boo English · revision 15064

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=onomatopoeia|attested=early 15th century}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /buː/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==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 [[la|boō|t=to cry aloud]] and [[grc|βοάω|tr=boáō|t=to shout]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As boh, the early 15th century in Etymonline;^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster gives 1565.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A sound imitating the lowing of oxen is from 1801.^(OED 1989) To utter boo, to hoot, is from 1816.^(OED 1989) As an expression of disapproval the noun is from 1884 and the verb, to shower with boos, from 1885.^(Etymonline) 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.^(Etymonline) ''To say boo to a goose'', to show a little spirit, is an old phrase.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * early 15th century – boh!^(Etymonline)

+ * 1801 – the lowing of oxen.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1816 – to boo, hoot.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1884 – a boo of disapproval.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1885 – to boo someone.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Interjection===

+ # Said suddenly to startle someone, especially a child.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A shout of contempt or disapproval.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A sound of disapproval.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' Anything at all: ''he didn't say boo''.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To shout boo at someone or something in disapproval.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[peekaboo]]

+ * [[boobird]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[booing]]

+ * [[bellow]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Someone who ''would not say boo to a goose'' is extremely timid.^(Collins 2023)^(Etymonline) Boo, marijuana (1959), is a separate slang word of unknown origin.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}