/ pɔː; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
the foot of an animal that has claws or nails
—picture at lion
2.
( informal ) a person's hand :
Take your filthy paws off me!
■ verb paw (at) sth
1.
( of an animal ) to scratch or touch sth repeatedly with a paw :
[ v ]
The dog pawed at my sleeve.
[ vn ]
The stallion pawed the ground impatiently.
2.
[ vn ] (sometimes humorous ) to touch sb in a rough sexual way that they find offensive
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French poue , probably of Germanic origin and related to Dutch poot .