See Also: gnaw(dictionary)
gnaw(dictionary)

gnaw (iou)



gnaw verb & noun. .
[Old English gnagan = Old Saxon gnagan, Old High German (g)nagan (German nagen), Old Norse gnaga, of imit. origin.]
A. verb.
verb trans. (with away, off, etc.) & intrans. (with at, into, on). Bite (something) persistently so as to damage or remove parts of it; wear away by continued biting; make (a hole etc.) by gnawing. OE.
J. Buchan In the loft the rats had gnawed great holes in the floor. E. Blyton He..sat down contentedly to gnaw the fine bone. A. Carter Philip made a hearty meal and gnawed on the bones like Henry VIII.
verb trans. & intrans. (with at, into, on). Of a destructive agent, or a pain or emotion: corrode, eat away, consume; torture, torment. ME.
J. London The thought gnawed in his brain, an unceasing torment. A. Miller She is almost content; she knows she might well be content but something gnaws at her.
b. noun. (A) gnawing. M18.
gnawable adjective L19.
gnawer noun a person who or thing which gnaws; spec. a rodent: L15.
gnawing verbal noun the action of the verb; an instance of this: ME.
gnawing adjective that gnaws; (of a worry, pain, etc.) persistent; worrying: M16.
gnawingly adverb M19.