr. R. 220 He lette ham þolien wo inouh—hunger & þurst, & muchel swinc. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1918 He was..pur mesel þo, & he bicom in is baptizinge hol of al is wo. 13..Northern Passion 49 (Camb. Gg.) Þai..dyd hym tyll pyne and waa And euyr þai thoght hym for to slaa. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 1033 A litil wetinge of watur his wo wol amende. a1400–50Wars Alex. 539, I am all in aunter sa akis me þe wame, Of werke well ne I wede & slike wa tholis. c1425Hampole's Psalter Metr. Pref. 36 Thys holy man..keuord mony of hur wo, the doumbe, the defe, and other seke. [1783Crabbe Village i. 227 Thus groan the old, till, by disease oppress'd, They taste a final woe, and then they rest.]
b. With reference to the pains of hell.
c1200Ormin Ded. 209 To takenn ut off helle wa þa gode sawless alle. Ibid. 1400 Forr whatt teȝȝ fellenn sone dun off heoffne unntill helle Till eche wa. c1290St. James 77 in S. Eng. Leg. 36 Þou sendest us þare we gret wo ifielde In gret torment and brenningue. c1315Shoreham vii. 534 Þus þe deuel ydampned hys, And wyþ hym..Deuelen wel mo;..Moche hys þe pyne þat hem eyleþ, And eke þe who. c140026 Pol. Poems i. 108 The more he dwelleth theryn long, To his soule he encreseth woo. 1781Transl. & Paraphr. xli. 8 Who looks to him with lively faith is sav'd from endless woes.
†3. Sorrow, grief, anguish (as a state of mind or feeling). Obs. or merged in sense 1.
a1300K. Horn 263 Heo louede so horn child Þat..In heorte heo hadde wo. c1350Will. Palerne 1483 Neiȝh wod of witte for woo of þat sawe. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1717 With alle þe wo on lyue, To þe wod he [sc. the fox] went away. c1400Destr. Troy 1360 Mony wyues, for woo, of þere wit past. c1410Hoccleve Mother of God 57 Tendrely remembre on the wo & peyne, Þat thow souffridist in his passioun. c1530Crt. Love 256 ‘For-soth, quod she, ‘they wailen of their wo.’ c1560A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxv. 21 My hairt, tak nowdir pane nor wa, For Meg, for Meriory, or ȝit Mawis. 1620J. Taylor (Water P.) Jack a Lent C 2, The poore Curres..stinke for woe for feare that another Lent is come sodainely vpon them. [1709Prior Henry & Emma 118 His down-cast Eye reveals his inward Woes. 1719Young Busiris i. i, While the big Woe lies throbbing at my Heart.]
†4. Lamentation, mourning. Chiefly in phr. to make woe. Obs.
c1300Havelok 465 Godard herde here wa, Ther-offe yaf he nouth a stra. 13..K. Alis. 2360 (Laud MS.), Michel woo & grete wailynges Was made. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1839 Lucrece, The woo to telle hyt were impossible, That she and al hir frendes make attones. c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 1057 For shame! why makest þou al this wo? 1508Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 437, I haif a water spunge for wa, within my wyde clokis, Than wring I it full wylely, & wetis my chekis.
5. An utterance of the word ‘woe’ in denunciation; an anathema, curse.
c1400Apol. Loll. p. xi, Her enden the eighte woois that God wishid to freris. Amen. 1546Bale Engl. Votaries i. 75 He went fearcelye vpon them with wo vpon wo. 1637Rutherford Let. to Ld. Craighall 10 Aug., There is a woe, woe to him by whom offences come: This woe came out of Christ's mouth. 1638Penit. Conf. vii. (1657) 146 A necessity is laid upon us with a woe, and an Anathema, if we come not to confession. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xxii, She bore a male-child, under circumstances which added treble bitterness to the wo denounced against our original mother. 1821Mrs. Wheeler App. Cumbld. Dial. 9 Here it was (a way light on the pleace!) At first I got a gliff o' Betty's feace. 1867M. E. Herbert Cradle L. viii. 228 The woe..pronounced by the Saviour—that woe so literally fulfilled.
6. attrib. and Comb.: simple attrib., as woe-hurricane, woe-mark, woe-trumpet (Rev. viii, ix); also adj. = woeful (cf. C), as † woe-day, † woe-thing, † woe-word; objective, as woe-begetting, woe-boding, woe-denouncing, woe-foreboding, woe-revolving adjs.; instrumental, as woe-adumbred, woe-beseen, woe-bested, woe-cross-wounded (see cross- B), woe-dejected, woe-delighted, woe-embroidered, woe-exhausted, woe-fraught, woe-illumed, woe-infirmed, woe-stricken, woe-struck, woe-surcharged, woe-tied, woe-wearied, woe-weary, woe-whelmed, woe-worn adjs.; woe-enwrap, woe-wrinkle vbs.; in other advb. relations, as woe-betrothed, woe-destined, woe-sprung, woe-wedded adjs.; † woe-heart [cf. C. 1 b, d], an affliction; also wosith.
1609J. Davies Holy Roode I 1, Thy *Woe-adumbred Front.
1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 3 The natural progeny of that *wo-begetting parent.
1390Gower Conf. III. 370 Al my face..So riveled and so *wo besein.
c1470Harding Chron. xliii. ii, Full *wo bystad..with sorowe and with care. c1510More Picus Wks. 29 If thou be neuer so wo bestad. c1530Crt. Love 845 Ye made me wo⁓bestad.
1777Potter æschylus, Supplicants 75 My bursting heart..*woe-betroth'd, fears e'en its friends.
1838Eliza Cook World iv, The raven..with its *woe-boding tone.
1609J. Davies Holy Roode F 2, Comfort..Her *woe-crosse-wounded Heart.
c1205Lay. 8750 Nu is icumen þin *wa⁓dæi. c1346Pol. Poems (Rolls) I. 48 Ipsis sit Waleway, meschef tristissima woday. a1796Burns Bannocks o' Barley, Wha in his wae-days Were loyal to Charlie?
1786― To Ruin 4 Thy cruel, *woe-delighted train.
1809Campbell Gert. Wyoming iii. xvi, [He] smote his breast with *woe-denouncing hand.
1796E. Hamilton Lett. Hindoo Rajah (1811) I. 86 The..years, which might change the abode of the souls of these tyrant whites into the frames of *woe-destined negroes.
1729Savage Wanderer ii. 203 She muses o'er her *woe-embroider'd Vest.
1593Nashe Christ's T. 26 Adams fall neuer so *woe-enwrapped the earth, as the relation of them shall.
1797M. Robinson Walsingham III. 56 The *woe-exhausted poet. 1854J. S. C. Abbott Napoleon (1855) I. ii. 56 The beleaguered and woe-exhausted city.
1813Scott Rokeby i. xxviii, Three banners..The *woe-foreboding peasant sees.
1797T. Park Sonn. 103 *Woe-fraught breast of kesar or of queen. 1818Holder Poems 69 From whose woe-fraught bosom break Those dismal cries?
1639Rutherford Let. to Vsctess. Kenmure 1 Oct., I hope that Christ, when he married you, married you and all the crosses and *wo hearts that follow you.
1818Keats Endym. iv. 527 *Woe-hurricanes beat ever at the gate.
1820Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. i. 637, I..see more clear Thy works within my *woe-illumed mind.
1593Nashe Christ's T. Ep. Ded., My *woe-infirmed Witte, conspired against me.
1848Mrs. Gaskell Mary Barton ix, The distress..which was crushing their lives out of them, and stamping *woe-marks over the land.
1824Symmons tr. æschylus, Agamemnon 65 Many a *woe-revolving year [πολύθρηνον αἰῶν'].
1776Mickle tr. Camoens' Lusiad 276 Their *woe-sprung tears shall sue.
1850Thackeray Pendennis lvii, Arthur could not see how pallid and *woe-stricken her face was.
1770W. Hodson Ded. Temple of Solomon 5 The Fury of the *Woe-struck King. 1828Carlyle Misc., Werner (1840) I. 169 A certain woestruck martyr zeal.
1615R. Brathwait Strappado 97 A *Woe-surcharged heart.
1675Cotton Burlesque upon B. 6 What! must I undergoe this *wo-thing, And suffer thus for doing nothing?
1619Drayton Bar. Wars vi. xcv, Her *woe-ty'd Tongue.
1680C. Nesse Church-Hist. 493 While the Church lay under the *Wo-Trumpets. 1826E. Irving Babylon iii. I. 196 We expect the seventh trumpet, the last of the three woe trumpets.
1615Chapman Odyss. xix. 700 When all poore men..Would..get their *wo⁓watcht pow'rs relieu'd.
1594Shakes. Rich. III, iv. iv. 18 My *woe-wearied tongue.
c1350Will. Palerne 793 He slod sliȝli a-doun a-slepe ful harde, as a *wo wery weiȝh for-waked to-fore. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xxi. 1 Wo-werie and wet⁓schod wente ich forth after.
1613J. Davies Muses Teares C 3, When thou..Cam'st to espouse his Halfe; *wo-wedded now! 1777Potter æschylus, Agamemnon 255 On its woe-wedded [αἰνόλεκτρον] Paris' hated head.
1875Browning Aristoph. Apol., Herakles 851 This..I pondered, though *woe-whelmed.
a1225Ancr. R. 306 Heren þat harde word, þat *waword.
1601Mary Magd. Lament. ii. 132 Poore *wo-worn woman. 1799Cupid & Psyche 46 These wan and woe-worn cheeks of mine. 1857Mrs. Gaskell C. Brontë II. xiii. 324 She saw her husband's woe-worn face. 1871Swinburne Songs bef. Sunrise, Halt bef. Rome 86 The woe-worn people.
1593Nashe Christ's T. 29 Let me..waxe olde and *woe-wrinckle my cheekes.
C. adj. (orig. and chiefly predicative).
This use has developed by a process common to the history of impersonal expressions in which an original dative has been converted into a nominative; me is wo became I am wo, as me longeth became I long.
1. a. Grieved, wretched, miserable, sorrowful. Obs. exc. Sc. and north. dial.
The first instance, like many more in early ME., is doubtful, because it is impossible to determine whether sancte paul is dative (See A. 3) or nominative.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 45 Þa wes sancte paul swiðe wa and abeh him..to his lauerdes fet. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 173 Ðanne stondeð þo wreches alse þo þe wo beð. a1300Cursor M. 14546 His disciplis þan war ful waa, Þat þair maister was hated sua. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 1452 Now er men wele, now er men wa. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints iii. (Andreas) 799 Þan was egeas wondir wa, Þat saw hym⁓self confundit sa. 1399Pol. Poems (Rolls) I. 364 The swan is ded; his make is woo. c1470Henry Wallace i. 401 Willȝham was wa he had na wappynis thar. 1470–85Malory Arthur viii. xxxix. 334 Ful wo was la Beale Isoud. 1515Let. in Douglas' Poet. Wks. (1874) I. Biogr. Introd. p. xxiii, I am ryght sory and voo therfor. 1523–34Fitzherb. Husb. §15 It is an olde saying, ‘The oxe is neuer wo, tyll he to the harowe goo’. 1535Coverdale Jer. xxii. 10 Mourne not ouer the deed, and be not wo for them. 1567Satir. Poems Reform. iii. 10 My freind, quhat makis the sa way? 1632Holland Cyrupædia 130 Cyrus understanding that Gadatas was long since full woe and even out of the world for feare. 1637Rutherford Lett., to T. Corbet (1671) 173 If it be not so, I will be woe to be a witness against them. a1648Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 515 He was woe that ever she came into England. 1700Dryden Wife of Bath's T. 108 Woe was the Knight at this severe Command! 1721Kelly Sc. Prov. 211, I am wae for your Skathe. 1816Scott Bl. Dwarf vii, I'm wae ye suld hae cause to say sae. 1835Mrs. Carlyle Lett. (1883) I. 44 Poor Queen!.. I was wae to look at her, wae to think of her. 1887Hall Caine Deemster xxxv, She had grown ‘wae’ as folk said.
in comp. and sup. forms.
1375Barbour Bruce xvi. 245 Micht no man se ane vrather [MS. E. waer] man. a1400–50Wars Alex. 2004 And he þe waest [v.r. woest] of þe werd. 14..Chaucer's Compl. Pite 3 (Phillipps MS.) In this worlde was no wight woer. c1450Holland Howlat 963, I couth nocht won in to welth wretch wast [v.r. wayest]. c1475Partenay 2855 More neuer ne [? he] was woer at no stounde Then off that he hade wrethed so Raymounde.
b. Said of the heart or soul, and in phr. woe in heart, etc.; esp. in north. dial. phr. wae's t'heart (wast-heart, waestart, etc.) = woe is me! alas!
The earliest quots. are doubtful: cf. 1 above.
c1205Lay. 2260 Corineus wes un-eðe & wa on his mode. a1300K. Horn 275 Þe stuard was in herte wo, For he nuste what to do. c1375Cursor M. 12440 (Fairf.) For-soþ myne hert is wa. c1400Gamelyn 335 Gamelyn in his hert was ful woo. c1420Chron. Vilod. 3446 He nas neuer ere so sore aferde Ny neuer in hert half so wo. 1591Drayton Harmony Ch. (Roxb.) 26 Oh holy blessed Sion hill! my heart is woe for thee. 1600W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 266 How woe my hart was. 1695[see wee'st heart]. 1703Thoresby Let. to Ray Gloss. (E.D.S.), Wae'st heart, a condolence to the same purport with wae's me, woe is the heart, &c. 1728Ramsay Anacreontic on Love 11 With his complaint my soul grew wae. 1773Fergusson Ode Gowdspink 21 'Mang men, wae's-heart! we aften find The brawest drest want peace o' mind. 1786Burns Twa Dogs 94 An' mony a time my heart's been wae. 1829J. Hunter Hallamsh. Gloss., Wast-heart-a-day, an expression of grief or of commiseration. 1854N. & Q. 1st Ser. IX. 349/2 Waestart, a common expression of sorrow or condolence among the lower classes..around Leeds. 1894R. Bridges A Robin iv, She was not there, and my heart is woe.
†c. In exclamations similar to those in A. 2, 3.
a1300Cursor M. 22105 Corozaim, ai be ye waa! And sua be ye beth[s]aida! c1340Hampole Wks. (Horstman) I. 165 Wo is he þat wotnot [etc.]. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints vii. (Jacobus Minor) 332 Iervsalem, euir va þu be! c1435Torr. Portugale 1691 This Giaunt hym toke, wo he be! 1520Calisto & Melib. C ij b, A baudy wych Callyd celystyne that wo myght she be.
d. In attrib. relation (cf. woe-day, etc. in B. 6). Obs. or dial.
a1670Spalding Troub. Chas. I (Bannatyne Club) I. 125 Some..left their lodgeings desolate,..with wae and sorry hearts. 1728Theobald Double Falsehood iv. i, If he have a Mother,..she's a Woe-woman for him at this Hour. 1778H. Brooke Female Officer ii. iii, I am a woe woman this heavy day. 1913N. Munro in Blackw. Mag. Dec. 784/2 The wae wee chirrup of the yellow-yite.
†2. Of an event, situation, etc.: Woeful, miserable, ‘sorry’. Obs.
1588Marprel. Epist. (Arb.) 38 Then alas, he was in a woe case. 1612Day Festivals vi. (1615) 155 Were it not for Bread, it would be woe with Mankind. 1638Heywood Wise Woman iii. i, I hope so, or else I were in a woe case. 1642J. Eaton Honey-c. Free Justif. 69 If he did, it would soone bee woe with us all. 1795Southey Joan of Arc vi. 256 Oh! woe it is to think So many men shall never see the sun Go down! |