haw

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“
But, haw--haw-- haw--haw The boys stared, for the old man burst out into a tremendous roar of laughter, and kept on lifting one leg and stamping it down Why, what are you laughing at?"

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Definitions (49)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (8)

  1. noun An utterance used by a speaker who is fumbling for words.
  2. intransitive verb To fumble in speaking.
  3. noun The fruit of a hawthorn.
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This word has been looked up 121 times.

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Etymologies (12)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. Imitative.
  2. Middle English, from Old English haga.
  3. Origin unknown.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (9)

  1. from Middle English hawe, earlier haze, from Anglo-Saxon haga, an inclosure, a yard, small field, = Middle Dutch hage, haeghe, a hedge, an inclosure, Dutch haag, a hedge (later F. haie, a hedge) (cf. den Haag, s' Hage, in full s' Gravenhage, in English called The Hague, in F. La Haye, literally the grave's or count's garden: see grave); = Icelandic hagi = Swedish hage, a hedged field, a pasture, = Old Danish hage, a hedged field, a pasture, Danish have, a garden; also without suffix, Old High German hag, hac, an inclosure, Middle High German hac, a thorn-bush, bush, hedge, inclosure, park, German hag, a bush, hedge, coppice, grove, wood, fence, inclosure, = Old Danish hag, a hedge; whence Old High German hagan, a bush, hedge, Middle High German hagen, and contr. hain, German hain, a grove, wood. Cf. Latin cingere, gird (later English ceint, cincture, surcingle, etc.), coxa, thigh, hip; Sanskrit kañkana, a ring-shaped ornament, bracelet, kakshā, region of the girth, girdle, cincture, a circular wall, inclosed court. Closely connected with Anglo-Saxon haga, English haw, are English dial. hag, a haw, hedge, Anglo-Saxon hege, English hay, a hedge, and Anglo-Saxon*hecg, English hedge: see hag, hay, and hedge, also hag, haw, and haugh.
  2. from Middle English hawe, from Anglo-Saxon haga, only in plural hagan, haws, also apparently as a synonym for things of no value; equivalent to hawberry or hawthorn-berry (cf. Middle Dutch haeghbesie); no Anglo-Saxon *hægberie occurs. See haw.
  3. from Middle English haw, an excrescence in the eye; perhaps a particular use of haw, a berry.
  4. from Middle English hawen, found only in comp. behawen, bihowen, observe, from Anglo-Saxon hāwian (or hawian?), intransitive, look, in comp. ge-hāwian, be-hāwian, transitive, look at, observe.
  5. apparently orig. the same as haw, as used in the imperative to call attention, but in use a variant of ho, whoa, etc., with a specialized meaning.
  6. from haw, interj. Cf. haw.
  7. from Middle English hawe, from Anglo-Saxon hæwen, blue.
  8. The same as ha as a hesitating utterance; a drawling syllable, much used by unfluent speakers, but usually ignored in writing and print, except in novels, plays, and other writings aiming at verisimilitude of speech; also written, if written at all, huh, and without aspiration aw, ah, uh, ur, er, etc.
  9. from haw, interj.
 

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/hɔ/
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