Paw Definition

pô

pawed, pawing, paws

noun

paws

The foot of a four-footed animal having claws.

Webster's New World

A human hand, especially a large clumsy one.

American Heritage

A hand.

Webster's New World

Pa; papa; father.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

verb

pawed, pawing, paws

To touch, dig, hit, strike out (at), etc. with the paws or feet.

A horse pawing the air.

Webster's New World

To strike or scrape with a beating motion.

The bull pawed the ground before charging.

American Heritage Medicine

To handle (something) clumsily or roughly.

She pawed angrily through the papers on her desk.

Webster's New World

To feel or touch (another) in an annoying or unwanted way.

American Heritage

To caress (someone) in a rough or overly familiar way.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Origin of Paw

Middle English pawe, from Old French poue, poe, from Old Low Franconian *pōta (compare Dutch poot, Low German Pote, German Pfote), from *pōton 'to put, stick, plant' (compare Dutch poten 'to plant'), from Proto-Germanic *putōnÄ… (compare Old English potian 'to push', pȳtan 'to put out, poke out', Icelandic pota 'to stick', Albanian putÃ«r 'paw'), Ancient Greek "πους". More at put.

From Wiktionary
From the noun paw, meaning an animal's hand or foot.

From Wiktionary
The word probably has an origin in baby talk: see "˜pa'.

From Wiktionary
Middle English pawe from Old French powe

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition