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.

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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

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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

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)

"They can't be far," I say reassuringly, and give a loud cooee, but there is no response.

From Round the Wonderful World by Forrest, A. S. (Archibald Stevenson)

Then looked a little troubled, for cooee was to be interpreted that all was well.

From In the Mist of the Mountains by Macfarlane, J.

And presently after I heard from afar his high, melancholy "cooee," and the crack of his thong in the afternoon air as he hastened out to his charges.

From Henry Brocken His Travels and Adventures in the Rich, Strange, Scarce-Imaginable Regions of Romance by De la Mare, Walter

On page 68, the word "looee" was replaced with "cooee".

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