shu, interjection

/ʃʊ/, /ʃu/
Forms:
shoe, shooShow more Also shoe, shoo, shuee, sjoe.
Origin:
IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Southern Sotho, Afrikaans, Dutch, EnglishShow more Probably from isiXhosa, isiZulu, or Southern Sotho shu, the use of the word being reinforced by the existence in Afrikaans of sjoe, soe (in similar senses) from Dutch dialect soech, soeg, soeck, soek. As used in English by speakers of Sintu (Bantu) languages, probably taken directly from isiXhosa, isiZulu, or Southern Sotho.
colloquial
An exclamation expressing a variety of emotions, especially surprise, wonder, or relief.
1979 ‘Blossom’ in Darling 16 May 131Sjoe, that was close.
1986 Pace May 110Sneak into stokvels of the kind I visited yesterday. Shu mfondini, your eyes catch sight of fat ugly aunties whose faces are daubed with an assortment of alcoholic graffiti.
1989 D. Bristow in Weekly Mail 21 Apr. 29From the escarpment.., Van der Stel is supposed to have looked out across the mirage-dancing plain..and said to his underlings: ‘Shoo manne, what a spektakel!’
1989 A. Donaldson in Style Dec. 8Well, sjoe, there’s just no way to describe it, man.
An exclamation expressing a variety of emotions, especially surprise, wonder, or relief.
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19791989
shottist, nounn.shu-shu, adjectiveadj.
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