Note: Woe is used in denunciation, and in exclamations of sorrow. "
Woe is me! for I am undone." Isa. vi. 5.
O! woe were us alive [i.e., in life]. Chaucer.
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Isa. xlv. 9.
Woe worth, Woe be to. See Worth, v. i.
Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day, That costs thy life, my
gallant gray! Sir W. Scott.
WOE
Woe, a.
Defn: Woeful; sorrowful. [Obs.]
His clerk was woe to do that deed. Robert of Brunne.
Woe was this knight and sorrowfully he sighed. Chaucer.
And looking up he waxed wondrous woe. Spenser.
WOE-BEGONE
Woe"-be*gone`, a. Etym: [OE. wo begon. See Woe, and Begone, p. p.]
Defn: Beset or overwhelmed with woe; immersed in grief or sorrow;
woeful. Chaucer.
So woe-begone was he with pains of love. Fairfax.
WOEFUL; WOFUL
Woe"ful, Wo"ful, a.
1. Full of woe; sorrowful; distressed with grief or calamity; afflicted; wretched; unhappy; sad. How many woeful widows left to bow To sad disgrace! Daniel.
2. Bringing calamity, distress, or affliction; as, a woeful event; woeful want. O woeful day! O day of woe! Philips.
3. Wretched; paltry; miserable; poor. What woeful stuff this madrigal would be! Pope.
WOEFULLY; WOFULLY
Woe"ful*ly, Wo"ful*ly, adv.