gnawing
[ naw-ing ]
/ ˈnɔ ɪŋ /
noun
the act of a person or thing that gnaws.
Usually gnawings. persistent, dull pains; pangs: the gnawings of hunger.
RELATED WORDS
peaked, barbed, pointed, piercing, keen, acuminate, jagged, fine, horned, honed, aciculate, acute, cuspate, cuspidate, lancinating, acuate, acuminous, apical, knife-edged
Nearby words
Origin of gnawing
gnaw
[ naw ]
/ nɔ /
verb (used with object), gnawed, gnawed or gnawn, gnaw·ing.
verb (used without object), gnawed, gnawed or gnawn, gnaw·ing.
Origin of gnaw
before 1000; Middle English gnawen, Old English gnagen; cognate with German nagen, Old Norse gnāga
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for gnawing
gnaw
/ (nɔː) /
verb gnaws, gnawing, gnawed, gnawed or gnawn (nɔːn)
(when intr, often foll by at or upon) to bite (at) or chew (upon) constantly so as to wear away little by little
(tr) to form by gnawingto gnaw a hole
to cause erosion of (something)
(when intr, often foll by at) to cause constant distress or anxiety (to)
noun
the act or an instance of gnawing
Word Origin for gnaw
Old English gnagan; related to Old Norse gnaga, Old High German gnagan
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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gnaw
Old English gnagan (past tense *gnog, past participle gnagan) "to gnaw," a common Germanic word (cf. Old Saxon gnagan, Old Norse, Swedish gnaga, Middle Dutch, Dutch knagen, Old High German gnagan, German nagen "to gnaw"), probably imitative of gnawing. Related: Gnawed; gnawing.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper