Woe

int., adv., sb., a. 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. sup. 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. wai, 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, wêhe wk. m., str. and wk. f.); otherwise the orig. interjectional forms are used as sbs.

  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 λῃστής (f. *waidēþs = OE. wéadǽd crime), OHG. wê in wêwurt evil fate, misfortune; cf. Lett. wajsch weak, ill.

  Partially disguised compounds are WELLAWAY, WELLAWO, and WALL v.]

  A.  int. and adv.

  I.  1. As an exclamation of grief or lamentation: = Alas! Often in combination with another int., as ah, lo (see WALE int., WELLAWO); cf. WAESUCKS. arch.

  c. 725.  Corpus Gloss., Int. 327. Ua, euwa [= eow + wa].

  c. 1250.  Death, 167, in O. E. Misc., 178. Wai hwi noldestu er of þisse beon icnowe?

1297.  R. Glouc. (Rolls), 6446. Awey [v.r. awai] seli ȝonge þinges, frendles were hii þere.

c. 1320.  Cast. Love, 188. A-wei, to sone he hit for-les.

c. 1330.  R. Brunne, Chron. Wace (Rolls), 15879. Cried he neyþer wo ne way, But ded he was, & þer he lay.

  c. 1400.  26 Pol. Poems, xxiv. 366. Allas, oure synnes … say, ‘wo, wo, wo!’

c. 1470.  Henry, Wallace, IV. 760. At hir he speryt giff scho forthocht it sar. ‘Wa, ya,’ scho said.

1676.  Dryden, Aurengz., V. 76. Ah wo, wo, wo! the worst of woes I find!

1729.  G. Adams, trans. Sophocles, Antig., V. iv. Wo! and wo! Again, thou hast ruined an unhappy Man.

1854.  Patmore, 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.

c. 1175.  Lamb. Hom., 21. O, seið þus þe boc, wei þet he eure hit wule iþenche in his þonke.

a. 1250.  Owl & Night., 120. Wai [v.r. way] þat hit nis þarof bireued.

c. 1275.  Lay., 8013. Wei þat ich nadde bi war.

a. 1400.  in 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.

971.  Blickl. Hom., 61. Wa biþ þonne þæm mannum þe ne onʓytaþ þisse worlde yrmþa.

a. 1023.  Wulfstan, Hom., xxx. (1883), 146. Wa byð ðam þe þær bið ʓeteohhod to.

c. 1300.  Harrow. 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.

1390.  Gower, Conf., I. 98. Sche seide: ‘Ha treson, wo thee be.’

a. 1400–50.  Wars Alex., 4564. Wailaway to wriches & wa is ȝow in erthe.

c. 1400.  Maundev. (Roxb.), xiii. 55. Wa be to þe, Bethsaida!

c. 1450.  Mirk’s Festial, 4. Then woo schall be to hom þat schall here þys rebuke yn þat day.

1475.  Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.), 41. Heh allas!… and woo be the tyme they saide, that ever we shulde put … trust to the Frenshe partie.

1533.  Frith, Mirr., ii. A vij. Woe be to them that couple and knytte houses to gether.

1542.  Boorde, Dyetary, xvi. (1870), 273. Bacon is good for carters and plowmen,… but & yf they haue the stone,… they shall synge, ‘wo be the pye!’

c. 1560.  A. Scott, Poems (S.T.S.), xxxiv. 151. Waiss ȝow.

1567.  Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.), 187. Way is the Hirdis of Israell.

1583.  Stubbes, Anat. Abus., II. (1882), 59. Woe were vs, if wee were at the rule and gouernement of creatures.

1636.  Earl Manch., Al Mondo (ed. 3), 162. Woe is him whose bed is made in hell.

1680.  in Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., XLV. 246. Woes us that we can nether shew nor receive kindness without danger.

1748.  Richardson, Clarissa (1768), V. 25. Wo be to the Villain, if he recollect not this!

c. 1860.  Faber, Child’s Death, vi. Thou art welcome, thrice welcome:—yet woe is the day!

1880.  Blackmore, Mary Anerley, xi. But woe is him, if a nasty foe … smite him to the quick.

  3.  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.

c. 893.  K. Ælfred, Oros., III. vii. Þæm folce wæs æʓþres waa, ʓe þæt hie þæt mæste yfel forberan sceoldon, ʓe eac þæt hie his sciran ne dorstan.

a. 1000.  Sal. & Sat., 104. Huru him bið æt heartan wa, ðonne he hangiende helle wisceð ðæs engestan eðelrices.

c. 1200.  Trin. Coll. Hom., 149. Tedet anima mea uite mee. Wuo is mi soule þat ich bide here swo longe.

c. 1200.  Ormin, 11904. Himm wass waȝȝ & ange Off þatt he nohht ne wisste off Crist.

c. 1205.  Lay., 1660. Swa swiðe wa him was þat al his wit he for-læs.

a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 96. Me is wo þet tu hit wost.

a. 1250.  Owl & Night., 882. Þat beoþ her, wo is hom þes.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 3749. Me es sua waa, almast i weede.

c. 1380.  Sir Ferumb., 209. Him was ful wo þan on is þoȝt, & ofte sekede amonge.

a. 1400[?].  Morte Arth., 2684. Be alle the welthe of the werlde, so woo was theme neuer!

c. 1450.  St. 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.

c. 1205.  Lay., 28345. Wa is me þat ich was mon iboren.

a. 1240.  Ureisun, in O. E. Hom., I. 185. Wa is me þet ic am swa fremede wiþ þe!

c. 1375.  Sc. Leg. Saints, xxxiii. (George), 146. Wais me, douchtir, for þe.

a. 1400–50.  Wars Alex., 3075. ‘Wa is me!’ quod he,… ‘wa is me vnhappy!’

c. 1400.  Anturs Arth., 196 (Douce MS.). ‘Wo is me for þi wo!’ quod Waynour.

c. 1480.  Henryson, Swallow & Other Birds, 265. Now ar þaj deid, and wo is me þairfore!

1513.  Douglas, Æneis, XI. i. 133. Bot netheles, quhat harm, full wayis me!

1526.  Tindale, 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.

1579.  Spenser, Sheph. Cal., Sept., 25. My sheepe bene wasted, (wae is me therefore).

1683.  G. M[eriton], Yorks. Dial., 6. Waies is me Husband, our awd Breads all gane.

1729.  G. Adams, trans. Sophocles, Antig., II. v. Wo is me a Wretch!

1785.  Burns, Death & Dr. Hornbook, xxiii. Waes me for Johnie Ged’s Hole now … if that thae news be true!

1842.  Tennyson, Morte d’Arth., 120. To whom replied King Arthur, much in wrath: ‘Ah, miserable and unkind, untrue,… Woe is me!’

1892.  Furnivall, Hoccleve’s Minor Poems, p. xliv. Lastly (woe is me!) I printed it in 1878 from [etc.].

  4.  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.

c. 1205.  Lay., 1562. Wa wrðe auer þene smið.

c. 1230.  Hali Meid. (1922), 37. Wa wurðe þat chaffere.

c. 1275.  Lay., 8011. Wo worþe onread [earlier text Wale wale vnræd].

1340.  Hampole, Pr. Consc., 7396. Cursed kaytif and wa worth þe.

c. 1350.  Will. Palerne, 4118. And ȝif i wrong seie any word, wo worþ me euer.

a. 1400.  Sir Perc., 139. ‘Wo worthe wykkyde armour!’ Percyvelle may say.

c. 1470.  Henry, Wallace, IV. 744. Allace That I was maide, wa worthe the coursit cas!

a. 1500.  Chaucer’s Dreme, 1715. Alas my birth, wo worth my life.

1549.  Latimer, Ploughers (Arb.), 34. Wo worth the, O Deuyll, wo worth the,… that thou haste made Englande to worshyppe false Goddes.

1563.  Homilies, II. Passion, II. 199. May we not iustly crye wo worth the tyme that euer we synned?

1593.  Nashe, Christ’s T., 66. Fall England, farewell peace, woe-worth our Weale and tranquillitie.

1683.  G. M[eriton], Yorks. Dial., 16. Weayworth this Trash.

1684.  Bunyan, Pilgr., II. 7. Then they all wept again, and cryed out: Oh, Wo worth the day.

1714.  Gay, Sheph. Week, I. 17. Woe worth the Tongue! may Blisters sore it gall, That names Buxoma, Blouzelind withal.

1785.  Burns, Sc. Drink, xv. Wae worth that brandy, burnin trash!

1810.  Scott, Lady of L., I. ix. Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day, That costs thy life, my gallant grey!

1890.  Lowell, Study Wind., 244. Woe worth the hour that I beheld thee born.

  † b.  As an independent exclamation: = sense 1.

1553.  T. Wilson, Rhet., I. 43. Wo worthe, thei are dedde.

1598.  Marston, Sco. Villanie, I. 23. Woe worth when trees drop in their proper kinde!

  ¶ c.  Woe worth me! used occas. loosely = Woe is me.

1887.  Swinburne, Locrine, V. ii. Estrild. Woe worth me! Sabrina. Nay, woe worth Her wickedness.

1891.  Conan 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 …). Also without obj.

1362.  Langl., 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!

1588.  Shaks., Tit. A., IV. ii. 56. Now helpe, or woe betide thee euermore.

1808.  [see BETIDE v. 1 c].

1819.  Keats, La belle Dame sans Merci, ix. And there I dream’d, ah! woe betide, The latest dream I ever dream’d.

1819.  Scott, Ivanhoe, xxvi[i]. Go to the sick man’s chamber…; and woe betide you if you again quit it without my permission!

1840.  Dickens, Old C. Shop, vi. If you’re not sharp enough I’ll creak the door, and wo beride 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.

c. 897.  K. Ælfred, Gregory’s Past. C., xliv. 328. Hit is ʓecweden: Wa eow þe gadriað hus to huse. Ibid., xlix. 378. Wa me ðæs ic swuʓode!

971.  Blickl. Hom., 25. Wa eow þe nu hlihaþ.

c. 1000.  Ags. Gosp., Matt. xviii. 7. Wa þysum middanʓearde þurh swicdomas.

c. 1200.  Vices & Virtues, 19. Wa hem þatt hie æure iscapene waren.

1382.  Wyclif, Rev. viii. 13. I … herde the voys of an egle … seiynge … Wo! wol wo! to the dwellinge men in erthe.

1390.  Gower, Conf., II. 355. Wo the while, he was a thief!

c. 1400.  Love, Bonavent. Mirr. (1908), 139. Woo to vs ȝif we wole folewe hym that wolde sette his fete in the hille of lordschippe.

c. 1460.  Play Sacram., 853. Woo the whyle that bargayn I dyd euer make.

1535.  Coverdale, 1 Cor. ix. 16. And wo vnto me [1611 woe is vnto me], yff I preach not the Gospell.

1589.  Greene, Menaphon (Arb.), 55. Then woe mine eyes vnlesse they beautie see.

1610.  Shaks., Temp., I. ii. 15. O woe, the day.

1697.  Dryden, Virg. Georg., III. 389. Wo to him, that in the desart Land Of Lybia travels.

1721.  Ramsay, Prospect of Plenty, 25. Wae to that hand that dares … Defile the stream.

1794.  Burns, Song, Lovely Lass Inverness, 13. Now wae to thee, thou cruel lord, A bluidy man I trow thou be.

1829.  Digby, Broad Stone Hon., Gedefridus, 205. But woe the while our fathers’ minds are dead.

1842.  Lytton, Zanoni, I. ii. Woe to thine ears hadst thou heard the barbiton that night!

  b.  const. preps. on, for.

1823.  Scott, Quentin D., xxx. Some articles we will minute down with which he shall comply, or wo on his head!

1851.  Carlyle, Sterling, I. xiv. It has ended thus. Wo on it!

1852.  Mrs. 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 sb. (B. 1). (Cf. other langs., e.g., G. weh(e tun.)

c. 1000.  Ags. Ps. (Th.), cxviii. 138. Þa me grame wæron worda þinra, and me wa dydan.

a. 1200.  Moral 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.

a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 364. Is hit nu wisdom mon to don so wo him suluen?

c. 1230.  Hali Meid. (1922), 49. Hu moni earmðen anan awakeneð þer-wið, þat wurcheð þe wa inoh.

c. 1250.  Gen. & Ex., 880. Abram hem folwede and wroȝte woa. Ibid., 2100. Ðeden ul-comen .vii. neet,… And .vii. lene after ðo, Ðe deden ðe .vii. fette wo.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 5531. Bot ai þe mare þai did [þ]am wa Þis folk multiplid ai maa.

c. 1375.  Sc. Leg. Saints, xxx. (Theodera), 624. Þe feynd, oure fa, Cesit nocht to wirk hyr way.

c. 1400.  26 Pol. Poems, x. 65. I do þe wele, why dost me woo?

c. 1425.  Wyntoun, Cron., I. xvi. 1571. Iubiter sulde noucht … wyrk hym mar wa na dispyte.

a. 1500.  Bernard. de cura rei fam., III. 55. He kest the stone in þe watter, & bad it waa worghe.

1509.  Hawes, Past. Pleas., XVIII. (Percy Soc.), 86. It doth right well appere … that love hath done you wo.

1553.  Respublica, 1648. Theis ladies … prepare to weorke vs woo and doo vs all mischiefe.

  B.  sb. (See also A. 6.)

  1.  A condition of misery, affliction or distress; misfortune, trouble; grievous or sorrowful state. poet. or rhet.

c. 1200.  Ormin, 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.

c. 1250.  Gen. & Ex., 237. Issa was hire firste name … Siðen ȝhe brocte us to woa, Adam gaf hire name eua.

1297.  R. Glouc. (Rolls), 7770. Þe king & oþer riche men … wolde euere abbe ynou wanne þe pouere adde wo.

c. 1300.  Cursor M., 2196. Nembrot … Þat in his time wroght mikel waa. Ibid. (13[?]), 22472 (Edin.). Quar-to sold we be born to-day, Quen al þing sal com to way?

c. 1375.  Sc. Leg. Saints, vi. (Thomas), 250. He vald firste quyke þam fla, & bryne þame syne in doile & va.

c. 1400.  Rom. Rose, 4951. Youthe hem putte in Iupardye, In perell and in mych woo.

c. 1480.  Henryson, Prais of Aige, 12. Wrechitnes has wroht all welthis wele to wo.

1523.  Ld. Berners, Froiss., I. ccccxxxiv. 308 b/2. The capitayne … had dayly great payne and wo to defende their towne.

1592.  Shaks., Rom. & Jul., V. iii. 309. For neuer was a Storie of more Wo, Then this of Iuliet, and her Romeo.

1655.  Milton, Sonn. Massacre Piedmont, 14. From these may grow A hunder’d-fold, who … Early may fly the Babylonian wo. Ibid. (1667), P. L., I. 3. The Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast Brought Death into the World, and all our woe.

1770.  Goldsm., Des. Vill., 160. Pleased with his guests, the good man learned to glow, And quite forgot their vices in their woe.

1790.  Coleridge, Genevieve, 8. Within your soul a voice there lives! It bids you hear the tale of Woe.

1813.  Byron, Giaour, 983. My days, though few, have pass’d below In much of joy, but more of woe. Ibid. (1814), Lara, I. ii. Lord of himself,—that heritage of woe.

1821.  Scott, Kenilw., xxii. A screech-owl denouncing some deed of terror and of wo.

1837.  Carlyle, Fr. Rev., III. II. viii. This scene of wo.

1848.  Mrs. Gaskell, Mary Barton, iii. Her giddiness, her lightness of conduct, bad wrought this woe.

  personified.  c. 1400.  Rom. Rose, 4995. With hir labour and travaile Logged ben with sorwe and woo.

  b.  in conjunction with weal.

c. 1250.  Gen. & 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.

a. 1340.  Hampole, Psalter, i. 2. Day & nyght, þ^t is assiduelly, in wele & wa.

c. 1375.  Sc. Leg. Saints, xxxiii. (George), 235. Fore wele na way Of þis place sal I nocht ga.

c. 1385.  Chaucer, L. G. W., 687, Cleopatra. Ȝe nere out of myn hertis remembraunce For wel or wo for carole or for daunce.

c. 1400.  26 Pol. Poems, v. 66. God haþ lent ȝow discrecioun Boþe of wele and of woo.

1567.  Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.), 182. Greit cause thay haif for till repent, Zot will thay nocht do so, Nouther for weill nor wo.

1812.  J. Wilson, Isle of Palms, I. 351. Whate’er betide of weal or woe.

1860.  Motley, 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.

1382.  Wyclif, Rev. ix. 12. Oo woo passid, and lo! ȝit comen two wos.

1567.  Satir. Poems Reform., iii. 153. All the wois that Ouid in Ibin Into his pretty lytill buik did wryte.

a. 1568.  Montgomerie, Misc. Poems, iii. 9. That curst inconstant cative till accuse, Quhais variance of all my wois I wyt.

1599.  Drayton, Heroic. Ep., Q. Isab. to Mortimer, 16. One woe makes another woe seeme lesse.

1642.  J. Taylor (Water P.), Mad Fashions, A 2 b. Those Rebells that doe breed her [sc. Ireland’s] woes.

1697.  Dryden, Æneis, XII. 892. Latinus tears his Garments as he goes, Both for his publick, and his private Woes.

1714.  Young, Force Relig., I. 258. Now she revolves within her anxious mind, What woe still lingers in reserve behind.

a. 1720.  Sewel, Hist. Quakers (1795), I. 61. The Lord sent me to you, to warn you of the woes that are coming upon you.

1832.  W. 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?

1920.  D. Knoop, in Discovery, May, 146/1. The most fundamental cause of all our present economic woes.

  † d.  transf. A cause of misfortune. Obs. rare.

c. 1400.  Beryn, 1176. My wele, my woo, my paradise, my lyvis sustenaunce!

  † 2.  Physical pain or distress; disease or infirmity. Obs. or merged in sense 1.

a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 220. He lette ham þolien wo inouh—hunger & þurst, & muchel swinc.

1297.  R. 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.

1340–70.  Alex. & Dind., 1033. A litil wetinge of watur his wo wol amende.

a. 1400–50.  Wars Alex., 539. I am all in aunter sa akis me þe wame, Of werke well ne I wede & slike wa tholis.

c. 1425.  Hampole’s Psalter, Metr. Pref. 36. Thys holy man … keuord mony of hur wo, the doumbe, the defe, and other seke.

[1783.  Crabbe, 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.

c. 1200.  Ormin, 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.

c. 1290.  St. James, 77, in S. Eng. Leg., 36. Þou sendest us þare we gret wo ifielde In gret torment and brenningue.

c. 1315.  Shoreham, VII. 534. Þus þe deuel ydampned hys, And wyþ hym … Deuelen wel mo;… Moche hys þe pyne þat hem eyleþ, And eke þe who.

c. 1400.  26 Pol. Poems, i. 108. The more he dwelleth theryn long, To his soule he encreseth woo.

1781.  Transl. & Paraphr. Scot. Ch., xli. 4.

  † 3.  Sorrow, grief, anguish (as a state of mind or feeling). Obs. or merged in sense 1.

a. 1300.  K. Horn, 263. Heo louede so horn child Þat … In heorte heo hadde wo.

c. 1350.  Will. 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.

c. 1400.  Destr. Troy, 1360. Mony wyues, for woo, of þere wit past.

c. 1410.  Hoccleve, Mother of God, 57. Tendrely remembre on the wo & peyne, Þat thow souffridist in his passioun.

c. 1530.  Crt. Love, 256. ‘For-soth,’ quod she, ‘they wailen of their wo.’

c. 1560.  A. Scott, Poems (S.T.S.), xxv. 21. My hairt, tak nowdir pane nor wa, For Meg, for Meriory, or ȝit Mawis.

1620.  J. Taylor (Water P.), Jack a Lent, C 2. The poore Curres … stinke for woe for feare that another Lent is come sodainely vpon thein.

[1709.  Prior, Henry & Emma, 118. His down-cast Eye reveals his inward Woes.

1719.  Young, Busiris, I. i. While the big Woe lies throbbing at my Heart.]

  † 4.  Lamentation, mourning. Chiefly in phr. to make woe. Obs.

c. 1300.  Havelok, 465. Godard herde here wa, Ther-offe yaf he nouth a stra.

13[?].  K. Alis., 2360 (Laud MS.). Michel woo & grete wailynges Was made.

c. 1385.  Chaucer, L. G. W., 1839, Lucrece. The woo to telle hyt were impossible, That she and al hir frendes make attones.

c. 1412.  Hoccleve, De Reg. Princ., 1057. For shame! why makest þou al this wo?

1508.  Dunbar, 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.

c. 1400.  Apol. Loll., p. xi. Her enden the eighte woois that God wishid to freris. Amen.

1546.  Bale, Engl. Votaries, I. 75. He went fearcelye vpon them with wo vpon wo.

1637.  Rutherford, Lett. to Ld. Craighall, 10 Aug. There is a woe, woe to him by whom offences come: This woe came out of Christ’s mouth.

1638.  Penit. Conf., vii. (1657), 146. A necessity is laid upon us with a woe, and an Anathema, if we come not to confession.

1818.  Scott, Hrt. Midl., xxii. She bore a male-child, under circumstances which added treble bitterness to the wo denounced against our original mother.

1821.  Mrs. Wheeler, App. Cumbld. Dial., 9. Here it was (a way light on the pleace!) At first I got a gliff o’ Betty’s feace.

1867.  Lady 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, -mark, -trumpet (Rev. viii., ix.); also adj. = woeful (cf. C), as † woe-day, † -thing, † -word; objective, as woe-begetting, -boding, -denouncing, -foreboding, -revolving adjs.; instrumental, as woe-adumbred, -beseen, -bested, cross-wounded (see CROSS- B), -dejected, -delighted, -embroidered, -exhausted, -fraught, -illumed, -infirmed, -stricken, -struck, -surcharged, -tied, -wearied, -weary, -whelmed, -worn adjs.; woe-enwrap, -wrinkle vbs.; in other advb. relations, as woe-betrothed, -destined, -sprung, -wedded adjs.; † woe-heart [cf. C. 1 b, d], an affliction; also WOSITH.

1609.  J. Davies, Holy Roode, I 1. Thy *Woe-adumbred Front.

1760–72.  H. Brooke, Fool of Qual. (1809), IV. 3. The natural progeny of that *wo-begetting parent.

1390.  Gower, Conf., III. 370. Al my face … So riveled and so *wo besein.

c. 1470.  Harding, Chron. XLIII. ii. Full *wo bystad … with sorowe and with care.

c. 1510.  More, Picus, Wks. 29. If thou be neuer so wo bestad.

c. 1530.  Crt. Love, 845. Ye made me wo-bestad.

1777.  Potter, Æschylus, Supplicants, 75. My bursting heart … *woe-betroth’d, fears e’en its friends.

1838.  Eliza Cook, World, iv. The raven … with its *woe-boding tone.

1609.  J. Davies, Holy Roode, F 2. Comfort … Her *woe-crosse-wounded Heart.

c. 1205.  Lay., 8750. Nu is icumen þin *wadæi.

c. 1346.  Pol. Poems (Rolls), I. 48. Ipsis sit Waleway, meschef tristissima woday.

a. 1796.  Burns, Bannocks o’ Barley. Wha in his wae-days Were loyal to Charlie? Ibid. (1786), To Ruin, 4. Thy cruel, *woe-delighted train.

1809.  Campbell, Gert. Wyoming, III. xvi. [He] smote his breast with *woe-denouncing hand.

1796.  Eliza 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.

1729.  Savage, Wanderer, II. 203. She muses o’er her *woe-embroider’d Vest.

1593.  Nashe, Christ’s T., 26. Adams fall neuer so *woe-enwrapped the earth, as the relation of them shall.

1797.  Mrs. M. Robinson, Walsingham, III. 56. The *woe-exhausted poet.

1854.  J. S. C. Abbott, Napoleon (1855), I. ii. 56. The beleaguered and woe-exhausted city.

1813.  Scott, Rokeby, I. xxviii. Three banners … The *woe-foreboding peasant sees.

1797.  T. Park, Sonn., 103. *Woe-fraught breast of kesar or of queen.

1818.  Holder, Poems, 69. From whose woe-fraught bosom break Those dismal cries?

1639.  Rutherford, Lett. 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.

1818.  Keats, Endym., IV. 527. *Woe-hurricanes beat ever at the gate.

1820.  Shelley, Prometh. Unb., I. i. 637. I … see more clear Thy works within my *woe-illumed mind.

1593.  Nashe, Christ’s T., Ep. Ded. My *woe-infirmed Witte, conspired against me.

1848.  Mrs. Gaskell, Mary Barton, ix. The distress … which was crushing their lives out of them, and stamping *woe-marks over the land.

1824.  J. Symmons, trans. Æschylus’ Agamemnon, 65.

1776.  Mickle, trans. Camoens’ Lusiad, 276. Their *woe-sprung tears shall sue.

1850.  Thackeray, Pendennis, lvii. Arthur could not see how pallid and *woe-stricken her face was.

1770.  Hodson, Ded. Temple of Solomon, 5. The Fury of the *Woe-struck King.

1828.  Carlyle, Misc., Werner (1840), I. 169. A certain woestruck martyr zeal.

1615.  Brathwait, Strappado, 97. A *Woe-surcharged heart.

1675.  Cotton, Burlesque upon B., 6. What! must I undergoe this *wo-thing, And suffer thus for doing nothing?

1619.  Drayton, Bar. Wars, VI. xcv. Her *woe-ty’d Tongue.

1680.  C. Nesse, Church-Hist., 493. While the Church lay under the *Wo-Trumpets.

1826.  E. Irving, Babylon, III. I. 196. We expect the seventh trumpet, the last of the three woe trumpets.

1615.  Chapman, Odyss., XIX. 700. When all poore men … Would … get their *wo-watcht pow’rs relieu’d.

1594.  Shaks., Rich. III., IV. iv. 18. My *woe-wearied tongue.

c. 1350.  Will. Palerne, 793. He slod sliȝli a-doun a-slepe ful harde, as a *wo wery weiȝh for-waked to-fore.

1393.  Langl., P. Pl., C. XXI. 1. Wo-werie and wet-schod wente ich forth after.

1613.  J. Davies, Muses Teares, C 3. When thou … Cam’st to espouse his Halfe; *wo-wedded now!

1777.  Potter, Æschylus, Agamemnon, 255. On its woe-wedded [αἱνόλεκτρον] Paris’ hated head.

1875.  Browning, Aristoph. Apol., Herakles, 851. This … I pondered, though *woe-whelmed.

a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 306. Heren þat harde word, þat *waword.

1601.  Mary Magd. Lament., ii. 132. Poore *wo-worn woman.

1799.  Cupid & Psyche, 46. These wan and woe-worn cheeks of mine.

1857.  Mrs. Gaskell, C. Brontë, II. xiii. 324. She saw her husband’s woe-worn face.

1871.  Swinburne, Songs bef. Sunrise, Halt bef. Rome, 86. The woe-worn people.

1593.  Nashe, 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.  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.

c. 1175.  Lamb. Hom., 45. Þa wes sancte paul swiðe wa and abeh him … to his lauerdes fet.

c. 1200.  Trin. Coll. Hom., 173. Ðanne stondeð þo wreches alse þo þe wo beð.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 14546. His disciplis þan war ful waa, Þat þair maister was hated sua.

c. 1340.  Richard Rolle of Hampole, Prick of Conscience, 1452. Now er men wele, now er men wa.

c. 1375.  Sc. Leg. Saints, iii. (Andreas), 799. Þan was egeas wondir wa, Þat saw hymself confundit sa.

1399.  Pol. Poems (Rolls), I. 364. The swan is ded; his make is woo.

c. 1470.  Henry, Wallace, I. 401. Willȝham was wa he had na wappynis thar.

1470–85.  Malory, Arthur, VIII. xxxix. 334. Ful wo was la Beale Isoud.

1515.  Lett., in Douglas’ Poet. Wks. (1874), I. Biogr. Introd. p. xxiii. I am ryght sory and voo therfor.

1523–34.  Fitzherb., Husb., § 15. It is an olde saying, ‘The oxe is neuer wo, tyll he to the harowe goo.’

1535.  Coverdale, Jer. xxii. 10. Mourne not ouer the deed, and be not wo for them.

1567.  Satir. Poems Reform., iii. 10. My freind, quhat makis the sa way?

1632.  Holland, Cyrupædia, 130. Cyrus understanding that Gadatas was long since full woe and even out of the world for feare.

1637.  Rutherford, Lett., to T. Corbet (1671), 173. If it be not so, I will be woe to be a witness against them.

a. 1648.  Ld. Herbert, Hen. VIII. (1683), 515. He was woe that ever she came into England.

1700.  Dryden, Wife of Bath’s T., 108. Woe was the Knight at this severe Command!

1721.  Kelly, Sc. Prov., 211. I am wae for your Skathe.

1816.  Scott, Bl. Dwarf, vii. I’m wae ye suld hae cause to say sae.

1835.  Mrs. Carlyle, Lett. (1883), I. 44. Poor Queen!… I was wae to look at her, wae to think of her.

1887.  Hall Caine, Deemster, xxxv. She had grown ‘wae’ as folk said.

  in comp. and sup. forms.

1375.  Barbour, Bruce, XVI. 245. Micht no man se ane vrather [MS. E. waer] man.

a. 1400–50.  Wars 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.

c. 1450.  Holland, Howlat, 963. I couth nocht won in to welth wretch wast [v.r. wayest].

c. 1475.  Partenay, 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.

c. 1205.  Lay., 2260. Corineus wes un-eðe & wa on his mode.

a. 1300.  K. Horn, 275. Þe stuard was in herte wo, For he nuste what to do.

c. 1375.  Cursor M., 12440 (Fairf.). For-soþ myne hert is wa.

c. 1400.  Gamelyn, 335. Gamelyn in his hert was ful woo.

c. 1420.  Chron. Vilod., 3446. He nas neuer ere so sore aferde Ny neuer in hert half so wo.

1591.  Drayton, Harmony Ch. (Roxb.), 26. Oh holy blessed Sion hill! my heart is woe for thee.

1600.  W. Watson, Decacordon (1602), 266. How woe my hart was.

1695.  [see WEE’ST HEART].

1703.  Thoresby, Lett. to Ray, Gloss. (E.D.S.), Wae’st heart, a condolence to the same purport with wae’s me, woe is the heart, &c.

1728.  Ramsay, Anacreontic on Love, 11. With his complaint my soul grew wae.

1773.  Fergusson, Ode Gowdspink, 21. ’Mang men, wae’s-heart! we aften find The brawest drest want peace o’ mind.

1786.  Burns, Twa Dogs, 94. An’ mony a time my heart’s been wae.

1829.  J. Hunter, Hallamsh. Gloss., Wast-heart-a-day, an expression of grief or of commiseration.

1854.  N. & Q., 1st Ser. IX. 349/2. Waestart, a common expression of sorrow or condolence among the lower classes … around Leeds.

1894.  R. Bridges, A Robin, iv. She was not there, and my heart is woe.

  † c.  In exclamations similar to those in A. 2, 3.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 22105. Corozaim, ai be ye waa! And sua be ye beth[s]aida!

c. 1340.  Hampole, Wks. (Horstman), I. 165. Wo is he þat wotnot [etc.].

c. 1375.  Sc. Leg. Saints, vii. (Jacobus Minor), 332. Iervsalem, euir va þu be!

c. 1435.  Torr. Portugale, 1691. This Giaunt hym toke, wo he be!

1520.  Calisto & 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.

a. 1670.  Spalding, Troub. Chas. I. (Bannatyne Club), I. 125. Some … left their lodgeings desolate … with wae and sorry hearts.

1728.  Theobald, Double Falsehood, IV. i. If he have a Mother,… she’s a Woe-woman for him at this Hour.

1778.  H. Brooke, Female Officer, II. iii. I am a woe woman this heavy day.

1913.  N. 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.

1588.  Marprel. Epist. (Arb.), 38. Then alas, he was in a woe case.

1612.  Day, Festivals, vi. (1615), 155. Were it not for Bread, it would be woe with Mankind.

1638.  Heywood, Wise Woman, III. i. I hope so, or else I were in a woe case.

1642.  J. Eaton, Honey-c. Free Justif., 69. If he did, it would soone bee woe with us all.

1795.  Southey, Joan of Arc, VI. 256. Oh! woe it is to think So many men shall never see the sun Go down!