Oea is a Latin word that means “an exclamation of surprise or joy.” It is pronounced “OH-ay.” The word is often used in literature and poetry to express a sudden burst of emotion, such as surprise, joy, or excitement. For example, the poet William Wordsworth uses the word in his poem “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” to describe the joy of seeing a child:
There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,The earth, and every common sight,To me did seemApparelled in celestial light,The glory and the freshness of a dream.It is not now as it hath been of yore;Turn wheresoe’er I may,By night or day,The things which I have seen I now can see no more.
