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Woof
Definitions
- 1 Used to indicate the sound of a dog barking, or something resembling it. rare, transitive
"Presently, from the depths of the bush behind us, came a loud "woof, woof!" "That's a lion," said I, and we all started up to listen."
- 2 Used to express strong physical attraction for someone. humorous, rare, transitive
"I see a hardworking man, with a smile that lights up a room—very sexy—woof!"
- 1 Alternative form of WWOOF; a network organization that helps wwoofers connect up with organic farms that are offering work opportunities. alt-of, alternative
"They also run classes, pizza nights, and welcome WOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) voluntary apprentices."
- 1 The set of yarns carried by the shuttle of a loom which are placed crosswise at right angles to and interlaced with the warp; the weft.
"When the plage of leproſye is in a cloth: […] that cloth ſhalbe burnt, ether warpe or wolfe, whether it be wollen or lynen or any thynge that is made of ſkynne where the plage is, […]"
- 2 The sound a dog makes when barking; a bark. rare, transitive
- 3 Initialism of well-off older folks. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 4 the yarn woven across the warp yarn in weaving wordnet
- 5 A woven fabric; also, the texture of a fabric. broadly
"[T]his is no lavv unto the vvoof of the neat Retiarie Spider, vvhich ſeems to vveave vvithout tranſverſion, and by the union of right lines to make out a continued ſurface, vvhich is beyond the common art of Textury, and may ſtill nettle Minerva the Godeſſe of that myſtery."
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- 6 A sound resembling a dog's bark. broadly, rare, transitive
"He looked up and out a moment as there came to his ear, dully but unmistakably above the roar of the engine, the hoarse "woof" of a bursting anti-aircraft shell."
- 7 The thread or yarn used to form the weft of woven fabric; the fill, the weft. broadly, poetic
"[F]irſt I muſt put off / Theſe my skie robes ſpun out of Iris vvooffe, / And take the vveeds and likeneſſe of a Svvaine, […]"
- 8 A sound resembling a dog's bark.; A low-frequency sound of bad quality produced by a loudspeaker. broadly, rare, transitive
- 9 Synonym of weaving (“the process of making woven material on a loom”). obsolete, rare
"Mean time Alcyone (his Fate unknovvn) / Computes hovv many Nights he had been gone, / […] / Againſt the promis'd Time provides vvith care, / And haſtens in the VVoof the Robes he vvas to vvear: / And for her Self employs another Loom, / Nevv-dreſs'd to meet her Lord returning home, / Flatt'ring her Heart vvith Joys that never vvere to come: […]"
- 10 Something which is interwoven with another thing. figuratively
"[T]he 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."
- 11 An underlying foundation or structure of something; a fabric. figuratively
"The proces of that Oration was of the ſame woofe and thrid with the beginning; […]"
- 1 To place (yarns) crosswise at right angles to and interlaced with the warp in a loom. rare, transitive
"And warp well the long threads, / The bright threads, the strong threads; / Woof well the cross threads, / To make the colours shine."
- 2 To say (something) in an aggressive or boastful manner. figuratively, rare, transitive
- 3 Alternative form of wwoof. alt-of, alternative, intransitive, rare, transitive
"Our two children are immediately involved in a frantic game of touch rugby orchestrated by Vinny, an Irish backpacker, who is WOOFing his way around New Zealand."
- 4 To interweave (something) with another thing; to weave (several things) together. figuratively, rare, transitive
"Here and there, where the land has not been cleared and the tide of dense swamp-forest closes upon the road, one gazes into the fearful tangle of vegetation, warped and woofed together by lianas and creeping plants of every description, and then realises what the work of clearing has been."
- 5 To eat (food) voraciously; to devour, to gobble, to wolf. informal, rare, transitive
"[N]othing makes me feel better than to see my dog's woofing down their food."
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- 6 Of a dog: to bark. intransitive, rare, transitive
"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."
- 7 Of a person or thing: to make a sound resembling a dog's bark. intransitive, rare, transitive
"A few minutes later a new [grizzly] bear came out on the big log upstream— […] Within seconds she knew something was wrong. She woofed, bounded off the log and came raging down toward us through the timber. There, not far away, she smashed back and forth, woofing and growling."
- 8 To speak in an aggressive or boastful manner. figuratively, intransitive, rare, transitive
""Miss, you know uh heap uh dese hard heads wants to woof at you but dey skeered." / "How come, Mr. Pitts? Do I look like a bear or panther?" / "Naw, but dey say youse rich and dey ain't got de nerve to open dey mouf.""
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English wof, oof, owf (“threads in a piece of woven fabric at right angles to the warp, weft, woof; also sometimes the warp; transverse filaments of a spider web”) [and other forms] (the forms beginning with w were influenced by warp and weft), from Old English ōwef, āwef, from ō-, ā- (prefix meaning ‘away; from; off; out’) + *wef (“web”) (only attested in the form gewef (“woof”); from wefan (“to weave”), from Proto-West Germanic *weban (“to weave”), from Proto-Germanic *webaną (“to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid; to weave”)). The verb is derived from the noun.
The noun is derived from Middle English wof, oof, owf (“threads in a piece of woven fabric at right angles to the warp, weft, woof; also sometimes the warp; transverse filaments of a spider web”) [and other forms] (the forms beginning with w were influenced by warp and weft), from Old English ōwef, āwef, from ō-, ā- (prefix meaning ‘away; from; off; out’) + *wef (“web”) (only attested in the form gewef (“woof”); from wefan (“to weave”), from Proto-West Germanic *weban (“to weave”), from Proto-Germanic *webaną (“to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid; to weave”)). The verb is derived from the noun.
The interjection and noun are onomatopoeic. Interjection etymology 2 sense 2 (“used to express strong physical attraction for someone”) probably alludes to the eager barking of a dog. The verb is probably derived from the interjection and the noun. Verb etymology 2 sense 1.2 (“to eat (food) voraciously”) may be influenced by or, alternatively, derived from wolf (“to eat (food) voraciously, devour, gobble”).
The interjection and noun are onomatopoeic. Interjection etymology 2 sense 2 (“used to express strong physical attraction for someone”) probably alludes to the eager barking of a dog. The verb is probably derived from the interjection and the noun. Verb etymology 2 sense 1.2 (“to eat (food) voraciously”) may be influenced by or, alternatively, derived from wolf (“to eat (food) voraciously, devour, gobble”).
The interjection and noun are onomatopoeic. Interjection etymology 2 sense 2 (“used to express strong physical attraction for someone”) probably alludes to the eager barking of a dog. The verb is probably derived from the interjection and the noun. Verb etymology 2 sense 1.2 (“to eat (food) voraciously”) may be influenced by or, alternatively, derived from wolf (“to eat (food) voraciously, devour, gobble”).
From WWOOF, an acronym of World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms which is a network of national organizations that facilitate homestays on organic farms.
See also for "woof"
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