Definition of "halloo"
halloo
interjection
Used in hunting to urge on the pursuers.
Quotations
Earl Walter winds his bugle horn;To horſe, to horſe, halloo, halloo!His fiery courſer ſnuffs the morn,And thronging ſerfs their Lord purſue.
1796, Gottfried Augustus Bürger, “The Chase”, in [Walter Scott], transl., The Chase, and William and Helen: Two Ballads, from the German […], Edinburgh: […] Mundell and Son, […], for Manners and Miller, […]; and sold by T[homas] Cadell, Jun. and W[illiam] Davies (successors to Mr. [Thomas] Cadell) […], stanza I, page 1
"Halloo!" cried the goodwife, and away she ran after it, with the frying-pan in one hand and the ladle in the other, as fast as she could, and the children behind her, while the goodman came limping after, last of all.
1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 65
noun
plural halloos
Quotations
List, list, I hearSom far off hallow break the silent Air.
1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, page 96
At almost any time of the day—save ever the sacred hour of noon—you may see the fish-hunters pursuing their sport; with loud halloos, brandishing their spears, and splashing through the water in all directions.
1847 March 30, Herman Melville, chapter 70, in Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas; […], London: John Murray, […]
She was afraid that her faint cry would not be heard, but at least one member of the group responded to it, for there was an answering halloo, and a small figure detached itself from the rest and darted forward.
1962, Joan Aiken, chapter 3, in The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, New York: Doubleday, page 25
verb
third-person singular simple present halloos or hallooes, present participle hallooing, simple past and past participle hallooed
(intransitive) To shout halloo.
Quotations
For voice—I have lost it with hallooing and singing of anthems.
c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene ii]
[…] they set up two or three great Shouts, hollowing with all their might, to try if they could make their Companions hear; but all was to no purpose:
1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], 3rd edition, London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], published 1719, pages 310-311
(transitive) To encourage with shouts; to egg (someone) on.
Quotations
He played with Jacko like a child—rolled with him about the decks—hallooed him on to all manner of mischief—clapped his hands and cheered him in his performance, and then, in his own language, pronounced a high eulogy upon his achievements.
1838, William Gilmore Simms, “The Cherokee Embassage”, in Carl Werner, an Imaginative Story, with Other Tales of Imagination, volume 2, New York: George Adlard, pages 187–188
(transitive) To chase with shouts or outcries.
Quotations
Now, if you can keep your brother sportsmen in order, and put any discretion into them, you are in luck; they more frequently do harm than good: if it be possible, persuade those who wish to halloo the fox off, to stand quiet under the cover-side, and on no account to halloo him too soon […]
1915, E. D. Cuming, Fox and Hounds, London: Hodder and Stoughton, page 7
(transitive) To shout (something).
Quotations
Halloo your name to the reverberate hillsAnd make the babbling gossip of the airCry out ‘Olivia!’
c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene v]