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Added 9 October 2026

chew

/tʃuː/ noun

In Latin: mandūcō, masticō Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about chew at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A wad of something chewable as tobacco.
Biting and grinding food in your mouth so it becomes soft enough to swallow.

verb

Chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth.
He jawed his bubble gum

Origin

From Middle English chewen, from Old English ċēowan, from Proto-West Germanic *keuwan, from Proto-Germanic *kewwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵyewh₁-. Cognate with West Frisian kôgje, Low German käwwen, Dutch kauwen, German kauen; also Latin gingīva (“gums”), Tocharian B śuwaṃ (“to eat”), Polish żuć (“to chew”), Persian جویدن (javidan), Pashto ژُوَل (žovạl, “to bite, gnaw”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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