1.
[syn: hawthorn, haw]
2. the nictitating membrane of a horse;
VERB (1)
1. utter `haw';
- Example: "he hemmed and hawed"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Haw \Haw\ (h[add]), n. [OE. hawe, AS. haga; akin to D. haag
headge, G. hag, hecke, Icel. hagi pasture, Sw. hage, Dan.
have garden. [root]12. Cf. Haggard, Ha-ha, Haugh,
Hedge.]
[1913 Webster]
1. A hedge; an inclosed garden or yard.
[1913 Webster]
And eke there was a polecat in his haw. --Chaucer.
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2. The fruit of the hawthorn. --Bacon.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Haw \Haw\, n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Anat.)
The third eyelid, or nictitating membrane. See Nictitating
membrane, under Nictitate.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Haw \Haw\, n. [Cf. ha an interjection of wonder, surprise, or
hesitation.]
An intermission or hesitation of speech, with a sound
somewhat like haw! also, the sound so made. "Hums or haws."
--Congreve.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Haw \Haw\, v. i.
To stop, in speaking, with a sound like haw; to speak with
interruption and hesitation.
[1913 Webster]
Cut it short; don't prose -- don't hum and haw.
--Chesterfield.
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hemming and hawing speaking hesitantly and inarticulately,
with numerous pauses and interjections.
[PJC]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Haw \Haw\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Hawed (h[add]d); p. pr. & vb.
n. Hawing.] [Written also hoi.] [Perhaps connected with
here, hither; cf., however, F. huhau, hurhau, hue, interj.
used in turning a horse to the right, G. hott, h["u], interj.
used in calling to a horse.]
To turn to the near side, or toward the driver; -- said of
cattle or a team: a word used by teamsters in guiding their
teams, and most frequently in the imperative. See Gee.
[1913 Webster]
To haw and gee, or To haw and gee about, to go from one
thing to another without good reason; to have no settled
purpose; to be irresolute or unstable. [Colloq.]
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Haw \Haw\, v. t.
To cause to turn, as a team, to the near side, or toward the
driver; as, to haw a team of oxen.
[1913 Webster]
To haw and gee, or To haw and gee about, to lead this way
and that at will; to lead by the nose; to master or
control. [Colloq.]
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Hawthorn \Haw"thorn`\ (h[add]"th[^o]rn`), n. [AS.
haga[thorn]orn, h[ae]g[thorn]orn. See Haw a hedge, and
Thorn.] (Bot.)
A thorny shrub or tree (the Crat[ae]gus oxyacantha), having
deeply lobed, shining leaves, small, roselike, fragrant
flowers, and a fruit called haw. It is much used in Europe
for hedges, and for standards in gardens. The American
hawthorn is Crat[ae]gus cordata, which has the leaves but
little lobed.
[1913 Webster]
Gives not the hawthorn bush a sweeter shade
To shepherds? --Shak.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
haw
n 1: a spring-flowering shrub or small tree of the genus
Crataegus [syn: hawthorn, haw]
2: the nictitating membrane of a horse
v 1: utter `haw'; "he hemmed and hawed"
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
41 Moby Thesaurus words for "haw":
avert, bear off, draw aside, ease off, edge off, falter, fly off,
gee, glance, glance off, go off, halt, head off, hem, hem and haw,
hesitate, hum, hum and haw, jib, make way for, mammer, move aside,
sheer off, shove aside, shunt, shy, shy off, side, sidestep,
sidetrack, sidle, stammer, steer clear of, step aside, stumble,
stutter, switch, turn aside, turn away, turn back, veer off