Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A jackdaw.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A jackdaw. See dawcock.
  • noun A foolish, empty fellow.
  • noun A sluggard; a slattern.
  • To thrive; prosper; recover health or spirits.
  • To cause to recover one's spirits; hearten; encourage; cheer.
  • To become day; dawn.
  • To daunt; frighten.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) A European bird of the Crow family (Corvus monedula), often nesting in church towers and ruins; a jackdaw.
  • intransitive verb obsolete To dawn.
  • transitive verb obsolete To rouse.
  • transitive verb obsolete To daunt; to terrify.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb obsolete To dawn.
  • verb obsolete To wake (someone) up.
  • verb obsolete To daunt; to terrify.
  • noun A western jackdaw, Corvus monedula; a bird of crow family, more commonly called jackdaw.
  • noun obsolete An idiot, a simpleton; fool.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun common black-and-grey Eurasian bird noted for thievery

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English dawe.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English dawen, from Old English dagian ("to dawn"), from Proto-Germanic *dagānan (“to become day, dawn”), from Proto-Germanic *dagaz (“day”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰAǵʰ- (“day”). More at day.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English dawe, from Old English dāwe, from Proto-Germanic *dēhōn (compare German Dahle, Dohle, dialectal Tach), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰākʷ- (compare Old Prussian doacke ("starling")).

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word daw.

Examples

  • How, I inquired, did these innocent birds get on with their black neighbours, seeing that the daw is a cunning creature much given to persecution -- a crow, in fact, as black as any of his family?

    Afoot in England 1881

  • Sabi ni Tatay, simulan ko na daw ang mag-diet kundi baka daw iwan ako ng asawa ko.

    Ang Blog ni Sayote Queen 2008

  • "Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said she was absolutely dissatisfied with the arrangement - giving more time for the prosecution to prepare the argument," said Nyan Win, using the respectful term "daw" for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

    Archive 2009-07-01 Stephen Retherford 2009

  • "Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said she was absolutely dissatisfied with the arrangement - giving more time for the prosecution to prepare the argument," said Nyan Win, using the respectful term "daw" for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

    Trial of Aung San Suu Kyi nears conclusion Stephen Retherford 2009

  • There is another kind of daw found in Lybia and Phrygia, which is web-footed.

    The History of Animals 2002

  • For my own part I think that Cain's version is infinitely more humorous and instructive as well, because a "door is not a door" when it is a "daw," which is, indeed, as Cain's answer to the riddle claims it to be, a bird.

    The Autobiography of Methuselah John Kendrick Bangs 1892

  • He who is connected with a "daw," or drab, has many troubles to put up with.

    The Proverbs of Scotland Alexander Hislop 1836

  • I think the Korean management that will relay the reasons of the postpone came in the hotel riding a taxi, I just figured it out because manong taxi driver told us when we rode in that the Korean guy is in a hurry and its about that press con and interview "daw" with tv and media.

    Azrael's Merryland 2010

  • I think the Korean management that will relay the reasons of the postpone came in the hotel riding a taxi, I just figured it out because manong taxi driver told us when we rode in that the Korean guy is in a hurry and its about that press con and interview "daw" with tv and media.

    Azrael's Merryland 2010

  • In a 1992 guide she wrote for the national MSA about how to establish a 'daw'ah' table to attract non-Muslims to the faith, she talks about the danger of succumbing to Western pressure to 'water down' Islam to make it fit a Western perspective.

    Bloggers.Pakistan 2008

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Wad in reverse.

    November 2, 2007

  • For an example of usage, see cuckoo.

    People with this name include Jack and Margery

    September 14, 2009