Added 9 October 2026
gnaw
/nɔː/ verb
In Latin: rōdō Wiktionary
verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about gnaw at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
Bite or chew on with the teeth.
gnaw an old cracker
-
Become ground down or deteriorate.
Her confidence eroded
Origin
From Middle English gnawen, gnaȝen, from Old English gnagan, from Proto-West Germanic *gnagan, from Proto-Germanic *gnaganą (“to gnaw”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *gʰnēgʰ- (“to gnaw, scratch”). Cognate with Dutch knagen, German nagen, Danish gnave (“to gnaw”), Norwegian Bokmål gnage, Norwegian Nynorsk gnaga, Swedish gnaga.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)