meow
intjEtymology
Alteration of earlier mew, from Middle English mewen, mouwen (“to mew, meow”), of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Saterland Frisian mauje, miauje (“to meow”), West Frisian miaukje (“to meow”), Dutch miauwen (“to meow”), Middle Low German mauwen, mawen, mouwen (“to meow”) (whence modern German Low German mauen, miauen (“to meow”)), Middle High German mouen, modern German miauen (“to meow”). Some spellings were modelled on French miaou. Meow and its spelling variants entered widespread currency in the 19th century, mostly replacing mew, possibly because phonetic change meant that word had ceased to approximate a cat's cry (contrast the pronunciation of Middle English mewen /ˈmɛu̯ən/ compared to modern /ˈmjuː/). (mephedrone): Perhaps because of the drug's distinctive smell resembling cat urine.
- inherited from mewen
Definitions
Used to indicate the cry of a cat.
Used in reply to a spiteful or catty comment.
Used to express seductiveness, mimicking a growl.
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The cry of a cat.
- A cat’s meow and a cow’s moo, I can recite them all / Just tell me where it hurts you, honey
- It’s from within that breathing room the meow finally emerged. […] These days every Fantasia screening begins with a cacophony of meows — timed by the audience to start and stop at black leader.
The drug mephedrone.
Of a cat, to make its cry.
- The cat meows at me and bird-watches by the window facing the street. Sometimes I bird-watch with him because the older I get, the more interested I get in birds lol.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for meow. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA