hoo

interj.

'stop!' (Modern English hoo)

Etymology

Occasionally derived from ON, cp. the OIcel ‘ho!’ (a word used in calling or encouragement, esp. to animals), and notice also MLG  'hallo'; thus GDS and in part MED. But this is a classic example of an expressive formation, with no orthodox etymological history (see de Vries s.v. hóa), and it is very easy to envisage an independent origin for the English word (thus OED, which calls it ‘a natural exclamation’; TGD, which compares PDE whoa).

PGmc Ancestor

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

‘ho!’ 
(ONP hó (interj.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Icel , ho, Norw ho, hu 

OE Cognate

Phonological and morphological markers

Summary category

BBB2a

Attestation

Fairly widespread from late 14c.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 2330; WA 2835, 4437

Bibliography

MED hō (interj.) , OED hoo (int. and n.) , HTOED , Dance hoo, Mag. hó, ho (1)