cooee
/ˈkuːiː
/informal
exclamation
Used to attract attention, especially at a distance: ‘Cooee!’ The call brought all three heads round
verb (cooees, cooeeing, cooeed) [no object]
Make a call to attract attention: Liz had to cooee as he seemed in danger of blundering into the table...
- That we seldom saw a snake was probably due to the noise we made cooeeing and ululating to each other through a labyrinth of tunnels under the wiry branches.
- He hurried back, cooeeing and calling her name without getting an answer.
- I whistled and cooeed to John who was well out of sight and hearing by this stage, hoping that the wind would carry my voice.
Phrases
within cooee
Origin
Late 18th century: imitative of a signal used by Australian Aborigines and copied by settlers.
While to coo (late 17th century) is an imitation of the soft murmur of a dove, cooee is a sound meant to carry over distance. It was adopted by early British settlers in Australia from the sound used by Aboriginals to signal to each other in the bush.