Definitions | maw |
| noun
- (archaic) the stomach, especially of an animal
- 1667: So Death shall be deceav'd his glut, and with us two / Be forc'd to satisfie his Rav'nous Maw. — Milton, Paradise Lost, Book X
- the upper digestive tract (where food enters the body), especially the mouth and jaws of a ravenous creature.
- 1818: To save poor lambkins from the eagle's — Keats, Endymion
- any great, insatiable or perilous opening.
Etymology: Old English magaOld English, maga, from Germanic - magÄ-, from Indo-European
- mak- "bag, belly". Cognate with Dutch maag, German Magen, Swedish mageSwedish, mage; and (from Indo-European) with Welsh megin "bellows", Russian Ñ "pocket, bag", Lithuanian makas, míkas "purse".
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