I wonder how this is pronounced in UK. I find Shakespeare
spelled it "Hoo". Where did the "w" and the "a" come
from? Is the "a" pronounced in UK?
To me it's a homophone of 'woe', but I've never had much to do with horses so I'm not necessarily typical.
Bingley
I'm pretty much with the Bingster, but if it was a more excited emphatic form, it might start to sound a bit more like [woo]. Concerning the 'a', I can't ever remember hearing the word pronounced with any element of this sound, such as wo~ah.
[gratuitious 1970s sitcom reference] I now have an indelible image in my head of a dishevelled female figure running through the streets shrieking "Woe, woe and thrice woe."[/gratuitious 1970s sitcom reference]
Bingley
I still wonder where the "a" came from.
I have always heard the "h" pronounced.
The OED gives /wou/ as the pronunciation. Says it's from who also /wou/ meaning stop. Examples of usage: come hither whoa, gee-whoa, hait whoa, whoa back. I've always heard it pronounced /wou/ to rhyme with woe and oh. And who comes from ho. There's definitely some interesting stuff going on here.
There are two Shakespeare citations in the OED entry, but for a different meaning than stopping a horse, i.e., calling attention from a distance: "Whoa hoe, hoe, Father Paige." Merry Wives Windsor V.v.187. "He hallow'd but euen now, Whoa-ho-hoe." Winter Tale III.iii.79.
Not to be confused with der Bingl.
Am I going to regret asking?
Bingley
Dear Bingley: I certainly hope your valuable contributions
will not be curtailed by affectionate eke naming.
Am I going to regret asking?
I don't think so. Der Bingel was a German/Yiddish nickname for Bing Crosby.
> an affectionate form
Definitely :)