goo en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ɡuː/
Etymology
Etymology tree English burgood Proto-Germanic *bermô? Proto-West Germanic *bermō Old English beormader. Welsh burym Proto-Indo-European *keh₂ulisder. Latin caulisbor. Proto-Brythonic *kawl Middle Welsh cawl Welsh cawl ? Persian برغولder. Persian پرغولder. Arabic بُرْغُل (burḡul)der.? Proto-Indo-European *ǵews- Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Indo-European *ǵéwstus Proto-Italic *gustus Latin gustus Middle French goûtder. Middle French ragoûterder. French ragoûtbor. English ragout? English burgoo? Proto-Indo-European *gleyH- Proto-Indo-European *glóh₁ytn̥ Proto-Italic *gloiten Latin glūten Late Latin glūs Old French glubor. Middle English glew English glue? English goo American English, attested since 1903, possibly from burgoo (“thick porridge”); alternatively, an alteration of glue.
Meanings
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(informal, uncountable, usually) Any semi-solid or liquid substance; especially one that is sticky, gummy or slippery, unpleasant, and of vague or unknown composition, such as slime or semen.
I stepped in some goo and had a terrible time getting the sticky stuff off my shoes.
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(figuratively, uncountable, usually) Excessive, showy sentimentality.
[…] To be really human is probably to be unavoidably sentimental and naive and goo-prone and generally pathetic, is to be in some basic interior way forever infantile, some sort of not-quite-right-looking infant dragging itself anaclitically around the map, with big wet eyes and froggy-soft skin, huge skull, gooey drool.
1996, David Foster Wallace, “14 November Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment”, in Infinite Jest […], Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, pages 694–695:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| goos | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
goolike · gooey · goo ball · sprue goo · gooeyness · grey goo · man goo · goo to you by way of the zoo · girl goo · guck · goo-gob
Hypernyms
Synonyms
gum · goop · sludge · slop · ooze · saccharinity · ick · gunge · paste · goop · gloop · gleet · slime · gloop · glop · gunk · mawkishness · gunge · gook · sugariness · goo · muck · gunk
Translations (52)
de Soße (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · scn fangu (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · pl babranina (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · fi mönjä (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · es ajonje (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · pl glut (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · pt meloso (sentimentality) · es liria (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · sv kladd (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · hu trutymó (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · de Papp (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · es moco (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · ja ネバネバしたもの (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · es visco (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · ru ли́пкое (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · de übertriebene Sentimentalität (sentimentality) · scn cosa mpicusa/mpiccicusa (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · es mucosidad (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · et löga (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · es baba (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · nl brij (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · ru слизь (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · es vesque (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · sv klet (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · de Schmalz (sentimentality) · pt nhanha (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · es pez (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · scn mpastu (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · fi tahma (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · it melma (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · sh ljiga (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · uk слиз (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · pl breja (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · de Klebstoff (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · hu trutyi (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · pt gosma (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · hu érzelgősség (sentimentality) · fi tökötti (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · es cursilería (sentimentality) · hu ragacs (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · es huachafería (sentimentality) · nl stroperigheid (sentimentality) · uk ґлей (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · de klebriges Zeug (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · de Schmiere (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · de Glibber (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · fr matière poisseuse f mucus (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · ru вя́зкое (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · ru сентимента́льщина (sentimentality) · sv smet (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · es ligamaza (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance) · es ajonjo (sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance)