Woe, extreme calamity and grief: Ven. 254. Ven. 254 Lucr. 928. Compl. 18. Tp. II, 1, 3. Tp. II, 1, 3 Gent. II, 4, 138. III, 1, 219. III, 1, 219 IV, 4, 149. V, 4, 6. Meas. II, 1, 298. IV, 1, 13. V, 118. Err. I, 1, 2. Err. I, 1, 2 Err. I, 1, 2 II, 1, 15. II, 2, 207. Ado II, 3, 70. V, 1, 11. Mids. III, 2, 442. V, 384. Wint. III, 2, 210. John III, 4, 55. H6C I, 4, 115 etc. etc. “weal and w.” Ven. 987. H6A III, 2, 92. Rom. III, 2, 51.
Used as an exclamation of grief or a denunciation of calamity: “w. to that land that's governed by a child!” R3 II, 3, 11 (cf. Ecclesiastes X, 16). H4B V, 3, 144. Caes. III, 1, 258. “w. upon ye,” H8 III, 1, 114. Oth. III, 3, 366. “a Helen and a w.!” Troil. II, 2, 111. “cry w.” Wint. III, 2, 201. R2 III, 2, 102. IV, 149. R3 III, 3, 7. Lr. III, 2, 33. “w. that too late repents,” Lr. I, 4, 279. “but w. 'tis so,” Ant. IV, 15, 17. “w.!” Ven. 833. “w. for England!” R3 III, 4, 82. “w. to her chance!” Tit. IV, 2, 78. “O w.!” Rom. IV, 5, 49. V, 3, 13. “w., alas!” Mcb. II, 3, 92. “alas, and w.” Ant. IV, 14, 107. “alack for w.” LLL IV, 1, 15. R2 III, 3, 70.
To after it omitted: “w. is me!” Compl. 78. H6B III, 2, 72. Tit. III, 1, 240. Hml. III, 1, 168. III, 2, 173. “w. me!” Meas. I, 4, 26. “w. is my heart,” Cymb. V, 5, 2. “O w. the day,” Tp. I, 2, 15. “w. the while!” Wint. III, 2, 173. H5 IV, 7, 78. Caes. I, 3, 82.
Hence adjectively: “I am w. for it,” Tp. V, 139. “be w. for me,” H6B III, 2, 73. “w. are we,” Ant. IV, 14, 133. “should make you w.” Sonn. 71, 8.
The exclamation rechanged to a substantive, == lamentation: “this for whom we rendered up this w.” Ado V, 3, 33. “let us pay the time but needful w.” John V, 7, 110. “whose guiltless drops are every one a w., a sore complaint,” H5 I, 2, 26.
Shakespeare Lexicon. Alexander Schmidt. Berlin. Georg Reimer. 1902.
This text was converted to electronic form by professional data entry and has been proofread to a high level of accuracy.
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