haw1

[haw] /hɔ/
verb (used without object)
1.
to utter a sound representing a hesitation or pause in speech.
noun
2.
a sound or pause of hesitation.
Compare hem2 (def 3).
Origin
1625-35; imitative

haw2

[haw] /hɔ/
interjection
1.
(used as a word of command to a horse or other draft animal, usually directing it to turn to the left.)
verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
2.
to turn or make a turn to the left:
The horse refused to haw.
Compare gee1 .
Origin
1835-45, Americanism; apparently orig. the imperative haw! look! of Middle English hawen, Old English hāwian; akin to Latin cavēre to beware

haw3

[haw] /hɔ/
noun
1.
the fruit of the Old World hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata, or of other species of the same genus.
2.
the hawthorn.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English; Old English haga, presumably identical with haga hedge, fence; cf. hawthorn

haw4

[haw] /hɔ/
noun
1.
the thin, protective membrane at the inner corner of the lower eyelid of a horse, dog, etc.; nictitating membrane.
Origin
1515-1525; origin uncertain

Haw.

1.
Hawaii.
British Dictionary definitions for haw

haw1

/hɔː/
noun
1.
the round or oval fruit (a pome) of the hawthorn, usually red or yellow, containing one to five seeds
2.
another name for hawthorn
Word Origin
Old English haga, identical with hagahedge; related to Old Norse hagi pasture

haw2

/hɔː/
noun, interjection
1.
an inarticulate utterance, as of hesitation, embarrassment, etc; hem
verb
2.
(intransitive) to make this sound
3.
hem and haw, hum and haw, See hem2 (sense 3)
Word Origin
C17: of imitative origin

haw3

/hɔː/
noun
1.
(archaic) a yard or close
Word Origin
of unknown origin

haw4

/hɔː/
noun
1.
the nictitating membrane of a horse or other domestic animal
Word Origin
C15: of unknown origin
Word Origin and History for haw
n.

"enclosure," Old English haga "enclosure, hedge," from Proto-Germanic *hag- (cf. Old Norse hagi, Old Saxon hago, German Hag "hedge;" Middle Dutch hage, Dutch haag, as in the city name The Hague). See hag and hedge. Meaning "fruit of the hawthorn bush" (Old English) is perhaps short for *hægberie.

v.

"hesitate in speech," 1580s, imitative. Related: Hawed; hawing. The noun in this sense is from c.1600. Haw-haw "style of affected enunciation" is from 1841, imitative.

Related Abbreviations for haw

Haw.

Hawaiian
Idioms and Phrases with haw

haw

see: hem and haw