English Explanatory Dictionary

oy vey

English dictionary entry

Meanings

intj
  1. oh dear
verb
  1. To utter the phrase oy vey.

Pronunciation

/ɔɪ̯ veɪ̯/

Word forms

oy vey oy veys oy veying oy veyed oy-vey

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish אוי וויי (oy vey, literally “oh woe”), from Middle High German ōwē, from ō + wē, the latter being from Old High German wē, from Proto-Germanic *wai, from Proto-Indo-European *wai. Cognate with German o weh, Dutch oh wee, Latin vae, and Esperanto ho ve.

Related words

oy oy vavoy
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