An exclamation expressing surprise, realization, or mock discovery, as in 'Oho! I caught you!'
From 'oh' plus 'ho,' both ancient exclamations. The doubling creates a more emphatic interjection, mimicking the sound of laughter or realization. Used since at least the 1500s.
Interjections like 'oho' are basically frozen laughs and gasps—they let us hear what human emotions sound like. People have been saying 'oho' for 500+ years with nearly the same meaning, making it one of language's most stable words.
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