Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To utter the murmuring sound of a dove or pigeon or a sound resembling it.
- intransitive verb To talk fondly or amorously in murmurs.
- intransitive verb To express or utter with soft murmuring sounds.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The characteristic murmuring sound uttered by doves and pigeons.
- To utter a low, plaintive, murmuring sound (imitated by the sound of the word) characteristic of pigeons or doves.
- Hence To converse affectionately, like cooing doves; make love in murmuring endearments: commonly in the phrase to bill and coo. See
bill , v. i. - To utter by cooing.
- To call.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To make a low repeated cry or sound, like the characteristic note of pigeons or doves.
- intransitive verb To show affection; to act in a loving way. See under
Bill , v. i.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective slang
cool - interjection Expression of
fright ,surprise ,approval , etc. - noun The
murmuring sound made by adove orpigeon . - verb transitive or intransitive To make a
soft murmuringsound , as apigeon . - verb intransitive To speak in an
admiring fashion, to beenthusiastic about.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the sound made by a pigeon
- verb cry softly, as of pigeons
- verb speak softly or lovingly
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I don't b'Iieve he's anywhere within coo-ee of our place.
A Little Bush Maid 1910
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An interpretation might go like this: The a coo akab (mad one of the night, i.e. the screech owl) above the 13th heaven is perched upon the shoulders of Colel (another name for Ixchel).
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Carl Kay, of Tokyo, wrote, “When a long-sullen baby suddenly expresses contentment in response to the exaggerated gestures of an adult, it is called a coo de théâtre.”
Word Fugitives 2008
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Carl Kay, of Tokyo, wrote, “When a long-sullen baby suddenly expresses contentment in response to the exaggerated gestures of an adult, it is called a coo de théâtre.”
Word Fugitives 2008
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An interpretation might go like this: The a coo akab (mad one of the night, i.e. the screech owl) above the 13th heaven is perched upon the shoulders of Colel (another name for Ixchel).
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Elizabeth, with what the girl called a coo in her voice.
Ambrotox and Limping Dick Oliver Fleming
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"I've been standing up there," he complained, "for three or four minutes calling coo-ee, and you never answered once!"
Recollections With Photogravure Portrait of the Author and a number of Original Letters, of which one by George Meredith and another by Robert Louis Stevenson are reproduced in facsimile David Christie Murray
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In a few days after, whilst at home, the king sent for me and said he wished me to live with him entirely, so, accordingly, I remained in his house, and he appointed me a Che-re-coo, that is a kind of body guard to the king.
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Indeed, with the stressed last syllable of its voice, the bird might well have been termed the coo-bird to begin with, which eliminates the need for the postulated abbreviation, even for any association with the Old World bird.
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But the study also identified texting-specific dialect: Southern Californians thumb "coo," for "cool," for example, while Northern Californians opt for "koo."
Week in Ideas Christopher Shea 2011
bilby commented on the word coo
Cow (Scots).
November 27, 2007
sionnach commented on the word coo
Jane Smiley on pigeons.
February 1, 2008
jmjarmstrong commented on the word coo
JM overheard some doves plotting a coo.
July 27, 2011