▪ I. woof, n.1
(wuːf)
Forms: α. 1 owef, 3 of, 4–5 oof, 4, 6 ofe, 5 offe, 6 owfe, 7 oufe. β. 6–7 woofe, wouf(e, (6 wolfe, wowfe, 7 pl. woovis), 7–8 wooff, (8 wooft, whoof), 7– woof.
[OE. ówef (later áwef), f. ó- + wefan to weave. (Cf. the later parallel formation óweb, áweb abb.) ME. *owf, oof became woof partly by association with warp n. in warp and (w)oof, or with weft.]
1. The threads that cross from side to side of a web, at right angles to the warp: = weft n.1 1.
| α c 725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) C 467 Cladica, wefl uel owef. c 1050 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 364/23 Cladica, wefl, oððe owef, oððe claudica. c 1200 MS. Bodl. 730 lf. 145/1 Subtemen, of. 1382 Wyclif Lev. xiii. 47 A wullun clooth, or lynnen, that hath a lepre in the oof, or in the werpe. 1398 Trevisa Barth De P.R. xviii. xi. (1495) aa iv b/1 The spynner..begynnyth fro the mydyll poynt & gooth rounde abawte the ofe. 14.. Metr. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 628/1 Subtegmen, [gloss warpe], sic quoque stamen, [gloss offe]. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 362/1 Oof, threde for webbynge, trama. 1556 Withals Dict. (1562) 35 b/2 The warpe, stamen. The ofe, subtegmen. 1599 Minsheu Sp. Dict. s.v. Lizos, The owfe or thread of linnen. 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 337 To spoole, winde quils, lay his warpe, shoot oufe. |
| β 1530 Tindale Lev. xiii. 48 Whether it be in the warpe or wolfe of the lynen or of the wollen. 1570 Levins Manip. 157/25 Y⊇ Woofe of a web, subtegmen. 1626 Bacon Sylva §846 As it is in the Warpe, and the Woofe, of Textiles. 1657 Trapp Comm. Ps. xv. 2 Such, as through whose whole lives godliness runneth, as the Woof doth through the Warp. 1714 Fr. Bk. Rates 188 The Workmen shall not make Use, neither in the Warp or the Woof,..of any Yarn of a different Quality. 1780 A. Young Tour Irel. I. 324 Threads thrown across by the shuttle are called the wooft. 1802 J. Baillie 1st Pt. Ethwald iii. iv, But tell them, British matrons cross the woof With coarser hands than theirs. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 76 In a web the warp is stronger than the woof. |
b. fig. and in fig. context, often in collocation with warp.
| 1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus I j, To..wrappe vp his life⁓warpes woofe with so euill a liste. 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden M 2, The process of that Oration, was of the same woofe and thrid with the beginning. 1627 W. Hawkins Apollo Shroving i. i. 8 Where euery English thread is ouer⁓cast with a thicke woollen woofe of strange wordes. 1757 Gray Bard ii. i, Weave the warp, and weave the woof, The winding sheet of Edward's race. 1849 [see warp n.1 1 b]. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola xix, That commerce of feigned and preposterous admiration which..made the woof of all learned intercourse. 1882 M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal II. 19 The woof of self-interest is so cunningly interwoven with the warp of righteous feeling that very few of us can tell where the threads cross. |
2. Thread used to make the woof; also in vague poetical use.
| 1540 R. Hyrde tr. Vives' Instr. Chr. Wom. i. iii. (1541) 3 b, To warpe, or els wynd spindels in a case, for to throw wofe of. 1598 R. Bernard tr. Terence, Heautontim. ii. iii, The old wife shee spun the woufe. 1634 Milton Comus 83 First I must put off These my skie robes spun out of Iris Wooff. 1638 Burgh Rec. Glasgow (1876) 388 Thair suld be no woovis wovin of townis folkis thairin. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 244 Iris had dipt the wooff. 1892 Rider Haggard Nada xi, Did I weave these visions from the woof of my madness? |
3. A woven fabric, esp. as being of a particular texture: = weft n.1 3; also, the texture of a fabric. Often transf. or fig.
| 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 74 That woof and plight that the whole ticklish frame of worldly beings are wheel'd into at such a tide of day [viz. dawn]. Ibid. 74 That we can sometimes force bodies to close with the woof or tenor of the whole. 1725 Pope Odyss. iv. 164 To spread the pall beneath the regal chair Of softest woof. 1757 Dyer Fleece iii. 40 Curious woofs of beauteous hue. 1790 Cowper Odyss. xix. 173 A robe..of subtlest woof. 1811 Scott Don Roderick ii. xxiv, Flames dart their glare o'er midnight's sable woof. 1820 Keats Lamia ii. 232 There was an awful rainbow once in heaven: We know her woof, her texture. 1826 J. Baillie Martyr ii. ii, The very spider through his circled cage Of wiry woof,..Scarce seems a lothly thing. 1838 Lytton Alice v. v, That girl's thread of life has been the dark line in my woof. 1846 ― Lucretia ii. xviii, The Parcæ closed the abrupt woof, and lifted the impending shears. 1866 ― Lost Tales Miletus, Secret Way 4 The woofs of Phrygian looms. 1871 Bryant Odyss. v. 416 Receive this veil, and bind its heavenly woof Beneath thy breast. |
† 4. The action of weaving. Obs. rare.
| 1700 Dryden Ceyx & Alc. 237 Alcyone..hastens in the Woof the Robes he was to wear. |
▪ II. woof, int. and n.2
(wʊf)
Also wouf, wowff.
1. Imitation of a gruff abrupt bark of a dog; also transf. (Cf. whoof.)
| 1839 J. Ballantine in Whistle-Binkie Ser. ii. 26 The wowff o' the colley. 1859 H. Kingsley G. Hamlyn xxv, Every now and then..he [sc. a dog] would discharge a ‘Woof’, like a minute-gun at sea. 1885 Rider Haggard K. Sol. Mines iv, Presently.. came a loud ‘woof, woof!’ ‘That's a lion’, said I. 1918 B. Cable Air Men o' War 14 The hoarse ‘woof’ of a bursting anti-aircraft shell. |
2. Var. whoof int. (n.)
3. Low-frequency sound of poor quality from a loudspeaker.
| 1961 in Webster. 1962 Listener 22 Nov. 882/1 It isn't only technicians who can justifiably complain about too much tweet and woof. 1978 Gramophone Jan. 1298/3 They..are every bit the equal of the LPs, a beautifully warm and detailed orchestral tapestry, with..a richly resonant bass (without too much ‘woof’). |
▪ III. woof, v.1 rare.
(wuːf)
[f. woof n.1 Cf. woofed.]
trans. To arrange (threads) so as to form a woof; to weave. Also transf.
| 1894 Alice C. Macdonell in Lyra Celtica (1896) 252 Woof well the cross threads, To make the colours shine. 1922 Blackw. Mag. July 6/2 The fearful tangle of vegetation, warped and woofed together by lianas and creeping plants. |
▪ IV. woof, v.2
Also wouff.
1. (Of a dog) to utter a gruff abrupt bark.
| 1804 W. Tarras Poems 59 (Jam.) Curs began to wouff an' bark. 1932 E. M. Brent-Dyer Chalet Girls in Camp vi. 97 Rufus..crossed the meadow at his best pace, woofing indignantly at intervals. 1955 V. Nabokov Lolita II. xxviii. 171 A nondescript cur came out from behind the house, stopped in surprise, and started good-naturedly woof-woofing at me, his eyes slit, his shaggy belly all muddy, and then walked about a little and woofed once more. 1974 Publishers Weekly 5 Aug. 53/3 His attempt suggests a puppy woofing at a caterpillar—but keeping a safe distance. |
2. U.S. Blacks' slang. a. intr. To talk (or, trans., to say) in an ostentatious or aggressive manner.
| 1934 Amer. Speech IX. 290/1 [Negro slang.] Woof, to talk much and loudly and yet say little of consequence. 1935 Z. N. Hurston Mules & Men i. iv. 86 The men would crowd in and buy soft drinks and woof at me, the stranger, but I knew I wasn't getting on. 1941 Life 27 Jan. 78 To reinforce a statement, a sub-deb says, I ain't woofin'..which means ‘I'm not fooling’. 1941 Direction Summer 15/2 Stack got all big at the nose and woofed: ‘All right, boss, you either fixes me up with that gin, or I pulls down this bar!’ 1972 J. Wambaugh Blue Knight vi. 86 He was woofing me, because he winked at the blond kid. 1974 H. L. Foster Ribbin', Jivin', & Playin' Dozens iv. 140 A student might say, ‘Mr. Foster, he's woofin' on me.’ This may have meant anything from he is challenging me to a fight, to he is making fun of my clothing or my mother. |
Hence ˈwoofing vbl. n. and ppl. a.
| 1942 Amer. Mercury July 96/2 Woofing, aimless talk, as a dog barks on a moonlight night. 1969 H. R. Brown in H. L. Foster Ribbin', Jivin', & Playin' Dozens (1974) v. 179 Those young brothers came out of this woofing, diddy-bopping and raising hell period. 1973 B. G. Cooke in T. Kochman Rappin' & Stylin' Out 45 ‘Woofing’ is a style of bragging and boasting about how ‘bad’ one is and is sometimes used by males and females when rapping to each other. 1975 Today's Education Sept./Oct. 54 Some of the woofin' has been precipitated by Whites trying to hustle Blacks out of goods and materials which have been promised or which are rightfully theirs. 1977 Time 14 Nov. 90/3 Cosby, who has one of the great faces of the Western world, is the best thing in this woofin', shuckin' film. |
Add: 3. [Cf. wolf v. 1.] trans. To consume ravenously. Also const. down. colloq. (orig. Air Force).
| 1943 C. H. Ward-Jackson Piece of Cake 63 Woof, to, to eat fast.., to open the throttle quickly. 1943 Airflow (Ceylon) July 14/2 Woof, to eat hungrily. 1961 C. H. D. Todd Pop. Whippet iii. 47 They ran their noses right along the whole line of dishes, and in every case the six dogs at once ‘woofed’ the tripe. 1987 Los Angeles Times (San Diego County ed.) 21 Nov. ii. 1/2 Mike Lavin..and Coleman Taylor..were woofing down fried eggs and hash browns side by side. |
▪ V. woof
obs. pa. tense of weave v.