Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Heigh-ho
Heigh′-ho
(hī′-hō)
, int
erj.
An exclamation of surprise, joy, dejection, uneasiness, weariness, etc.
Shak.
Webster 1828 Edition
Heigh-ho
HEIGH-HO.
hi-ho. An exclamation expressing some degree of languor or uneasiness. Dryden has used it for the voice of exultation.Definition 2024
heigh-ho
heigh-ho
English
Interjection
heigh-ho
- A cadence-count used for synchronized walking, marching, pulling, lifting, etc.
- 1937 Walt Disney, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, animated feature-length motion picture; a chant sung by the seven dwarfs:
- Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to work we go, ...
- 1937 Walt Disney, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, animated feature-length motion picture; a chant sung by the seven dwarfs:
Verb
heigh-ho (third-person singular simple present heigh-hos, present participle heigh-hoing, simple past and past participle heigh-hoed)
- (intransitive) To chant "heigh-ho".
- 1927 Porterfield, William M. Bamboo and its uses in China, Chinese Government Bureau of Economic Information, Booklet Series 2, p40. Cited in David Farrelly, The Book of Bamboo, p25; Sierra Club Books, 1984.
- Big bamboo poles are used for carrying heavy loads in China. In the cities one hears the familiar antiphonal “heigh-ho'ing”, indicating that a heavy load is being moved somewhere. The heavier the load, the louder and more agonized the chant.
- 1927 Porterfield, William M. Bamboo and its uses in China, Chinese Government Bureau of Economic Information, Booklet Series 2, p40. Cited in David Farrelly, The Book of Bamboo, p25; Sierra Club Books, 1984.