goo

See also -góó

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -uː

Etymology 1

American English, known since 1903, probably from burgoo (“thick porridge”) (1787), possibly an alteration of glue.

Noun

goo (uncountable)

1. (uncountable, informal) Any semi-solid or liquid substance; especially one that is sticky, gummy or slippery; frequently of vague or unknown composition, or a bodily fluid.

   I stepped in some goo and had a terrible time getting the sticky stuff off my shoes.

2. Excessive, showy sentimentality

   When dad couldn't stand the goo anymore, he stopped Tommy's tearful goodbye from the Swedish au-pair Matts, firmly smacking the boys' pants and grumbling "Now stop the goo or I'll give each of you a reason to cry!"

Derived terms

• from goo to you by way of the zoo
• gooey
• gooeyness

Synonyms

• gloop
• glop
• gook
• goop
• gunge
• gunk
• gum
• muck
• ooze
• paste
• slop
• sludge

Translations

sticky or gummy semi-solid or liquid substance

Dutch: brij (nl) m. Finnish: tahma (fi), tökötti (fi) French: matière poisseuse (fr) f. German: Schmiere (de) f., Klebstoff (de) m., (North German, colloquial) Glibber (de) m., (colloquial) Soße (de) f., klebriges Zeug (de) n., Papp (de) m.

Japanese: ネバネバしたもの (ja) (nebaneba shita mono) Polish: glut (pl) m. Portuguese: gosma (pt) Swedish: smet (sv) n., klet (sv) n., kladd (sv) n.

sentimentality

Dutch: stroperigheid French: sentimentalité à l'eau de rose (fr) f.

German: (colloquial) Schmalz (de) m., übertriebene Sentimentalität (de) f.

Verb

goo (third-person singular simple present goos, present participle gooing, simple past and past participle gooed)

1. (transitive) To apply goo to something.

   They gooed their hair with some fragrant styling product.

Etymology 2

(onomatopoeia)

Noun

goo (plural goos)

1. An example of baby talk.

   The infant's goos and gahs were endearing.

Verb

goo (third-person singular simple present goos, present participle gooing, simple past and past participle gooed)

1. (intransitive) To produce baby talk.

   The baby gooed while daddy made sappy faces at it.

See also

• gaga, ga-ga
• goo-goo

References

• “goo” in the Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, 2001
• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967

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Dutch

Etymology

Germanic, of uncertain origin

Noun

goo

1. An alternative form of gouw 'region'

Anagrams

• oog

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Esperanto

Noun

goo (plural gooj, accusative singular goon, accusative plural goojn)

1. The board game go

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Manx

Noun

goo

1. voice
2. word, reputation

Mutation

Manx mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
goo	ghoo	ngoo
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

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Middle English

Verb

goo

1. go