boo (interj. 1800, v. 1833)

[Joel S. Berson]

At 4/9/2009 12:20 PM, Benjamin Zimmer wrote:
>Also discussed in the column as a predecessor. For startling
>interjections, "bo(h)" came first, and then "boo" by the early 18th
>century -- about a century before the drawn-out "boo" of derision.

There is also "poh", which the OED has from 1559.  My recollection is
that -- as one might think from the softer "p"? -- "poh" was milder
than "boo" is today.

Joel

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