mew

¹

[ myoo ]

noun

1. the tiny, high-pitched sound a cat or kitten makes.
2. the characteristic sound a gull makes.

verb (used without object)

1. to make a mew or emit a similar sound.

mew

²

[ myoo ]

noun

1. a small gull, Larus canus, of Eurasia and northwestern North America.

mew

³

[ myoo ]

noun

1. a cage for hawks, especially while molting.
2. a pen in which poultry is fattened.
3. a place of retirement or concealment.
4. mews, (usually used with a singular verb) Chiefly British.
   1. (formerly) an area of stables built around a small street.
   2. a street having small apartments converted from such stables.

verb (used with object)

1. Archaic. to shut up in or as in a mew; confine; conceal (often followed by up ).

mew

⁴

[ myoo ]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to shed (feathers); molt.

mew

¹

/ mjuː /

noun

1. a room or cage for hawks, esp while moulting

verb

1. troften foll byup to confine (hawks or falcons) in a shelter, cage, etc, usually by tethering them to a perch
2. to confine, conceal

mew

²

/ mjuː /

verb

1. intr (esp of a cat) to make a characteristic high-pitched cry

noun

1. such a sound

mew

³

/ mjuː /

noun

1. any seagull, esp the common gull, Larus canus Also calledmew gullsea mew

mew

⁴

/ mjuː /

verb

1. intr (of hawks or falcons) to moult
2. obsolete.
   tr to shed (one's covering, clothes, etc)

Other Words From

• mewer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mew¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English meuen; imitative

Origin of mew²

First recorded in before 900; Middle English; Old English mǣwe; cognate with German Müwe

Origin of mew³

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English mue, from Middle French, akin to muer “to molt”; mew ⁴

Origin of mew⁴

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English mewen, from Old French muer “to molt,” from Latin mūtāre “to change”

Word History and Origins

Origin of mew¹

C14: from Old French mue, from muer to moult, from Latin mūtāre to change

Origin of mew²

C14: imitative

Origin of mew³

Old English mǣw; compare Old Saxon mēu, Middle Dutch mēwe

Origin of mew⁴

C14: from Old French muer to moult, from Latin mūtāre to change