Where does “אוי וויי” come from?

אוי וויי (Yiddish) comes from Middle High German ōwē, from Middle High German wē, from Old High German wē, from Proto-West Germanic wai, from Proto-Germanic wai, from Proto-Indo-European wai — oh!; woe!.

אוי וויי (Yiddish): oh, ah, ugh, oy; oh no, woe is me; ouch

Definitions

  1. oh, ah, ugh, oy; oh no, woe is me; ouch

Ancestry of “אוי וויי”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanōwē—
2Middle High Germanwē—
3Old High Germanwēwoe
4Proto-West Germanicwaiwoe!, alas!
5Proto-Germanicwaiwoe! alas!
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwaioh!; woe!

Words derived from “אוי וויי”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European wai →Every word from Proto-Germanic wai →Every word from Proto-West Germanic wai →