woe
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
woe/wəʊ/
▶noun literary
- 1 great sorrow or distress.
- 2 (woes) troubles.
– phrases
woe betide someone (or woe to someone) humorous a person will be in trouble if they do a specified thing.
woe is me! humorous an exclamation of sorrow or distress.
woe betide someone (or woe to someone) humorous a person will be in trouble if they do a specified thing.
woe is me! humorous an exclamation of sorrow or distress.
– origin natural exclamation of lament: recorded as wā in OE and found in several Gmc languages.
'woe' also found in these Oxford entries:

