O dear, and O dear me!

[corrupted from Fr. O Dieu! or It. O Dio! O God! and It. O Dio mio! O my God! Wyman], exclamations expressive of various emotions, but usually prompted by surprise, consternation, fear, grief, pain, and the like. “O dear me!” remonstrated Sir Leicester, not so much shocked by the fact, as by the fact of the fact being mentioned.” Dickens.