paw
/pɔ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.48 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The soft foot of a mammal or other animal, generally a quadruped, that has claws or nails; comparable to a human hand or foot.
noun
Alternative form of pa (“father”).
Example Sentences
- "Get your grubby paws off my things!"
- "Mrs. Hauksbee laid her hand lightly upon the ungloved paw that rested on the turned-backed ’rickshaw hood, and, looking the man full in the face, said tenderly, almost too tenderly, “I believe in you if you mistrust yourself.”"
- "Abel smiled broadly and proffered his hamlike paw to the chief […]"
- "He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men."
- "IronMan used to be good in this way, back in the '80s. […] They wouldn't subscribe to the old, "Let's put a male bodybuilder with silicone babes pawing him" cover that's mainstay now."
- "So, Katherine was out with Luke and they were both quite dolled up and swoon-worthy. Katherine fawned all over Luke and pawed him, but to what end? Was Stefan supposed to believe that Luke and Katherine have some sort of a thing going? What was the point of this display from Katherine's perspective?"
Etymology
From Middle English pawe, from Old French poue, poe, from Vulgar Latin *pauta. Further origin unknown, perhaps from Frankish *pōta, from Frankish *pōtōn (“to put, stick, plant”), from Proto-Germanic *putōną, whence also Old English potian (“to push”), pȳtan (“to put out, poke out”). See more at put. Doublet of pote, put, and putt. Cognate with Dutch poot, poten (“to plant”), Low German Pote, German Pfote, Icelandic pota (“to stick”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: pawe, poue, *pauta, *pōta, *pōtōn, *putōną
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /pɔ/
- British English: /pɔː(ɹ)/