English word origin

Etymology of chaw

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

That which is chewed. · Chewing tobacco.

verb

To chew; grind with one's teeth; to masticate (food, or the cud). · To ruminate (about) in thought; to ponder; to consider. · To steal. · To be sulky.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

An unexplained variation of chewen (“to chew”). First attested in the sixteenth century. See chew for more. Cognate with Middle Dutch cauwen ("to chew"; whence Dutch kauwen), obsolete Dutch kauw (“the act of chewing, that which is chewed, chewed mass, wad of tobacco”), Middle Low German kauwen, kauen (“to chew”). Compare also Old English ġecow (“that which is chewed, food”) and *ġeċēaw (“chewing”), whence Middle English icheu (“gnawing, biting”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Cognate mentioncauwendum
Cognate mentionkauwennl
Cognate mentionkauwnl · the act of chewing, that which is chewed, chewed mass, wad of tobacco
Cognate mentionkauwengml
Cognate mentionġecowang · that which is chewed, food
Cognate mentionicheuenm · gnawing, biting

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "dum",
        "2": "cauwen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch cauwen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "kauwen"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch kauwen"
    },
    {
      "name": "gl",
      "args": {
        "1": "\"to chew\"; whence Dutch <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"nl\">kauwen</i>"
      },
      "expansion": "(\"to chew\"; whence Dutch kauwen)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "kauw",
        "t": "the act of chewing, that which is chewed, chewed mass, wad of tobacco"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch kauw (“the act of chewing, that which is chewed, chewed mass, wad of tobacco”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gml",
        "2": "kauwen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German kauwen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "ġecow",
        "t": "that which is chewed, food"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ġecow (“that which is chewed, food”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "icheu",
        "t": "gnawing, biting"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English icheu (“gnawing, biting”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "chewen",
      "chewen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "chew",
      "chew#English"
    ],
    [
      "cauwen",
      "cauwen#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Dutch",
      "w:Dutch language"
    ],
    [
      "kauwen",
      "kauwen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "kauw",
      "kauw#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "kauwen",
      "kauwen#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "kauen",
      "kauen#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "ġecow",
      "gecow#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*ġeċēaw",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/geceaw"
    ],
    [
      "icheu",
      "icheu#Middle_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "That which is chewed.",
        "Chewing tobacco."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "Appalachia",
        "informal",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "9b4b85bcf6fcad9311487b933601772a34b91227eae84271bbd6917e56ba1473",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a93d5ce4f61a2390ae53ae17a245336ef691c260bf456d6d030c18ba02ecf900",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 229022
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To chew; grind with one's teeth; to masticate (food, or the cud).",
        "To ruminate (about) in thought; to ponder; to consider.",
        "To steal.",
        "To be sulky."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Southern-US",
        "obsolete",
        "transitive",
        "UK",
        "slang",
        "dialectal",
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "c5b1cdbd4c223d2fc2659000dd9e54c8e8fb4e0ce714371983edc08dca9a574f",
      "rawRecordSha256": "ad276909fd11682dded7d369136a9dd611dfed22616d4e3c018158d8a578204b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 229023
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

The jaw.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Early Modern English chawe, either a form of Middle English chaul, chavel, jawle, jawe (“jaw”) (whence also English jowl) which has lost the final -l, or from Middle English *chawe, *chowe, from Old English *ċēawe, *ċēowe (“jaw”), or a form of Middle English jowe, jawe (“jaw”). See jowl and jaw for more.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mention*chaweenm
Inherited-form mention*ċēaweang
Inherited-form mentionjoweenm

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "en-ear",
        "3": "chawe",
        "nocat": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Early Modern English chawe"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "chaul"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English chaul"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "jowl"
      },
      "expansion": "English jowl"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "*chawe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English *chawe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "*ċēawe"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English *ċēawe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "jowe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English jowe"
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "jaw",
        "notext": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "jaw"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "chawe",
      "chawe#English"
    ],
    [
      "chaul",
      "chaul#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "chavel, jawle, jawe",
      "chavel#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "jowl",
      "jowl#English"
    ],
    [
      "*chawe",
      "Reconstruction:Middle English/chawe"
    ],
    [
      "*chowe",
      "Reconstruction:Middle English/chowe"
    ],
    [
      "*ċēawe",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/ceawe"
    ],
    [
      "*ċēowe",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/ceowe"
    ],
    [
      "jowe",
      "jowe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "jawe",
      "jawe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "jaw",
      "jaw"
    ],
    [
      "jowl",
      "jowl#English"
    ],
    [
      "jaw",
      "jaw#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The jaw."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "286816254e597d22592d88c558ba70a76f0a35c8eb61e69dab4c06f2367b7ee9",
      "rawRecordSha256": "8abbeccd9fcd142d9ab4144bbc6324ea00e5483b67d7523af86fe9840dafbf7c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 229024
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for chaw →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-Y2hhdw