woon.
/wuː/, U.S. /wu/ (A spell of) caressing or love-making; esp. in phr. to pitch a woo: see pitch v.2 Phrases 4.
ΘΠ
the mind > emotion > love > action of caressing > [noun] > instance of caressing
toya1400
endearing1622
fondling1640
caressa1657
endearment1702
fondle1750
woo1937
love-up1953
1937 Clarionette (Univ. Denver) 18 Mar. 1/3 As long as there are students and universities and sofas and automobiles and nice laws, scholars will do their time-honoured share of ‘pitchin' the woo’.
1938 N. Marsh Artists in Crime ix. 120 Hello, you two, what are you up to? Having a woo or something?
1959 N. Marsh Singing in Shrouds vi. 111 A pair of tango dancers..strutted and stalked..and frowned ineffably at each other. ‘What an angry woo,’ Tim said.
1968 Guardian 27 Nov. 9/6 Couples making woo in motor-cars should be careful not to rock them too much.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
woov.1
/wuː/, U.S. /wu/ Now literary.
I. intransitive (or absol.)
1.
a. To solicit or sue a woman in love; to court, make love.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > courtship or wooing > court or engage in courtship [verb (intransitive)] > solicit or sue woman in love
wooa1050
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > seeking marriage > [verb (intransitive)] > be a suitor
wooa1050
sue?1507
suit?c1600
suitor1777
a1050 Liber Scintill. (1889) xiii. 68 Bearn worulde þissere wogiað & hi beoð gesealde to gyftum.
a1050 Liber Scintill. (1889) xiii. 68 Ne hi ne wogiað ne hi ne lædað wif.
a1050 Liber Scintill. (1889) xiii. 70 Naht framað flæsc habban mæden gif on geþance ænig wogað.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 284 As mon þe woweð [a1250 Titus wohes] as king þe luueð anlafdi of feorrene londe.
a1300 K. Horn (Cambr.) 793 Whan þu farst to woȝe, Tak him þine gloue.
1338 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 40 Unto þe duke of Normundie he went for to wouwe.
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 7 Wher a womman is al one, It makth a man..The more hardi forto wowe.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 40 Religious men of dyuers places Cwmis thair to wow and se fair faces.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) v. ii. 3 Is't possible, that..but seeing, you should loue her? And louing woo? and wooing, she should graunt? View more context for this quotation
1670 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Prov. 30 To wo is a pleasure in a young man, a fault in an old.
1792 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 667 Duncan Gray cam here to woo.
1822 Campbell Maid's Remonstr. i Never wedding, ever wooing, Still a love-lorn heart pursuing,..Wed, or cease to woo.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 24 A creature wholly given to brawls and wine, Drunk even when he woo'd.
b. Of animals.
ΚΠ
a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 44 Wormes woweþ vnder cloude.
a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 44 Wowes þis wilde drakes.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) xii. i. A ij/1 Males [of birds] drawe to company of females..and wowe wyth beckes & voyce.
c. in figurative context.
ΚΠ
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 293 Lo þus vre lauerd woweð. nis ha to hard iheorted þet aþulli wowere ne mei to his luue turnen.
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 78 In loves court..The povere vertu schal noght spiede, Wher that the riche vice woweth.
c1400 26 Pol. Poems xx. 120 He [sc. Christ] is worþy be loued, þat so dede wowe.
2. To make solicitation or entreaty; to sue for; to ‘invite’, ‘call’. Also const. clause.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > make a request [verb (intransitive)] > for something
bid971
aska1200
seekc1366
cravec1386
entreat1427
inquire?a1513
beg1576
incall1591
urgea1616
woo1615
clamour1651
to call on ——1721
tout1731
spell1790
1615 R. Brathwait Strappado 143 Th' Maide..Wooing with teares..That Ioue would giue this Monster th' ouerthrow.
1634 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. Hist. New Test. (STC 12640.5) 189 Even after an ill harvest we must sow; and after denyalls we must wooe for God.
1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. (1656) (2 Cor. iv. 5) 711 We are Christs Paranymphs, or spokesmen, and must woo for him.
1877 ‘Mrs. Forrester’ Mignon I. 222 So poor George wooes and prays and pleads in vain.
1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad iv. 7 Towns and countries woo together.
II. transitive.
3. c1290 St. Matthew 84 in S. Eng. Leg. 80 A king..wolde ire habbe to his spouse and wowede hire wel faste.a1300 K. Horn (Cambr.) 546 Ischal..mi kniȝthod proue, Ar ihc þe ginne to woȝe.a1300 Cursor Mundi 27998 If þou man nedd þe euer þar-till At force womman..Or woud hir wit wordes slight.c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Dido. 1247 He..wowede hyre to han hire as his wyf.c1440 Generydes 4442 Ther is a knyght hir wowith euery owre, Not for to wedde butt for his paramour.1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 783/2 Thou arte but a foole to wo her, she is nat for the.1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 43 Wooe hir, win hir, and weare hir.1589 W. Warner Albions Eng. (new ed.) vi. xxix. 131 Thus woode he her, thus wonne he her, thus woode, and wonne, hee sped.1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. vii. sig. Kk Long thus I woo'd her with dew obseruaunce, In hope vnto my pleasure to haue won.1714 T. Lucas Mem. Most Famous Gamesters & Sharpers (ed. 2) 41 He presum'd to woe a great Lady, who was a Widow.1842 Ld. Tennyson Dora in Poems (new ed.) II. 35 He woo'd and wed A labourer's daughter.1861 ‘G. Eliot’ Silas Marner iii. 57 For four years he had thought of Nancy Lammeter, and wooed her with tacit patient worship.† c. Said of the female: To solicit the love of.
a. To sue to or solicit (a woman) in love, esp. with a view to marriage; to pay court to, court.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > courtship or wooing > court or woo [verb (transitive)]
wooc1290
court1580
suitc1586
accourt1590
suitor1672
address1700
gallantize1728
philander1787
to stick up1830
spark1888
romance1931
lumber1938
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > seeking marriage > seek in marriage [verb (transitive)] > court or woo
wooc1290
court1580
suitc1586
accourt1590
sue1596
pretend1652
suitor1672
to make or pay (one's) court to1716
c1000 Ælfric Lives Saints vii. 14 Þa ða heo gewende of scole, ða awogode hi sum cniht.
a1020 in Thorpe Charters (1865) 312 Þa foreward ðe Godwine worhte wið Byrhtric þa he his dohter awogode.]
b. Of animals.
ΚΠ
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. i. 1094 Þe males woweþ and plesiþ þe females and fighteþ for hem.
1684 J. Smith Profit & Pleasure United 35 If she [sc. the Mare] refuse him..you may put a small Stone Nag to wooe her.
1855 Poultry Chron. 2 412 [We] heard their loud gobbling on a sunny spring morning when wooing their mates.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > courtship or wooing > court or woo [verb (transitive)] > (of female) solicit the love of
wooc1425
c1425 Wyntoun Cron. ii. v. 344 Scho..Said Iosephe walde haf lyin hyr by, Qwhar to scho wowit hym besely.
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur xix. viii. 784 [She] wowed hym to haue layne by hym.
d. in figurative context.
ΚΠ
a1240 Ureisun in Old Eng. Hom. I. 187 A swete ihesu..hwine con ich þe woȝe [later text wowen þe] wiþ swete luue.
?a1289 Ancrene Riwle (Cleo.: Scribe D) (1972) 286 Iesu..þe al onþiswise wowede [?c1225 Scribe A þolede] ure saule.
c1430 Hymns Virgin (1867) 69 In ȝougþe whanne y was wilde & stronge, þe fals world fair dide me wowe.
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) ii. i. 15 See that you come Not to wooe honour, but to wed it. View more context for this quotation
1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada ii. iii. iii. 113 In gaining him, I gain that Fortune too Which he has Wedded, and which I but Wooe.
1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 126 They are lost In chase of fancied happiness, still woo'd And never won.
1844 A. W. Kinglake Eothen iii. 42 Venice..in old times would send forth the Chief of the State to woo, and wed the reluctant sea.
4. To move or invite by alluring means; to entreat or solicit alluringly. (Said of persons, and figuratively of things.)
a. const. object and infinitive.
ΚΠ
c1400 Song Roland 546 His bugle to blow, they hym wowid.
1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares 4 He..wooed them (with many fayre promises) to repent.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iii. 297 My wayward husband, hath a hundred times Wooed me to steale it. View more context for this quotation
1621 H. Elsynge Notes Deb. House of Lords (1870) 81 He was wood to consent to the patent of Inns.
1645 J. Milton On Christ's Nativity: Hymn ii, in Poems 3 Onely with speeches fair She [sc. Nature] woo's the gentle Air To hide her guilty front with innocent Snow.
1728 J. Thomson Spring 50 Then forth He walks,..and wooes the Bird of Eve To mingle Woes with his.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. i. 217 Begone!—I woo thee not to stay.
1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. II. 175 A mild air..wooing every bud and flower to burst forth into..beauty.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in Enoch Arden, etc. 76 Him they lured Into their net.., wooing him to woo.
b. constructed with object and adverbial phrase (or simple adverb).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > attraction, allurement, or enticement > attract, allure, or entice [verb (transitive)]
teec888
tightc1000
drawc1175
tollc1220
till?c1225
ticec1275
bringc1300
entice1303
win1303
wina1340
tempt1340
misdrawa1382
wooa1387
lure1393
trainc1425
allurea1450
attract?a1475
lock1481
enlure1486
attice1490
allect1518
illect?1529
wind1538
disarm1553
call1564
troll1565
embait1567
alliciate1568
slock1594
enamour1600
court1602
inescate1602
fool1620
illure1638
magnetize1658
trepana1661
solicit1665
whistle1665
drill1669
inveigh1670
siren1690
allicit1724
wisea1810
come-hither1954
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 91 Þey heo were..bysylych ywowed to cosses and clippynge..; ȝit sche lefte clene mayde.
1602 B. Jonson Poetaster ii. ii. sig. D This Gentlewoman is woing Hermogenes for a song. View more context for this quotation
a1625 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Two Noble Kinsmen (1634) ii. ii. 101 All those pleasures That wooe the wils of men to vanity. View more context for this quotation
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre v. xxv. 272 With the oratorie of so pious a project to woo money out of peoples purses.
1682 N. Crouch Admirable Curiosities (1684) 23 To little purpose he woed the King and Queen for Reparation.
1703 N. Rowe Ulysses i. i Well might you hope to woe me to your Wishes.
1781 W. Cowper Expostulation 627 Those truths..Invite thee, woo thee, to the bliss they share.
1821 Ld. Byron Marino Faliero (2nd issue) iv. i. 97 I..will woo my pillow For thoughts more tranquil.
1830 Ld. Tennyson Owl ii. ii Thee to woo to thy tuwhit.
1875 A. Maclaren Serm. 2nd Ser. vii. 121 In spite of every silvery voice that woos him aside.
1882 T. G. Bowles Flotsam & Jetsam 8 A splendid summer day, wooing the very coat off your back.
5. To sue for or solicit the possession or achievement of; hence figurative to ‘court’, ‘invite’, ‘tempt’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > request or ask for [verb (transitive)] > petition or appeal for
suea1393
wooc1440
address1679
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 533/1 Wowyn', proco, procito.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Pi/2 To Wowe, procare, ambire.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. vii. 10 What a life is this That your poore friends must woe your companie. View more context for this quotation
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. i. 141 You take a Precepit for no leape of danger, And woe your owne destruction. View more context for this quotation
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 312 Some in their Actions, doe Wooe and affect Honour, and Reputation.
1636 A. Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae (new ed.) 140 ‘Make choice then of those then Or of a thousand things’;..With that I wood his wings.
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre i. iv. 5 Some..rather wooed then waited for their own deaths.
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. i. 6 Their Bones were drub'd so sore, They durst not wooe one Combat more.
1781 W. Cowper Expostulation 413 All fasting else..Is wooing mercy by renew'd offence.
1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 161 They that wooe preferment.
1792 S. Rogers Pleasures Mem. i. 14 Whose hollow turret wooes the whistling breeze.
1821 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto IV xliii. 92 Pale, statue-like, and stern, she woo'd the blow.
1882 W. Ballantine Some Exper. Barrister's Life xxiii. 224 A theatre which for years before had wooed in vain the patronage of the public.
1883 R. Bridges Prometheus 45 She fled Into the sea, preferring there to woo The choking waters.
Derivatives
wooable adj. /ˈwuːəb(ə)l/ suitable to be wooed.
/ˈwuːəb(ə)l/ suitable to be wooed.ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > seeking marriage > [adjective] > relating to courting or wooing > courted or wooed > able to be
wooable1903
1903 I. Zangwill Merely Mary Ann in Grey Wig 262 She was well-nigh of wooable age.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
woov.2
/wuː/, U.S. /wu/ = mah-jong v.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > table game > mah-jong > [verb (intransitive)] > complete hand or triplet
woo1922
mah-jong1923
pung1923
1922 H. Sterling Standard Rules & Instr. Chinese Game Mah Chang (ed. 4) 6 Experienced players invariably prefer to ‘Woo’ quickly with a small score rather than fail to ‘Woo’ at all.
1922 H. Sterling Standard Rules & Instr. Chinese Game Mah Chang (ed. 4) 12 The Woo hand adds 2 points if he Woo with only one possible piece..or if he hold one of his last pair and Woo with the other.
1943 K. S. Whitehead Mah Jong Chinese Way §59 A player whose hand contains a false set has a ‘foul hand’, and cannot woo.
1973 J. Scarne Encycl. Games xxiii. 451 When he completes his hand, four sets and a pair, a player may woo or mah-jongg by showing his whole hand. He wins the deal, ending play.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1937
v.1a1050
v.21922