gnaw

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   bite or chew on with the teeth

   gnaw an old cracker

2. 2
   verb

   To bite something persistently, especially something tough.

   The dog gnawed the bone until it broke in two.

3. 3
   verb

   To produce excessive anxiety or worry.

   Her comment gnawed at me all day and I couldn't think about anything else.

4. 4
   verb

   To corrode; to fret away; to waste.

   VVots thou vvho's returnd, / The unthrift Bonvile, ragged as a ſcarre-crovv / The VVarres have gnavv'd his garments to the skinne: […]

5. 5
   noun

   The act of gnawing.

   have a gnaw of a bone

6. 6
   verb

   become ground down or deteriorate

Etymology

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.