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meow

 [mee-ou, myou]   Origin

me·ow

   [mee-ou, myou]
noun
1.
the characteristic sound a cat makes.
2.
a spiteful or catty remark.
verb (used without object)
3.
to make the sound of a cat.
4.
to make a spiteful or catty remark.

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Meow is one of our favorite verbs.
So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
to spend time idly; loaf.
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Also, miaow, miaou, miaul.

Origin:
1870–75; imitative
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
meow, miaou, miaow or miaul (mɪˈaʊ, mjaʊ, mɪˈaʊ, mjaʊ, mɪˈaʊ, mjaʊ, mɪˈaʊl, mjaʊl)
 
—vb
1.  (intr) (of a cat) to make a characteristic crying sound
 
—interj
2.  an imitation of this sound
 
miaou, miaou, miaow or miaul
 
—vb
 
—interj
 
miaow, miaou, miaow or miaul
 
—vb
 
—interj
 
miaul, miaou, miaow or miaul
 
—vb
 
—interj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

meow
1873, earlier miaow, also miau (1634), meaw (1632). Of imitative origin, cf. Fr. miaou, Ger. miauen, Pers. maw, Japanese nya nya, Ar. nau-nau. In Chinese, miau means "cat."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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