Woo hoo! - Wordsmith.org

This is a phrase I am wondering about:
How and when did "Woo hoo!" as an exultant expression of rejoicing get started? I see it on blogs--is it mostly just used in etalk, like LOL? Or are people actually saying it, and I am just not hearing it?

Since Yahoo! became a trademark?

It seems based on an interjection common in 19th century accounts of American Indians (though I did find one about New Guineans) a sort of whooping. Here's an interesting example from Moby Dick (ch 61):

Quote:

"Woo-hoo! Wa-hee!" screamed the Gay-Header in reply, raising some old war-whoop to the skies; as every oarsman in the strained boat involuntarily bounced forward with the one tremendous leading stroke which the eager Indian gave.

The Gay-Header referred to is Tashtego a Native American harpooner (ch 27):

Quote:

Next was Tashtego, an unmixed Indian from Gay Head, the most westerly promontory of Martha's Vineyard, where there still exists the last remnant of a village of red men, which has long supplied the neighboring island of Nantucket with many of her most daring harpooneers. In the fishery, they usually go by the generic name of Gay-Headers.

Yahoo (or yah hoo) can also be an interjection of joy or exultation, besides being the name of a people in Gulliver's Travels.

I've always wondered if Swift named his savages after an existing exclamation, or if someone took the exclamation from Swift. Undoubtably the former.

thank you, tsuwm -- you sure have your finger on the pulse of popular culture!

Originally Posted By: Hydra

I've always wondered if Swift named his savages after an existing exclamation, or if someone took the exclamation from Swift. Undoubtably the former.

FWIW, the B&M OED lists Swift as the earliest citation and credits him with coining it.

Originally Posted By: Faldage

Originally Posted By: Hydra

I've always wondered if Swift named his savages after an existing exclamation, or if someone took the exclamation from Swift. Undoubtably the former.

FWIW, the B&M OED lists Swift as the earliest citation and credits him with coining it.

The online OED says of the interjection that it is
"[Prob. echoic. Cf. YAHOO n.]" (e.a.)

and credits Swift with the noun.

Originally Posted By: zmjezhd

It seems based on an interjection common in 19th century accounts of American Indians (though I did find one about New Guineans) a sort of whooping. ...etc

I think that's probably coincidental.
Isn't it just a recent Gen-Y exclamation of approval or joie-de-vivre that has spontaneously arisen in the past few years for no apparent reason?

spontaneously arisen in the past few years for no apparent reason?

Could have, although the Homerian interjection d'oh!, which has wormed its way into the dictionary as well as the vox pop, was coined in homage to James Finlayson's catchphrase of exasperation in many a Laurel and Hardy short ...

Citing no research whatsoever and nothing to back it up, it is my opinion that the exclamation itself is ancient, having its origin in animal vocalizations, perhaps imitated by early humans. "Woo-hoo" is just the current English rendition, nothing more. :0)