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paw

 
Dictionary: paw   () pronunciation
n.
  1. The foot of an animal, especially a quadruped, that has claws or nails.
  2. Informal. A human hand, especially a large clumsy one: "Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water" (John Steinbeck).

v., pawed, paw·ing, paws.

v.tr.
  1. To strike with the paw or paws.
  2. To strike or scrape with a beating motion: The bull pawed the ground before charging.
  3. To handle clumsily, rudely, or with too much familiarity. See synonyms at touch.
v.intr.
  1. To scrape the ground with the forefeet: The horse pawed restlessly.
  2. To handle someone or something clumsily, rudely, or with too much familiarity: Don't paw at everything you see.

[Middle English pawe, from Old French powe.]

pawer paw'er n.

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Antonyms: paw
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v

Definition: touch roughly
Antonyms: manhandle


A form of behavior characterized by persistent use of one forelimb to dig in the ground, or to thump it, or to scratch at a fixed object such as a door; stimulated by subacute pain, boredom.

Word Tutor: paw
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: n. - A clawed foot of an animal especially a quadruped; v. - Touch clumsily.

pronunciation I recognize the lion by his paw — Jacques Bernoulli, Source: G. Simmons, Calculus Gems, New York: McGraw Hill, 1992, p. 136.

Wikipedia: Paw
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Front paw of dog showing A) Claw, B) Digital Pads, C) Metacarpal Pad, D) Dew Claw, E) Carpal Pad.

A paw is the soft foot of a mammal, generally a quadruped, that has claws or nails. A hard foot is called a hoof. Paws are used to pad feet for walking and increase friction.

Contents

Common characteristics

The paw is characterised by thin, pigmented, keratinised, hairless epidermis covering subcutaneous, collagenous, and adipose tissue, which make up the pads. These pads act as a cushion for the load-bearing limbs of the animal. The paw consists of the large, heart-shaped metacarpal pad (forelimb) or metatarsal pad (rear limb), and generally four load bearing digital pads, although there can be five or six toes in the case of bears and the Giant Panda. A carpal pad is also found on the forelimb which is used for additional traction when stopping or descending a slope in digitigrade species. Additional dew claws can also be present.

The paw also includes a horny, beak shaped claw on each digit. Though usually hairless, certain animals do have fur on the soles of their paws. An example being the Red Panda, whose furry soles help insulate them in their snowy habitat.

Animals with paws

See also

References


Translations: Paw
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - pote, lab
v. tr. - overgramse
v. intr. - skrabe, stampe

Nederlands (Dutch)
poot, hand, krabben, graaien naar, ruw aanpakken/raken

Français (French)
n. - patte (d'un animal), patte (main) (péj)
v. tr. - donner des coups de patte à, piaffer (un cheval), tripoter (qn) (péj)
v. intr. - racler le sol avec les pattes de devant (un cheval), faire des gestes maladroits de la main, empoigner

Deutsch (German)
n. - Pfote, Pranke
v. - mit der Pfote od. Pranke berühren, (ugs.) anfassen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - πέλμα/πόδι (τετράποδου) ζώου, (καθομ.) ξεράδι, κουλάδι
v. - χτυπώ ή ξύνω με το πόδι, πασπατεύω

Italiano (Italian)
zampa

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pata (f)
v. - dar patada, manusear desajeitadamente

Русский (Russian)
лапа, лапать, бить копытами

Español (Spanish)
n. - pata, garra, zarpa
v. tr. - manosear, sobar, dar zarpazos a
v. intr. - arañar, patear, dar zarpazos a algo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - tass
v. - röra vid, tafsa, skrapa m hoven

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
手掌, 手爪, 抓, 笨拙地触摸, 扒, 亲昵地抚摸

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 手掌, 手爪
v. tr. - 抓, 笨拙地觸摸, 扒, 親昵地撫摸
v. intr. - 抓, 笨拙地觸摸, 扒, 親昵地撫摸

한국어 (Korean)
n. - (발톱 있는 동물의) 발, (거칠거나 무딘) 사람의 손, 필적
v. tr. - 앞발로 할퀴다, 거칠게 다루다, 만지작 거리다
v. intr. - 앞발로 땅을 차다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 足, 手
v. - 前足でかく, 乱暴に触る

idioms:

  • cat's paw    猫の足

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) كف, مخلب, برثن, يد (فعل) يهمر الأرض بحوافره, يضرب الأرض ضربا شديدا بمخالبه, يخرمش‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮טלף, כף-יד‬
v. tr. - ‮היכה בטלפיו, גרד את הקרקע בטפריו, ליטף באופן מגושם, הקיש בפרסותיו‬
v. intr. - ‮נגע, מישש, שלח ידיים‬


 
 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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