cooee

American  

[koo-ee] / ˈku i /

noun

1. a prolonged, shrill, clear call or cry used as a signal by Aboriginal inhabitants of Australia and adopted by the settlers in the country.

---

verb (used without object)

cooeed, cooeeing

1. to utter the call “cooee.”

cooee British  

/ ˈkuːiː /

interjection

1. a call used to attract attention, esp (originally) a long loud high-pitched call on two notes used in the Australian bush

---

verb

1. (intr) to utter this call

noun

1. informal calling distance (esp in the phrase within ( a ) cooee ( of ))

Etymology

Origin of cooee

First recorded in 1780–90, cooee is from the Dharuk word gu-wī

Example Sentences

One instance each of A-1 and A1, and cooee and coo-e-e were retained.

From The Jolliest School of All by Brazil, Angela

This Colony can't come within a cooee of you with the beer, and I'm the first to own it!

From At Large by Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William)

We had not gone far, however, when a cooee reached our ears.

From Adventures in Australia by Kingston, William Henry Giles

They continually fired at them, but, as far as I was able to judge, never went within cooee of one.

From Five Months at Anzac A Narrative of Personal Experiences of the Officer Commanding the 4th Field Ambulance, Australian Imperial Force by Beeston, Joseph Lievesley

She'd see a joke a mile off; sighted 'em as soon as they got within cooee.

From We of the Never-Never by Gunn, Jeannie