Definition maw
Etymology 1
From Middle English mawe, maghe, maȝe, from Old English maga (“stomach; maw”), from Proto-Germanic *magô (“belly; stomach”), from Proto-Indo-European *mak-, *maks- (“bag, bellows, belly”). Cognate with West Frisian mage, Dutch maag (“stomach; belly”), German Low German Maag, German Magen (“stomach”), Danish mave, Swedish mage (“stomach; belly”), and also with Welsh megin (“bellows”), archaic Russian мошна́ (mošná, “pocket, bag”), Lithuanian mãkas (“purse”).
Noun
maw (plural maws)
- (archaic) The stomach, especially of an animal.
- The upper digestive tract (where food enters the body), especially the mouth and jaws of a fearsome and ravenous creature.
- Any large, insatiable or perilous opening.
- Appetite; inclination.
Etymology 2
By shortening of mother
Noun
maw (plural maws)
- (dialectal, colloquial) Mother.
Etymology 3
See mew (“a gull”).
Noun
maw (plural maws)
- A gull.