paw
verbEtymology 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”).
› Of an animal, to touch (something) with a paw.
Of an animal, to dig through (something, such as a garbage can) with paws.
Of an animal, to draw the forefoot along the ground; to beat or scrape with the forefoot.
- He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 39:21:
Broadly To touch (someone) in a sexual way.
- 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.1997 August 17, Robert Spector, misc.fitness.weights (Usenet):
- 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?1997 October 26, Amy McWilliams, quoting Verbotene, rec.arts.tv.soaps.abc (Usenet):
3 more examples
- Subtlety is great, but what exactly happened with Jessica and the cop during sex that he locked her up afterwards? Also, what was the item she nicked from his shirt while she pawed him?2002 July 18, Lurker Dave, rec.arts.comics.marvel.universe (Usenet):
- Tonight there are no drug deals, no fights, only the random foolishness of the young and inebriated. They stagger with linked arms down the middle of the street. They paw at each other.2018 February, Robert Draper, “They are Watching You—and Everything Else on the Planet: Technology and Our Increasing Demand for Security have Put Us All under Surveillance. Is Privacy Becoming just a Memory?”, in National Geographic, Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 Jun 2018:
- He was good-looking, masculine, funny, charismatic and he could dance the cha-cha-cha. And he’s never a brute. He’s flirting with women but he’s not pawing them.2023 October 6, Ryan Gilbey, quoting Illeana Douglas, “The double life of Rock Hudson: ‘Let’s be frank, he was a horndog!’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
Broadly To clumsily dig (through something).
Dated To flatter.