Ow

Part of speech: interjection

Definitions

1. A sharp cry spoken involuntarily when someone feels a sudden sting, bump, or jolt of physical discomfort
2. An interjection blurted out in reaction to a quick injury or unexpected hurt, such as a pinch or a burn
3. A brief exclamation of pain or surprise that escapes a person when they are struck, stung, or squeezed

Etymology: "Ow" is a natural exclamation of pain, and its exact origin is unclear. Some accounts trace it to German "autsch", which appears to have reached English through Pennsylvania German "outch" ("cry of pain"), with the earliest recorded uses of the interjection coming from Pennsylvania in 1838. Other accounts treat such cries as far older than any written record, pointing to a verb "ouch" in a 1654 English text, which describes a character named Sancho Panza running and "ouching" around a mountain. That one example suggests the sound was already being turned into a word more than a century before the Pennsylvania records. Whichever route is right, the word is less a borrowed term than a sound people make before they have time to think. Its spelling varies, and the shorter form "ow" is the one most people write today.

Synonyms: ouch