paw Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a clawed foot of an animal especially a quadruped
  2. noun the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
    mitt; manus; hand.
    • he had the hands of a surgeon
    • he extended his mitt
  3. verb scrape with the paws
    • The bear pawed the door
  4. verb touch clumsily
    • The man tried to paw her

WordNet

Paw noun
Etymology
OE. pawe, poue, OF. poe: cf. patte, LG. pote, D. poot, G. pfote.
Definitions
  1. The foot of a quadruped having claws, as the lion, dog, cat, etc.
  2. The hand. Jocose Dryden.
Paw intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To draw the forefoot along the ground; to beat or scrape with the forefoot. Job xxxix. 21.
Paw transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Pawed ; present participle & verbal noun Pawing
Definitions
  1. To pass the paw over; to stroke or handle with the paws; hence, to handle fondly or rudely.
  2. To scrape or beat with the forefoot.
    His hot courser pawed the Hungarian plane. Tickell.

Webster 1913