gnaw

English

Etymology

From Middle English gnawen, gnaȝen, from Old English gnagan, from Proto-Germanic *gnaganą. Cognate with Dutch knagen, German nagen, Norwegian Bokmål gnage, Norwegian Nynorsk gnaga, Swedish gnaga. Probably from Proto-Indo-European *gʰnēgʰ- (“to gnaw, scratch”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: nô, IPA^(key): /nɔː/
• Rhymes: -ɔː
• (US) enPR: nô, IPA^(key): /nɔ/
• (cot–caught merger) enPR: nä, IPA^(key): /nɑ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophone: nor (in non-rhotic accents)

Verb

gnaw (third-person singular simple present gnaws, present participle gnawing, simple past gnawed or (dialectal) gnew, past participle gnawed or (archaic) gnawn)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To bite something persistently, especially something tough.

   The dog gnawed the bone until it broke in two.

   • c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , line 25:

     Ten thousand men that fishes gnaw'd upon

2. (intransitive) To produce excessive anxiety or worry.

   Her comment gnawed at me all day and I couldn't think about anything else.

3. To corrode; to fret away; to waste.
   • 1637, Thomas Heywood, The Royall King, and the Loyall Subject. , London: Nich and John Okes, for James Becket, , →OCLC, Act III, signature E4, verso:

     VVots thou vvho's returnd, / The unthrift Bonvile, ragged as a ſcarre-crovv / The VVarres have gnavv'd his garments to the skinne: […]

Derived terms

• begnaw
• gnaw someone's vitals
• gnawer
• gnawable
• ungnawed

Related terms

• nag

Translations

Noun

gnaw (plural gnaws)

1. the act of gnawing

   have a gnaw of a bone

Anagrams

• AgNW, Ngwa, Wang, g'wan, gawn, gwan, wang

Middle Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡnau̯/

Noun

gnaw

1. Soft mutation of knaw.

Mutation