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boo

Etymology and origin of the English word boo

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Onomatopoeia
First attested
early 15th century

Pronunciation

Etymology

It is imitative: the OED, as quoted by Etymonline, calls it a combination of sounds especially fitted to make a loud, startling noise, and compares Latin boō (“to cry aloud”) and Ancient Greek βοάω (boáō, “to shout”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As boh, the early 15th century in Etymonline;[2] Merriam-Webster gives 1565.[3]

Semantic evolution

A sound imitating the lowing of oxen is from 1801.[4] To utter boo, to hoot, is from 1816.[4] As an expression of disapproval the noun is from 1884 and the verb, to shower with boos, from 1885.[2] Booing was common in late 19th-century London theatres and at British political meetings, and the opera-goers of Parma were notorious for it, but the custom seems to have been little known in America before about 1910.[2] To say boo to a goose, to show a little spirit, is an old phrase.[2]

Timeline

  • early 15th century – boh![2]
  • 1801 – the lowing of oxen.[4]
  • 1816 – to boo, hoot.[4]
  • 1884 – a boo of disapproval.[2]
  • 1885 – to boo someone.[2]

Modern meaning

Interjection

  1. Said suddenly to startle someone, especially a child.
  2. A shout of contempt or disapproval.

Noun

  1. A sound of disapproval.
  2. (informal) Anything at all: he didn't say boo.

Verb

  1. To shout boo at someone or something in disapproval.

Word family

  • peekaboo
  • boobird
  • booing
  • bellow

Usage notes

Someone who would not say boo to a goose is extremely timid.[5][2] Boo, marijuana (1959), is a separate slang word of unknown origin.[4][3][6]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Boo.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/boo. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·