■ noun literary
1》 great sorrow or distress.
2》 ( ~s ) troubles.
Phrases
~ betide someone (or ~ to someone ) humorous a person will be in trouble if they do a specified thing.
~ is me! humorous an exclamation of sorrow or distress.
Origin
natural exclamation of lament: recorded as wā in OE and found in several Gmc languages.