whoa

English

/wəʊ/, /woʊ/

interj
Definitions
  • Stop (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof); calm down; slow down.
  • An expression of surprise.
  • Used as a meaningless filler in song lyrics.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English ho derived from Old Norse hó!.

Origin

Old Norse

hó!

Gloss

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms