chaw

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable) That which is chewed.
2. (Appalachia, informal, uncountable) Chewing tobacco.

Verb

1. (Southern-US) To chew; grind with one's teeth; to masticate (food, or the cud).
2. (obsolete, transitive) To ruminate (about) in thought; to ponder; to consider.
3. (UK, slang) To steal.
4. (dialectal, intransitive) To be sulky.

Synonyms

chew

plug

quid

wad

champing

cud

smack one’s lips

chewing tobacco

jaw

mouth

mumble

Translations

kauen

Kautabak

chique

mâcher

pruneau

tabac à chiquer

cicca

bolo

mascar

taco

tapón

masticable

إمضغ

mascada

Pronounced as (IPA)

/t͡ʃɔ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: chawen

Cognate with Middle Dutch: cauwen

Cognate with Dutch: kauwen

Cognate with Dutch: kauw

Cognate with Middle Low German: kauwen

Cognate with Old English: ġecow

Cognate with Middle English: icheu

In summary

An unexplained variation of chewen (“to chew”). First attested in the sixteenth century. See chew for more. Cognate with Middle Dutch cauwen ("to chew"; whence Dutch kauwen), obsolete Dutch kauw (“the act of chewing, that which is chewed, chewed mass, wad of tobacco”), Middle Low German kauwen, kauen (“to chew”). Compare also Old English ġecow (“that which is chewed, food”) and *ġeċēaw (“chewing”), whence Middle English icheu (“gnawing, biting”).