paw

(pô)
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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v

Definition: touch roughly
Antonyms: manhandle

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

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

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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.

For a list of words related to paw, see:

• Limbs and Extremities - paw: Slang. hand
• Animal Types and Parts - paw: the foot of any quadruped with claws
• Flirtation, Dating, and Courting - paw: (vb) Informal. handle roughly with sexual intent
• Violent Actions - paw: Informal. handle roughly

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See words rhyming with "paw."

  See crossword solutions for the clue 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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