kauen

Meaning

1. (transitive,weak) to chew (something)
2. (intransitive,weak) to chew, to gnaw
3. (weak) to bite

Concepts

chew

masticate

chomp

champ

chaw

munch

bite

manducate

Hyphenated as

kau‧en

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkaʊ̯ən/

Etymology

From Middle High German kūwen, kiuwen, kewen, from Old High German kūwen, kiuwan, from Proto-West Germanic *keuwan.
The form shows the Central German development of Middle High German -iuw- → -ūw-, which is only sporadically reflected in the modern standard language (compare brauen). The expected form can still be found in the compound wiederkäuen (“to chew the cud”). Cognate with Dutch kauwen, Low German käwwen, West Frisian koaie, kôgje, English chew.