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woebegone

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woe⋅be⋅gone

[woh-bi-gawn, -gon]
–adjective
1. beset with woe; affected by woe, esp. in appearance.
2. showing or indicating woe: He always had a woebegone look on his face.

Origin:
1300–50; ME wo begon orig., woe (has or had) surrounded (someone); wo woe + begon, ptp. of begon, OE begān to surround, besiege (see be-, go 1 )


woe⋅be⋅gone⋅ness, noun


2. suffering, troubled, forlorn, gloomy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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woe·be·gone   (wō'bĭ-gôn', -gŏn')   
adj.  
  1. Affected with or marked by deep sorrow, grief, or wretchedness. See Synonyms at sad.

  2. Of an inferior or deplorable condition: a rundown, woebegone old shack.


[Middle English wo begon, beset with woe : wo, woe; see woe + begon, past participle of begon, to beset (from Old English begān : be-, be- + gān, to go; see go1).]
woe'be·gone'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

woebegone 
c.1300, in me is wo bigone "woe has beset me," from begon "to beset, surround."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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