paw
pronunciation
How to pronounce paw in British English:
UK [pɔː]
How to pronounce paw in American English:
US [pɔː]
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- Noun:
- a clawed foot of an animal especially a quadruped
- the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
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- Verb:
- scrape with the paws
- touch clumsily
Word Origin
- paw (n.)
- c. 1300, from Old French powe, poe "paw, fist," of uncertain origin. Evidence points to a Gallo-Roman root form *pauta which probably is related to the source of patten.
- paw (v.)
- "use the hands roughly," c. 1600, from paw (n.). Related: Pawed; pawing. Middle English had pawen "to touch or strike with the paw" (c. 1400).