n.
literary - great sorrow or distress.
-
(woes)
troubles.
Phrase
- woe betide someone
(or woe to someone)
humorous a person will be in trouble if they do a specified thing. - woe is me!
humorous an exclamation of sorrow or distress.
Etymology
natural exclamation of lament: recorded as wā in OE and found in several Gmc languages.
