whoa en · INTJ
Pronunciation
Etymology
Whoa (c. 1843) is a variant of woa (c. 1840), itself a variant of wo (c. 1787), from who (c. 1450), ultimately from Middle English ho, hoo (interjection), probably from Old Norse hó! (interjection, also, a shepherd's call). Compare German ho, Old French ho ! (“hold!, halt!”).
Meanings
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Stop (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof); calm down; slow down.
The Negroes, having waited for the white people to go upstairs, began to come in. “Whoa now, just a minute,” said a club member, holding up his walking stick. “Just don’t start up them there stairs yet awhile.”
1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:I can see Mickie getting hot, I'm about to grab his arm, hold him back, say, Whoa, whoa, Mick, not here, it ain't worth it what happened inside just now.
2007, Ron Liebman, Death by Rodrigo, New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 134:Whoa, Nelly!
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An expression of surprise.
Whoa. Wait a minute, Doc. Are you trying to tell me that my mother has got the hots for me?
1985, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, Back to the Future, spoken by Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox):Jen: Douglas has asked me to be his PA. Moss: Oh. My. God! Well, that is something and a half. His PA? How... Whoa! His PA... Shut up! His PA! Jen: It means "personal assistant". Moss: Thank you. Right, OK.
2007 September 28, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, season 2, episode 6:Whoa, are you serious?
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Used as a meaningless filler in song lyrics.
And oh whoa girl, it's a shame. Oh whoa girl, it's a doggone shame.
2010, Bruce Springsteen, It's a Shame:I am the type who is liable to snipe you With two seconds left to go, whoa.
2003, "Weird Al" Yankovic, eBay (song)
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| woah | alternative, often, proscribed | lexicographic | |
| woa | alternative, rare | lexicographic | |
| whoah | alternative | lexicographic |
Antonyms
giddyup (antonym(s) of “stop, said to a horse”) · giddap (antonym(s) of “stop, said to a horse”)
Deriveds
Translations (71)
fr ouah (expression of surprise) · pl hola (slow down (not for a horse)) · hi वाह (stop, said to a horse) · tr oha (expression of surprise) · hi वाह (slow down (not for a horse)) · ms hoi (expression of surprise) · scn ivì (expression of surprise) · ar قِف (stop, said to a horse) · ru ого (expression of surprise) · scn puì (expression of surprise) · pt nossa! (expression of surprise) · hu hó (stop, said to a horse) · es alá (expression of surprise) · la ōhē (stop, said to a horse) · scn buì (expression of surprise) · sv oj då (expression of surprise) · pl pru (stop, said to a horse) · ca xo (stop, said to a horse) · sv ptrr (stop, said to a horse) · pl prr (stop, said to a horse) · ar قِفِي (stop, said to a horse) · es hale (expression of surprise) · es to (stop, said to a horse) · es híjole (expression of surprise) · de boa (expression of surprise) · eo tpr (stop, said to a horse) · ru пру (stop, said to a horse) · de boah (expression of surprise) · es bestia (expression of surprise) · fi oho (expression of surprise) · de brr (stop, said to a horse) · pt ou! (stop, said to a horse) · ru стоп (stop, said to a horse) · es ale (expression of surprise) · pl oho (expression of surprise) · scn ippì (expression of surprise) · fi ptruu (stop, said to a horse) · es ala (expression of surprise) · sv sakta i backarna (slow down (not for a horse)) · de oha (stop, said to a horse) · fr stop (stop, said to a horse) · fr ho (stop, said to a horse) · de öha (expression of surprise) · es anda (expression of surprise) · scn bih (expression of surprise) · es ño (expression of surprise) · fr holà (stop, said to a horse) · eo pru (stop, said to a horse) · no ptro (stop, said to a horse) · ja どうどう (stop, said to a horse) · ms hoi (stop, said to a horse) · uk ого (expression of surprise) · mi hika mā! (expression of surprise) · gl ou (stop, said to a horse) · ms hoi (slow down (not for a horse)) · ja どう (stop, said to a horse) · ru тпру (stop, said to a horse) · es asu (mare/madre/macho (expression of surprise) · pt alto! (stop, said to a horse) · scn zu (expression of surprise) · izh tprr (stop, said to a horse) · es cho (stop, said to a horse) · de langsam (slow down (not for a horse)) · hi वाह (expression of surprise) · es so (stop, said to a horse) · cmn 吁 (stop, said to a horse) · es ándale (expression of surprise) · gl xo (stop, said to a horse) · de eha (expression of surprise) · es hala (expression of surprise) · de oha (expression of surprise)