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woe (iou)



woe interjection, noun, & adjective.

A. interjection.
I.
Expr. grief or lamentation: alas! arch. OE.
C. Patmore And if, ah woe, she loves alone.
II. W. dat. (or, later, its equivalent).
In exclams. or statements of grief, distress, affliction, etc., with or without verb. Now arch., dial., & literary. OE.
woe betide: see BETIDE 1. woe be to us may affliction or distress overtake us. woe is him cursed is he. woe is me I am distressed, unhappy, unfortunate, etc. woe to there will be unfortunate consequences for. woe worth the day, woe worth the time, etc., (now chiefly Scot. cursed be, may evil befall the day, time, etc.
b. noun.
Misery, affliction, distress; misfortune, trouble. Chiefly arch. & literary exc. in tale of woe below. ME.
tale of woe (chiefly joc.) a catalogue or narrative of problems or misfortunes.
Milton The Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast Brought Death..and all our woe. New Age The usual tangle of human woe: early pregnancy, dropping out of school.
b. In pl. Misfortunes, troubles, griefs (arch. & literary); colloq. problems. LME.
W. Sewel The Lord sent me..to warn you of the woes that are coming upon you. Vanity Fair On one issue all..agreed, that the Barnes's financial woes are not over.
Physical pain; disease or infirmity. Also (spec.), pain due to torment in hell. obsolete exc. as passing into sense 1. ME.
The emotion of sorrow or anguish. obsolete exc. as passing into sense 1. ME.
Lamentation, mourning. Chiefly in make woe. ME-E16.
An utterance of 'woe' in warning or denunciation; a curse. arch. LME.
C. adjective (orig. & chiefly pred.).
Grieved, wretched, miserable, sorrowful. obsolete exc. Scot. & north. ME.
J. Carlyle Poor Queen!..I was wae to look at her, wae to think of her.
Of an event, situation, etc.: woeful, miserable. L16-L18.
woesome adjective (rare, chiefly Scot.) woeful E19.