*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Woo

From an irregular romanization of various Mandarin Chinese surnames including 吳/吴 (Wú), 伍 (Wǔ), 武 (Wǔ), and 巫 (Wū), or from Cantonese 胡 (wu4).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
name

A surname from Chinese.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From an irregular romanization of various Mandarin Chinese surnames including 吳/吴 (Wú), 伍 (Wǔ), 武 (Wǔ), and 巫 (Wū), or from Cantonese 胡 (wu4).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cmn",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Mandarin"
    },
    {
      "name": "zh-l",
      "args": {
        "1": "吳",
        "tr": "Wú"
      },
      "expansion": "吳/吴 (Wú)"
    },
    {
      "name": "zh-l",
      "args": {
        "1": "伍",
        "tr": "Wǔ"
      },
      "expansion": "伍 (Wǔ)"
    },
    {
      "name": "zh-l",
      "args": {
        "1": "武",
        "tr": "Wǔ"
      },
      "expansion": "武 (Wǔ)"
    },
    {
      "name": "zh-l",
      "args": {
        "1": "巫",
        "tr": "Wū"
      },
      "expansion": "巫 (Wū)"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "yue",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Cantonese"
    },
    {
      "name": "zh-l",
      "args": {
        "1": "胡",
        "tr": "wu4"
      },
      "expansion": "胡 (wu4)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "吳",
      "吳#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "吴",
      "吴#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "伍",
      "伍#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "武",
      "武#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "巫",
      "巫#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "胡",
      "胡#Chinese"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname from Chinese."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "33d4102086f4bebd80f7abd41d168cfad8209f1d5575bbc624c8ab2cd8fd47de",
      "rawRecordSha256": "f857a7035a3009905ba04b113be8fc39ee05fdeeb4b08cb24ea6f3ccdb307376",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4824349
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
name

A surname from Korean.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Korean 우 (u). * (surname): from Korean 禹, 于

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ko",
        "3": "우"
      },
      "expansion": "Korean 우 (u)"
    },
    {
      "name": "sense",
      "args": {
        "1": "surname"
      },
      "expansion": "(surname):"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ko",
        "3": "禹, 于"
      },
      "expansion": "Korean 禹, 于"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "우",
      "우#Korean"
    ],
    [
      "禹",
      "禹#Korean"
    ],
    [
      "于",
      "于#Korean"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname from Korean."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "799d7fa9395795f3b8507efe4055660f9645b4d66c401216da78fa9117ccd773",
      "rawRecordSha256": "7ec8f824665065c03c2b1a5666e24323d8c1ab236bc327cd3826c88369d3ea7f",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4824350
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Woo →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-V29v