释义 |
whoa hoint.n. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: whoa int., ho int.1, ho int.2 Etymology: < whoa int. + ho int.1 or ho int.2In β. forms with alteration of the second element after ha int. With the final element of the form wo ho how compare how int.1 A. int.1575 G. Turberville 129 Whyles your hawke is vpon the lewre, go aboute hir fayre and softly, lewring and crying: wó hó hó, as Falconers vse. 1588 ‘M. Marprelate’ 36 Wohohow, brother London, do you remember Thomas Allen? 1599 ‘T. Cutwode’ sig. D7v Come bird com..come to me With so ho ho, and wo ho ho cries she. 1600 W. Shakespeare v. i. 39 Clowne. Sola, sola: wo ha, ho sola, sola. View more context for this quotation 1606 G. Chapman v. sig. H3 Ile rush vpon them With a most hideous cry, the Duke, the Duke, the Duke, Ha, ha, ha, wo ho, come againe I say. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) v. v. 174 Whoa hoe, hoe, Father Page. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. iii. 76 He hallow'd but euen now. Whoa-ho-hoa . View more context for this quotation 1802 Feb. 102/2 Hearing one night a rat scratch against the vessel's side, he ran upon deck in his shirt to proclaim it to the sailors, calling out with a joyful tone of voice, ‘Whoa! hoa! hoa! a rat! a rat!’ 1829 W. Scott II. v. 161 A woodcock sprung from some bushes, and the young lady threw off her merlin in pursuit. ‘Sa ho—sa ho—wo ha!’ hollowed the falconer. 1833 G. P. R. James II. 33 ‘So ho! woa ho!’ cried the falconer, with a loud whistle: ‘he will make his point yet, your Grace.’ the world > movement > absence of movement > do not move [interjection] > command to stop > specific to animals 1802 G. Colman (new ed.) i. i. 9 Woho! old Argus and Jolly, there! 1839 C. Dickens vi. 41 ‘Wo ho!’ cried the guard,..running to the leaders' heads. 1872 A. C. Steele iv. 14/1 ‘Whoa, ho ! Now get up, can't you? Stand over!’ Dick cried, making his voice as fierce as he could. 1921 E. Œ. Somerville & ‘M. Ross’ xxi. 187 Come along, mare, if you jump half as big as he did you'll do!.. Good! We did that all right! Wo-ho, my pet! 1933 tr. Das Steckenpferd in 6 15 Whoa, ho, heed! Stop my fiery steed. 1969 H. Orton & P. M. Tilling III. i. 190 When you want your (plough-)horses to stop, what do you say?.. [Leicestershire] Wo ho. 2007 Winter 25/1 The same voice once stopped an entire eight-team logging operation for a few seconds when he hollered his familiar, ‘Whoa Ho!’ Every horse in the wood stopped at the command intended for his own eager team. 1868 Dec. 16 Rolling in money, Charley says... Whoa, ho, boy! 1887 May 480 ‘Whoa! ho!’ he said, as his hat was lifted from his head [by the wind]. 1915 Sept. 15/1 ‘Whoa-ho!’ said O'Hara. ‘You're married after all, I can see.’ 1989 W. Barnhardt (1998) 26 Lisa, always good to see you—and whoa hoa hoa, this must be the new boy! 1998 A. Hollinghurst (1999) i. 9 ‘Wo-ho! And you lived to tell the tale?’ 2015 M. Meyerhoff x. 212 ‘What's your research on?’.. ‘Language and sex,’ I replied. ‘Whoa-ho,’ she said, ‘You must have them lining up to supervise you.’ B. n.the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > [noun] > cause of surprise > expression of surprise 1622 M. Drayton xx. 19 With many a Wo ho ho, and iocond Lure againe. 1859 ‘G. Eliot’ I. i. xii. 235 There was a great deal of strong language, mingled with soothing ‘who-ho's’ while the leg was examined. 1937 July 113/1 Jupe pulled up the horse and uttered a ringing ‘Whoa-hoa!’. 2002 B. Stackhouse vi. 70 Martin sailed his first dart straight into the bull's-eye..and received a clamor of whoa hos and wows. Derivatives 1863 28/1 The pony..showed symptoms of insubordination.., which Robbie was too impatient to curb or soothe by the ordinary process of wo-hoing. 1885 H. R. Haggard iii. 65 Presently from the stables there arose a sound of kicking, plunging, and wohohing impossible to describe. 1901 S. F. Bullock 108 The Master yoked a horse to the slipe,..and with much bustle and wo-hoing fell to gathering in the long yellow rows. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < int.n.1575 |