Paw Definition

pawed, pawing, paws
noun
paws
The foot of a four-footed animal having claws.
Webster's New World
A human hand, especially a large clumsy one.
American Heritage
A hand.
Webster's New World
Pa; papa; father.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
verb
pawed, pawing, paws
To touch, dig, hit, strike out (at), etc. with the paws or feet.
A horse pawing the air.
Webster's New World
To strike or scrape with a beating motion.
The bull pawed the ground before charging.
American Heritage Medicine
To handle (something) clumsily or roughly.
She pawed angrily through the papers on her desk.
Webster's New World
To feel or touch (another) in an annoying or unwanted way.
American Heritage
To caress (someone) in a rough or overly familiar way.
Webster's New World
Antonyms:

Origin of Paw

  • Middle English pawe, from Old French poue, poe, from Old Low Franconian *pōta (compare Dutch poot, Low German Pote, German Pfote), from *pōton 'to put, stick, plant' (compare Dutch poten 'to plant'), from Proto-Germanic *putōnÄ… (compare Old English potian 'to push', pȳtan 'to put out, poke out', Icelandic pota 'to stick', Albanian putër 'paw'), Ancient Greek "πους". More at put.

    From Wiktionary

  • From the noun paw, meaning an animal's hand or foot.

    From Wiktionary

  • The word probably has an origin in baby talk: see "˜pa'.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English pawe from Old French powe

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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