daw

[ daw ]

/ dɔ /

noun

Obsolete. simpleton; fool.

Nearby words

davy jones's locker, davy lamp, davy, sir humphry, davys, davys, john, daw, dawah, dawbake, dawdle, dawes, dawes act of 1887

Origin of daw

1400–50; late Middle English dawe; compare Old High German taha

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for daw

Chattaway's worst enemy could not fairly blame him with reference to the fate of Rupert: but Mr. Daw was in a hasty mood.
Trevlyn Hold|Mrs. Henry Wood
Scarcely any of its painful features were apparent; and Mr. Daw wrote word that they had not been in his father.
Trevlyn Hold|Mrs. Henry Wood
Mr. Daw showed no signs of resenting the incipient insolence; on the contrary, his voice took a kind and sympathising tone.
Trevlyn Hold|Mrs. Henry Wood
He got me to lend him my pen and ink, and wrote a letter to that there foreign gentleman, Mr. Daw.
Trevlyn Hold|Mrs. Henry Wood

"I can see it, for your sparks are gone," said Mr. Daw, glumly looking his friend over from head to foot as he pocketed the ten.
Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford|George Randolph Chester

British Dictionary definitions for daw

daw

/ (dɔː) /

noun

an archaic, dialect, or poetic name for a jackdaw

Word Origin for daw

C15: related to Old High German taha

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for daw

daw

early 15c., from Proto-Germanic *dakhwo (cf. Old High German taha, German Dohle), perhaps imitative of bird's cry. Medieval Latin tacula, Italian taccola are said to be Germanic loan words.