See Also:

paw(2) (iou)



paw noun1 & verb. ME.
[Old French powe, poue, poe from Proto-Romance, from Frankish (repr. in Middle Dutch pote, Dutch poot).]
A. noun.
The foot of an animal, having claws and pads. ME.
b. The foot of any animal; esp. the claw of a bird. rare. LME.
A person's hand, esp. when clumsy, awkwardly used, or (formerly) brutal. colloq. LME.
A. Burgess Workers soon had rifles..in their unhandy paws.
b. transf. Handwriting; signature; (artistic) style; handiwork. Cf. FIST noun1 3, HAND noun 16, 17. E17.
[from the verb.] The action or an act of pawing. E17.
b. verb.
verb trans. & intrans. Touch or strike (a person or thing) with a paw. LME.
verb intrans. & trans. Of a horse etc.: strike or scrape (the ground) with a hoof. E17.
verb trans. Touch or handle awkwardly or roughly; esp. (colloq.) fondle (a person) awkwardly or lasciviously. Also foll. by about. E17.
C. Isherwood He kept stroking..Sally's arm and pawing her hand.
b. verb intrans. Pass a hand awkwardly or clumsily (over, through, etc.). M19.
D. Runyon Butch starts pawing through her satchel looking for something.
With prepositions in specialized senses: paw at (a) touch or strike with a paw; (b) colloq. attempt to fondle, fondle awkwardly or lasciviously.