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paw1

[paw]
noun
  1. the foot of an animal having claws.
  2. the foot of any animal.
  3. Informal. the human hand, especially one that is large, rough, or clumsy: Keep your paws off my property.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to strike or scrape with the paws or feet: a dog pawing the door.
  2. Informal. to handle or caress clumsily, rudely, or with unwelcome familiarity.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to beat or scrape the floor, ground, etc., with the paws or feet.
  2. Informal. to handle or caress someone or something in a clumsy or rude manner or with unwelcome familiarity.
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Origin of paw1

1300–50; Middle English pawe, variant of powe < Middle French poue (cognate with Provençal pauta) < Germanic; compare Dutch poot, German Pfote
Related formspaw·er, nounun·pawed, adjective
Can be confusedpaw poor porepause paws pores pours
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

fondlefeelscratchslapstrokehitmolestsmitepatfingerrasphandlerubrakepalpategrategropesearchclutchdig

Examples from the Web for pawed

Historical Examples

  • It pawed the ground and stamped with its hoofs, and looked like the leader of a grand army.

    Classic Myths

    Mary Catherine Judd

  • Seeing that the newcomer was only a woman, she lowered her head and pawed the ground.

    Cy Whittaker's Place

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • I pawed the air, raved a little, and made him think I was crazy.

    The Players

    Everett B. Cole

  • The beast rose on his hind legs and pawed the air, snorting.

  • He pawed all over the marble top of the table, rattling the dishes.

British Dictionary definitions for pawed

paw

noun
  1. any of the feet of a four-legged mammal, bearing claws or nails
  2. informal a hand, esp one that is large, clumsy, etc
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verb
  1. to scrape or contaminate with the paws or feet
  2. (tr) informal to touch or caress in a clumsy, rough, or overfamiliar manner; maul
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Word Origin

C13: via Old French from Germanic; related to Middle Dutch pōte, German Pfote
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 pawed

paw

n.

c.1300, from Old French powe, poe "paw, fist," of uncertain origin. Evidence points to a Gallo-Romance root form *pauta which probably is related to the source of patten.

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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).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper