gnaw
verb
- bite, chew on
- to cause persistent worry or pain
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /nɔː/ / /nɔ/ / /nɑ/
noun
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.
- The act of gnawing.
“give something a gnaw”
“have a gnaw of a bone”
verb
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.
- To bite something persistently, especially something tough.
“The dog gnawed the bone until it broke in two.”
“Ten thousand men that fishes gnaw'd upon”
- To produce excessive anxiety or worry.
“Her comment gnawed at me all day and I couldn't think about anything else.”
- 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: […]”