haw1
/hɔː
/noun
The red fruit of the hawthorn.However, there appear to be lots of hips on the dog-rose, haws on the whitethorn and sloes on the blackthorn....
- We can still find around us an abundance of hips and haws and holly, but for our once proud elms, in the UK at least, we need a Constable.
- The birds have had to rely on haws and berries and there are no cornfields in the western regions, most birds are thin and underdeveloped because of lack of sustenance.
Origin
Old English haga, of Germanic origin; probably related to hedge (compare with Dutch haag 'hedge').
Rhymes
haw2
/hɔː/noun
The third eyelid or nictitating membrane in certain mammals, especially dogs and cats.It has developed an oily outer coat and a fleecy undercoat, and eyes that shut tight to keep out water and infection with no haw, the third eyelid seen in the St. Bernard....
- The haw moves across the eye horizontally, reaching from the inner corner to the outside of the eye and back. When not in use, the haw folds into the corner of the eye and is barely visible.
- Eyelids which are to deeply pendant and show conspicuously the lachrymal glands, or a very red, thick haw, and eyes that are to light, are objectionable.
Origin
Late Middle English (denoting a discharge from the eye): of unknown origin.
haw3
/hɔː/verb
See hum and haw at hum1.One minute you're happily humming and hawing over what looks like the latest fad - the next you look round and discover that someone else has turned the thing into a genuine, bona fide industry....
- Gilbert hummed and hawed for a while before reluctantly agreeing, after being asked the question three times, that he expected two of the remaining 13 places in his squad to be filled with players from south of the equator.
- They hummed and hawed, there were rumblings of unease and the whole thing got delayed.