Definition of 'paw'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present
tense paws
, present participle pawing
, past tense, past participle pawed
1. countable noun [oft with poss]
2. countable noun [oft poss NOUN, adjective NOUN]
You can describe someone's hand as their paw, especially if it is very large or if they are very clumsy.
[mainly humorous, informal]
4. verb
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
paw in British English
noun
verb
3.
to scrape or contaminate with the paws or feet
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C13: via Old French from Germanic; related to Middle Dutch pōte, German Pfotepaw in American English 1
noun
1.
the foot of a four-footed animal having claws
2. Informal
a hand
verb transitive, verb intransitive
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
pawer (ˈpawer)
noun
Word origin
ME paue < OFr poue < Frank *pauta, a paw (< pre-Celt *pauta) > Ger pfotepaw in American English 1
(pɔ)
noun
1.
the foot of an animal having claws
2.
the foot of any animal
transitive verb
4.
to strike or scrape with the paws or feet
a dog pawing the door
intransitive verb
7. informal
to handle or caress someone or something in a clumsy or rude manner or with unwelcome familiarity
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
pawer noun
Word origin
[1300–50; ME pawe, var. of powe ‹ MF poue (c. Pr pauta) ‹ Gmc; cf. D poot, G Pfote]paw in American English 2
(pɔ)
noun
informal
father; pa
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1900–05, Amer.; earlier and dial. pron. of pa, reflecting the now lapsed constraint against a maximally open back vowel in an open
stressed final syll.]Examples of 'paw' in a sentence
paw
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In other languages
paw
British English: paw
/pɔː/ NOUN
The paws of an animal such as a cat, dog, or bear are its feet.
The kitten was black with white front paws.
- American English: paw /ˈpɔ/
- Arabic: كَفُّ الْـحَيَوَانِ
- Brazilian Portuguese: pata animal
- Chinese: 爪
- Croatian: šapa
- Czech: tlapa
- Danish: pote
- Dutch: klauw
- European Spanish: zarpa
- Finnish: käpälä
- French: patte
- German: Pfote
- Greek: πατούσα
- Italian: zampa
- Japanese: 動物の足
- Korean: 동물의 발
- Norwegian: pote
- Polish: łapa
- European Portuguese: pata animal
- Romanian: labă
- Russian: лапа
- Latin American Spanish: pata pie y pierna de los animales
- Swedish: tass
- Thai: อุ้งเท้า
- Turkish: pençe
- Ukrainian: лапа
- Vietnamese: chân động vật
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paw
Source
Definition of paw from the Collins English Dictionary
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