▪ I. wow, n.1
(waʊ)
[Imitative: cf. wough n., and bow-wow.]
1. a. A bark or similar sound. b. A waul.
| 1811 Sporting Mag. XXXVII. 131 Johnson with a surly wow, wow. 1862 A. Hislop Prov. Scot. 125 It's weak i' the wow, like Barr's cat. 1913 Blackw. Mag. Mar. 452/2 A barking deer explodes in an unexpected ‘wow’ ten yards off. |
2. Fluctuations in pitch in reproduced sound that are sufficiently slow to be heard as such in long notes; a property in a reproducer that gives rise to this, esp. uneven speed.
| 1932 Wireless World 16 Mar. 277/2 Wobble or ‘wow’—to use the expressive American term..is not so troublesome nowadays, most modern sound cameras having anti-wow mechanism. 1942 Electronic Engin. XIV. 640/1 The principal snag of sub-standard projectors, that of speed variations, is well cared for in so far as relates to low-frequency variations, which are known as ‘wow’ and not, as stated, warble. 1960 K. Amis Take Girl like You xxiii. 271 Every couple of weeks Graham found out some new way of reducing distortion or filtering off surface noise or eliminating wow. 1968 New Scientist 20 June 615/1 The Lick Observatory conclusion was entirely spurious, the result of undetected ‘wow’ in the tape recorder used. 1971 Wireless World Oct. 478/1 Wow can be caused by a badly eccentric or warped record. 1982 Listener 16 Dec. 34/2 Insist on listening to some music, preferably piano music that shows up wow and flutter especially well. |
▪ II. wow, n.2 and a. slang (orig. U.S.).
(waʊ)
[f. wow int.]
A. n. A sensational success. Freq. const. of.
| 1920 Collier's 11 Dec. 21/1 In Round Five they stalled some more... The sixth innin' was a wow! 1926 [see stop v. 21 c]. 1927 Wodehouse Small Bachelor vi. 94 ‘A friend of mine tipped me off that this company was a wow’. ‘A what?’ ‘A winner. He said it was going to be big and advised me to come in on the ground floor.’ 1944 S. Bellow Dangling Man 54 What a wow of a finish. 1954 C. Churchill Let. 1 Sept. in M. Soames Clementine Churchill (1979) xxvi. 445 Mr Graham Sutherland is a ‘Wow’. He really is a most attractive man. 1962 V. Connaught Secret Heart of Princess Alexandra vii. 73 From that moment forward, she was a wow with every Australian in the land. 1983 D. Francis Danger xvii. 236 Chattering guests all having a wow of a time. |
B. adj. Exciting or expressing admiration and delight.
| 1921 Variety 9 Dec. 31 The wow comedy song... ‘Say It With Liquor’. 1962 John o' London's 1 Mar. 211/2 A chorus of wow reviews from international critics. 1972 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 13 Feb. 27/4 Two-foot-high letters inviting you to buy Vitamin E capsules, often at wow potencies, plaster the fronts of drug stores. |
▪ III. wow, v.1
(waʊ)
[Imitative: cf. wow n.1]
intr. To howl, to waul.
| 1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 234 The wolf wow'd hideous on the hill. 1824 Carr Craven Gloss., Wow, to howl. 1900 C. Lee Cynthia in West v. 69 You should hear her wow, just like an owld cat! |
▪ IV. wow, v.2 slang (orig. U.S.).
(waʊ)
[f. wow int., n.2]
trans. To make enthusiastic, to impress or excite greatly (esp. an audience).
| 1924 Variety 24 Dec. 14/5 He doesn't wow 'em at any time and seems misplaced in the show. 1938 E. B. White Let. 20 Dec. (1976) 191 Your Hollywood visit piece (which I had never read) wowed me. 1949 Time 19 Sept. 45/3 She wowed them with a dramatic reading of the death scene from Romeo and Juliet. 1950 Blesh & Janis They all played Ragtime ii. 44 The ragtime pianists were already ‘wowing’ their audiences with syncopated renderings of the classics. 1961 Sunday Express 12 Mar. 14/5 Yet another new look..wowed London last week. 1980 Times 17 June 13/3 They are unlikely to wow anybody who does not already respond to Burne-Jones's rather wan charms. 1984 Daily Tel. 25 Sept. 11/4 Mr Macdonald, who supplied the off-screen commentary for this year's Channel 4 coverage of the SDP conference, had the bright notion of training up a novice speaker who would wow them at Buxton. |
▪ V. wow, int.
(waʊ)
[Of exclamatory origin: cf. vow int.]
1. Chiefly Sc. a. An exclamation, variously expressing aversion, surprise or admiration, sorrow or commiseration, or mere asseveration.
| 1513 Douglas æneis vi. Prol. 19 Out on thir wanderand spiritis, wow! thow cryis. 15.. Peblis to Play 74 (Maitl. fol. 178) Ane winklot fell and hir taill vp; wow, quod malkin, hyd ȝow. 1721 Ramsay Prosp. Plenty 74 Wow! that's braw news. 1789 Burns Grose's Peregr. 11 And wow! he has an unco sleight O' cauk and keel. 1815 Scott Guy M. xi, Wow, woman, the Bertrams of Ellangowan are the auld Dingawaies lang syne. a 1840 J. Baillie Poems, Fy, let us a' 16 But wow! he looks dowie and cow'd. 1892 Lumsden Sheep-head 36 As below the brig we turn—Oh, Wow! the deavin' din there! |
b. Followed by but or gin.
| 1715 Ramsay Christ's Kirk Gr. ii. 40 And wow gin she was skeigh And mim that Day. 1724 ― Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 8 The woer he step'd up the house, And wow but he was wond'rous crouse. a 1800 K. Henry x. in Child Ballads I. 299/1 O whan he slew his good gray-hounds, Wow but his heart was sair! 1843 J. Ballantine Gaberlunzie's Wallet vi. 151 My auld uncle Willie cam doun..An' wow but he was a braw man. |
2. In general use. Now chiefly expressing astonishment or admiration.
| 1892 Rider Haggard Nada v. 35 Wow! my father, of those two regiments not one escaped. 1896 Ade Artie 8 ‘The girls—wow!’ ‘Beauties, eh?’ ‘Lollypaloozers!’ 1916 J. J. Bell Little Grey Ships 17 ‘Wow!’ exclaimed the young seaman..‘Wish I was in Egypt. How's this for cold, old Bill?’ 1931 R. Campbell Georgiad i. 11 Bang on your nose my spectacles appear And (Wow!) an earring slits my tender ear. 1941 J. D. Carr Case of Constant Suicides i. 17 A brown-haired girl..straightened up to stare at him. ‘Wow!’ said Alan inaudibly. 1962 E. Cleaver in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 20/1 Wow, what a sight that would be! 1980 ‘R. B. Dominic’ Attending Physician xxiv. 217 ‘Wow!’ Mike Isham whistled reverently. ‘No wonder she was willing to murder.’ |
Also wowˈee († wowey) int., = sense 2.
| 1921 S. Ford Inez & Trilby May xvi. 279 Think of the row that will start when it comes out that this is an inside job, with a princess playing the star part. Wowey! 1963 Mad Mag. July 23/2 Boy! Wow-wee! That's quite an exciting evening line-up! 1975 R. H. Rimmer Premar Experiments (1976) iii. 216 Bren was jubilant. ‘My big sister is pregnant. Wow-ee! Unbelievable! Fantastic!’ 1981 R. Barnard Sheer Torture iii. 29 He had served on the Arts Council Music Panel, 1958–60. Wowee! |
▪ VI. wow
obs. Sc. f. vow n. and v.1, v.2; obs. f. woo v.1, var. wough n.2