meow

Meaning

Intj

1. The cry of a cat.
2. (colloquial) Said in reply to a spiteful or catty comment.
3. (colloquial) Expressing seductiveness, mimicking a growl.

Noun

1. The cry of a cat.
2. (slang) The drug mephedrone.

Verb

Of a cat, to make its cry.

Synonyms

mew

miaow

miaow

mewing

miaou

miaul

meou

meowing

bugle

roar

bleat

bray

laugh

😆

cry

😢

Pronounced as (IPA)

/miˈaʊ̯/

Etymology

Alteration of earlier mew, from Middle English mewen, mouwen (“to mew, meow”), of onomatopoeic origin.
Compare Saterland Frisian mauje, miauje (“to meow”), West Frisian miaukje (“to meow”), Dutch miauwen (“to meow”), Middle Low German mauwen, mawen, mouwen (“to meow”) (whence modern German Low German mauen, miauen (“to meow”)), Middle High German mouen, modern German miauen (“to meow”). Some spellings were modelled on French miaou.
Meow and its spelling variants entered widespread currency in the 19th century, mostly replacing mew. Possibly because phonetic change meant that word had ceased to approximate a cat's cry. Contrast the pronunciation of Middle English mewen /ˈmɛu̯ən/ compared to modern /ˈmjuː/).