pawky

[ paw-kee ]

/ ˈpɔ ki /

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adjective, pawk·i·er, pawk·i·est.Chiefly British.

cunning; sly.

QUIZ

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If autumn is your ideal season, spice up your repertoire of "fall" vocabulary with this quiz on some warm and vivid descriptive words for the season.

Question 1 of 10

Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?

crisp

crepitate

fuscous

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Origin of pawky

1670–80; Scots pawk trick + -y¹

OTHER WORDS FROM pawky

pawk·i·ly, adverbpawk·i·ness, noun

Words nearby pawky

Pavlov's dogs, Pavo, pavonine, pavor nocturnus, paw, pawky, pawl, pawn, pawnage, pawnbroker, pawnbroking

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use pawky in a sentence

Yet he could see into the heart of things as well as most men, for he was a shrewd Scotchman, and had a pawky humour.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
It has a number of sweet Scottish verses, plaintive or pawky.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
With them was a collie, much collie-er than English collies, with a pawky Scottish smile.
The Heather-Moon|C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson
Not that I know what pawky means, but it seems a word I ought to use at once, now we are on Scottish soil.
The Heather-Moon|C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson

But the balladist carries everything before him by the verve and good humour and pawky wit of his song.
The Balladists|John Geddie

British Dictionary definitions for pawky

pawky

/ (ˈpɔːkɪ) /

adjective pawkier or pawkiest

Scot having or characterized by a dry wit

Derived forms of pawky

pawkily, adverbpawkiness, noun

Word Origin for pawky

C17: from Scottish pawk trick, of unknown origin

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