hoot

Etymology

From Middle English houten, huten, hoten, of North Germanic origin, from or related to Old Swedish huta (“to cast out in contempt”), related to Middle High German hiuzen, hūzen (“to call to pursuit”), Swedish hut! (“begone!”, interjection), Dutch hui (“ho, hallo”), Danish huj (“ho, hallo”).

noun

1. A derisive cry or shout.
2. The cry of an owl.
   I heard the hoot of an owl.
3. (slang) A fun event or person.
   The party at the weekend was such a hoot! Thanks for the invite.
4. A small particle; a whit or jot.
   We don't care a hoot about what you think.
   Well, it was Sunday morning, and the wheat nothing like ripe; but it was a chance, and I got onto my reaper and banged down every hoot of it before Monday night. 1878, John Hanson Beadle, Western Wilds, and the Men who Redeem Them, Jones Brothers, →OCLC, page 611

verb

1. To cry out or shout in contempt.
   Matrons and girls shall hoot at thee no more, 1711, John Dryden, “Satire IX”, in Dryden’s Juvenal
2. To make the cry of an owl, a hoo.
3. To assail with contemptuous cries or shouts; to follow with derisive shouts.
   Mary felt extremely offended when the workers hooted at her.
   And I will be content, that Partridge, and the rest of his Clan, may hoot me for a Cheat and Impostor, if I fail in any single Particular of Moment. 1708, Isaac Bickerstaff [Jonathan Swift], Predictions for the Year 1708
4. To sound the horn of a vehicle
   When you arrive to pick me up, hoot, and I'll come outside.