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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Woe worth

Woe \Woe\, n. [OE. wo, wa, woo, AS. w[=a], interj.; akin to D. wee, OS. & OHG. w[=e], G. weh, Icel. vei, Dan. vee, Sw. ve, Goth. wai; cf. L. vae, Gr. ?. [root]128. Cf. Wail.]

  1. Grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity.

    Thus saying, from her side the fatal key, Sad instrument of all our woe, she took.
    --Milton.

    [They] weep each other's woe.
    --Pope.

  2. A curse; a malediction.

    Can there be a woe or curse in all the stores of vengeance equal to the malignity of such a practice?
    --South.

    Note: Woe is used in denunciation, and in exclamations of sorrow. `` Woe is me! for I am undone.''
    --Isa. vi. 5.

    O! woe were us alive [i.e., in life].
    --Chaucer.

    Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!
    --Isa. xlv. 9.

    Woe worth, Woe be to. See Worth, v. i.

    Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day, That costs thy life, my gallant gray!
    --Sir W. Scott.

Usage examples of "woe worth".

I have here my bales of cloth which I carry to Cahors--woe worth the day that ever I started on such an errand!