woe

Etymology

From Middle English wo, wei, wa, from Old English wā, wǣ, from Proto-West Germanic *wai, from Proto-Germanic *wai (interjection), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wáy (interjection). See also Dutch wee, German Weh, weh, Danish ve, Yiddish וויי (vey); also Latin vae, Albanian vaj, French ouais, Ancient Greek οὐαί (ouaí), Persian وای (vây) (Turkish vay, a Persian borrowing), and Armenian վայ (vay).

noun

1. Great sadness or distress; a misfortune causing such sadness.
   Thus saying, from her side the fatal key, / Sad instrument of all our woe, she took. 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost
   Soon as thy letters trembling I unclose / That well-known name awakens all my woes. 1717, Alexander Pope, Eloisa to Abelard
   October 14 2017, Sandeep Moudgal, The Times of India, Rains devastate families, political parties make beeline to apply balm on open wounds The Friday night rains which wrecked families in Kurabarahalli saw all the three major political parties making a beeline to express their condolences, listen to their woes and provide compensation in the hope of garnering their goodwill ahead of the 2018 assembly elections.
2. Calamity, trouble.
3. A curse; a malediction.

adj

1. (obsolete) Woeful; sorrowful
   hys clerk was wo to do þat dede 1303, Robert of Brunne, Handlyng synne

intj

1. (archaic) An exclamation of grief.