gnaw

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English gnawen, gnaȝen, from Old English gnagan, from Proto-West Germanic *gnagan, from Proto-Germanic *gnaganą (“to gnaw”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *gʰnēgʰ- (“to gnaw, scratch”). Cognate with Dutch knagen, German nagen, Danish gnave (“to gnaw”), Norwegian Bokmål gnage, Norwegian Nynorsk gnaga, Swedish gnaga. === Pronunciation === (UK) enPR: nô, IPA(key): /nɔː/ Rhymes: -ɔː (US) enPR: nô, IPA(key): /nɔ/ (cot–caught merger) enPR: nä, IPA(key): /nɑ/ Homophone: nor (non-rhotic) === Verb === gnaw (third-person singular simple present gnaws, present participle gnawing, simple past gnawed or (dialectal) gnew, past participle gnawed or (dialectal) gnew or (archaic) gnawn) (ambitransitive) To bite something persistently, especially something tough. (intransitive) To produce excessive anxiety or worry. To corrode; to fret away; to waste. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== nag ==== Translations ==== === Noun === gnaw (plural gnaws) The act of gnawing. === Anagrams === AgNW, Ngwa, Wang, g'wan, gawn, gwan, wang == Middle Welsh == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɡnau̯/ === Noun === gnaw soft mutation of knaw === Mutation ===