woe

Definition

Great sadness or distress; a misfortune causing such sadness.

Etymology

From Middle English wo, wei, wa, from Old English wā, wǣ, from Proto-West Germanic *wai, from Proto-Germanic *wai (interjection), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wáy (interjection). See also Dutch wee, German Weh, weh, Danish ve, Yiddish וויי (vey); also Latin vae, Albanian vaj, French ouais, Ancient Greek οὐαί (ouaí), Persian وای (vây) (Turkish vay, a Persian borrowing), Proto-Slavic *uvy (whence Russian увы́ (uvý)), and Armenian վայ (vay).

Example Sentences

• "Oh, woe is me!"
• "Thus saying, from her side the fatal key, / Sad instrument of all our woe, she took."
• "Soon as thy letters trembling I unclose / That well-known name awakens all my woes."

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