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
• Estonian: löga
• Finnish: tahma, tökötti (fi), mönjä (fi)
• French: matière poisseuse f
• German: Schmiere (de) f, Klebstoff (de) m, (North German, colloquial) Glibber m, (colloquial) Soße (de) f, klebriges Zeug n, Papp m
• Japanese: ネバネバしたもの (nebaneba shita mono)

• Polish: glut (pl) m
• Portuguese: gosma (pt)
• Russian: слизь (ru) f (slizʹ), (что-либо) вязкое (ru) n (vjázkoje), (что-либо) липкое (ru) (lípkoje)
• Serbo-Croatian: ljiga f
• Swedish: smet (sv) n, klet (sv) n, kladd (sv) n

sentimentality

• Dutch: stroperigheid
• French: sentimentalité à l'eau de rose f

• German: (colloquial) Schmalz (de) m, übertriebene Sentimentalität f
• Russian: сентиментальщина (ru) f (sentimentálʹščina)

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 Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (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 ? (^??? please provide the plural!, ^??? please provide the diminutive!)

1. An alternative form of gouw 'region'

Anagrams

• oog

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Esperanto

Noun

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

1. The board game go

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Manx

Etymology 1

From Old Irish guth (“voice, sound, word, vowel”).

Noun

goo m (genitive goo, plural googhyn)

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.

Etymology 2

Noun

goo m

1. eclipsed form of coo

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

Usage notes

• See Manx language: initial consonant mutations.

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Middle English

Etymology

See gon.

Verb

goo

1. go

References

p. 1, Arthur; A Short Sketch of his Life and History in English Verse of the First Half of the Fifteenth Century, Frederick Furnivall ed. EETS. Trübner & Co.: London. 1864.