paw

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The foot of an animal, especially a quadruped, that has claws or nails.
2. n. Informal A human hand, especially a large clumsy one: "Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water” ( John Steinbeck).
3. v. To strike with the paw or paws.
4. v. To strike or scrape with a beating motion: The bull pawed the ground before charging.
5. v. To handle clumsily, rudely, or with too much familiarity. See Synonyms at touch.
6. v. To scrape the ground with the forefeet: The horse pawed restlessly.
7. v. To handle someone or something clumsily, rudely, or with too much familiarity: Don't paw at everything you see.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The hand or foot of an animal which has nails or claws: distinguished from hoof: as, a monkey's paw; the paws of a cat, dog, rat, etc. In many animals the fore feet, and in some the hind feet, are prehensile, and serviceable as hands.
2. n. The human hand, especially when large or coarse, or when awkwardly used.
3. To draw the fore foot along the ground; scrape with the fore foot.
4. To scrape with the fore foot; strike with a drawing or scraping action of the fore foot.
5. To handle roughly or clumsily, as with paws.Johnson.
6. To fawn upon, as a spaniel upon his master.
7. n. A trick.
8. To secure or stop the motion of (a capstan, windlass, or ratchet-wheel) with a pawl.
9. Improper; nasty; obscene.

Wiktionary

1. n. Father; pa.
2. n. The soft foot of a mammal or other animal, generally a quadruped, that has claws or nails; comparable to a human hand or foot.
3. v. of an animal To go through something (such as a garbage can) with paws
4. v. of an animal To gently push on something with a paw.
5. v. by extension, of a human To touch someone (with the hands) in a sexual way.
6. v. by extension, of a human To clumsily dig through something.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The foot of a quadruped having claws, as the lion, dog, cat, etc.
2. n. Jocose The hand.
3. v. To draw the forefoot along the ground; to beat or scrape with the forefoot.
4. v. To pass the paw over; to stroke or handle with the paws; hence, to handle fondly or rudely.
5. v. To scrape or beat with the forefoot.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. touch clumsily
2. n. the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
3. v. scrape with the paws
4. n. a clawed foot of an animal especially a quadruped