• (British) enPR: pô, IPA: /pɔː/
• (America) enPR: pô, IPA: /pɔ/
• (cot-caught) enPR: pä, IPA: /pɑ/
• (Australia) IPA: /poː/

From Middle English pawe, from Old French poue, poe, from Frankish *pōta (compare Dutch poot, Low German Pote, German Pfote), from Frankish *pōtōn (compare Dutch poten 'to plant'), from Proto-Germanic *putōną (compare Old English potian, pȳtan, Icelandic pota).

paw (plural paws)

1. The soft foot of a mammal or other animal, generally a quadruped, that has claws or nails; comparable to a human hand or foot.

   Synonyms: hand, foot

   Hypernyms: extremity

   Holonym: limb

   Meronyms: claw, finger

2. (humorous) A hand.

   Get your grubby paws off my things!

• French: patte
• German: Pfote
• Italian: zampa
• Portuguese: pata
• Russian: ла́па
• Spanish: pata, zarpa, garra

paw (paws, present participle pawing; simple past and past participle pawed)

1. (of an animal) To go through something (such as a garbage can) with paws.
2. (of an animal) To gently push on something with a paw.
3. (of an animal) To draw the forefoot along the ground; to beat or scrape with the forefoot.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Job 39:21 ↗:

     He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.

4. (by extension) To touch someone in a sexual way.

   Synonyms: grope

5. (by extension) To clumsily dig through something.
6. (transitive, dated) To flatter.

• French: tripoter, peloter
• German: betatschen, begrapschen
• Portuguese: apalpar
• Russian: тро́гать
• Spanish: manosear, sobar

• German: befummeln
• Russian: ша́рить

The word probably has an origin in baby talk: see ‘pa’.

paw (plural paws)

1. (nonstandard or rural) Father; pa.

   Synonyms: pawpaw, pa, papa, father, dad, daddy, pappy

   Hypernyms: parent

   Hyponym: step-paw

   Coordinate terms: maw, brother, sis, sissy

• pa

paw

1. (uncountable) Abbreviation of plasma arc welding an arc welding technology

   Synonyms: PAW welding

2. (countable) Abbreviation of plasma arc weld a weld created with the PAW process

   Synonyms: PAW weld