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mew

 - 10 dictionary results

mew

1  [myoo]
Use mew in a Sentence
–noun
1. the tiny, high-pitched sound a cat or kitten makes.
2. the characteristic sound a gull makes.
–verb (used without object)
3. to make a mew or emit a similar sound.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME meuen; imit.

mew

2  [myoo]
–noun
a small gull, Larus canus, of Eurasia and northwestern North America.
Also called mew gull.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE mǣwe; c. G Müwe

mew

3  [myoo]
–noun
1. a cage for hawks, esp. while molting.
2. a pen in which poultry is fattened.
3. a place of retirement or concealment.
4. mews, (usually used with a singular verb) Chiefly British.
a. (formerly) an area of stables built around a small street.
b. a street having small apartments converted from such stables.
–verb (used with object)
5. Archaic. to shut up in or as in a mew; confine; conceal (often fol. by up).
Origin:
1325–75; ME mue < MF, akin to muer to molt. See mew 4

mew

4  [myoo]
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
to shed (feathers); to molt.
Origin:
1325–75; ME mewen < OF muer to molt < L mūtāre to change

Related forms:
mewer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To mew
mew 1   (myōō)   
n.  

  1. A cage for hawks, especially when molting.

  2. A secret place; a hideaway.

  3. mews (used with a sing. or pl. verb)

    1. A group of buildings originally containing private stables, often converted into residential apartments.

    2. A small street, alley, or courtyard on which such buildings stand.

v.   mewed, mew·ing, mews

v.   tr.
To confine in or as if in a cage.
v.   intr.
To molt. Used of a hawk.

[Middle English meue, from Old French mue, from muer, to molt, from Latin mūtāre, to change; see mei-1 in Indo-European roots.]
mew 2   (myōō)   
intr.v.   mewed, mew·ing, mews
To make the high-pitched, crying sound of a cat; meow.
n.  The crying sound of a cat; a meow.

[Middle English meuen, of imitative origin.]
mew 3   (myōō)   
n.  A seagull (Larus canus) of northern Eurasia and northwest North America.

[Middle English meue, from Old English mǣw, mēu.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

mew  (v.)
"make a sound like a cat," c.1325, mewen, of imitative origin (cf. Ger. miauen, FR. miauler, It. miagolare, Sp. maullar, and see meow). Variant mewl is attested from 1600.

mew  (n.1)
"seagull," O.E. mæw, from P.Gmc. *maigwis (cf. O.S. mew, Fris. meau, M.L.G. mewe, Du. meeuw "gull"), of imitative origin. O.Fr. moue (Fr. mouette) and Lith. mevas are Gmc. loan-words.

mew  (n.2)
"cage," c.1300, from O.Fr. mue "cage for hawks, especially when molting," from muer "to molt," from L. mutare "to change" (see mutable).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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