ouch

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See also: Ouch

English

Etymology 1

Uncertain. Some sources say the interjection is attested since 1838[1] (and specifically in American English) and derives ultimately from German autsch,[2][3] perhaps specifically via Pennsylvania German outch (“cry of pain”), as early attestations of the interjection are from Pennsylvania.[3] However, others say the interjection is a "mere"[4] or "natural" exclamation attested since the mid 1600s,[5] and the 1933 OED[3] cites one instance of a verb "ouch" in 1654, "Sancho Pancas Runs Ouching round the mountaine like a ranck-Asse".[6]

Pronunciation

Interjection

ouch

  1. An expression of one's own physical pain.
    Ouch! You stepped on my toe! That hurt!
  2. An expression in sympathy at another's pain.
    Ouch! Her sunburn looks awful.
  3. A reply to an insult seen as savage (frequently one that is tongue-in-cheek or joking).
    Ouch. How could you say that?
  4. An expression of disappointment.
    Ouch, I really wanted to do that.
  5. (slang) Expressing surprise at the high price of something.
    Ouch, one hundred thousand dollars for a car! I could never afford that!
Synonyms
Translations

Noun

ouch (plural ouches)

  1. (informal) Something that causes discomfort or pain.
    Synonym: ooch
Translations

Verb

ouch (third-person singular simple present ouches, present participle ouching, simple past and past participle ouched)

  1. (intransitive) To exclaim "ouch!" in discomfort or pain.
    • 1984 April 21, “Mousie Mousie Wildflower”, in Gay Community News, page 18:
      Imperturbability your skill, not mine / I ouch out loud and clear / Your forgiveness, like Pope's divine / I'm just an angry queer
Translations

Etymology 2

Variant forms.

Noun

ouch (plural ouches)

  1. Alternative form of ouche

References

  1. ^ “ouch”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  2. ^ “ouch”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933. ("ouch")
  4. ^ “ouch”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
  5. ^ “ouch”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  6. ^ 1654, Gayton, Pleas. Notes IV. ii. 176, "But harke Sancho Pancas Runs Ouching round the mountaine like a ranck-Asse, Braying for's Company.

Anagrams

French

Pronunciation

Interjection

ouch

  1. interjection expressing a sharp pain: ouch!

Synonyms

Middle High German

Etymology

    From Old High German ouh, from Proto-West Germanic *auk, from Proto-Germanic *auk.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): (before 13th CE) /ˈou̯x/

    Adverb

    ouch

    1. also, too, as well

    Descendants

    • Alemannic German: au
    • Cimbrian: òch
    • Central Franconian:
    • German: auch
    • Rhine Franconian:
      • Pennsylvania German: aa
    • Yiddish: אויך (oykh)

    References

    • Benecke, Georg Friedrich, Müller, Wilhelm, Zarncke, Friedrich (1863) “ouch”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch: mit Benutzung des Nachlasses von Benecke, Stuttgart: S. Hirzel
    • "ouch" in Köbler, Gerhard, Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch (3rd edition 2014)
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