| 释义 |
mew
I. \ˈmyü\ noun
also mew gull
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English mǣw; akin to Old Saxon mēw gull, Middle Dutch meeuw, Old Norse mār; probably of imit origin
: gull; especially : the common European gull (Larus canus)
II. verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English mewen, of imitative origin
intransitive verb
1. : meow 1
2. : to make the natural noise of a gull
< gulls now swooped and mewed round the ship — Ngaio Marsh >
transitive verb
: to utter by mewing : meow
< mewing pitiful cries >
III. noun
(-s)
: meow
< gave a quick consolatory mew of understanding — Hortense Calisher >
IV. noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English muwe, mewe, from Middle French mue, from muer to molt — more at mew VI
1. : a cage for hawks especially while molting
2.
a. : a coop or cage for fattening animals; especially : a pen for fattening fowls
b. dialect chiefly England : a breeding cage (as for canaries)
3.
a. obsolete : confinement : a place of confinement
b. : a secret place : a place of retirement : hideaway
< I've been three weeks shut within my mew — Robert Browning >
4. mews plural but usually singular in construction, chiefly Britain
a.
(1) : stables; especially : a range of stables usually with carriage houses and living quarters built around a yard, court, or street
(2) : living quarters or housing developed from such stables
b. : the court or street upon which such stables or the dwellings developed from them open : alley, back street
c. : a row or group of garages
V. transitive verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English muwen, mewen, from muwe mewe, n.
1.
a. obsolete : to shut in or coop up for fattening — used especially of fowl
b. : to shut or lock in : confine — often used with up
< better … than sitting mewed in a stuffy bedroom with a prayer book — Virginia Woolf >
< a group of men mewed up for years in a draughty barrack — Noel Coward >
2. : to put or keep (a hawk) in a mew especially in molting time
VI. verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English muwen, from Middle French muer to molt, change, from Latin mutare to change — more at miss
transitive verb
1. : to cast off (feathers) : molt
2. obsolete : to bring about a change in (as color or coat) : shed
3.
a. : to get rid of (the horns) : cast — used of a stag
b. : to shed the horns from (the head)
intransitive verb
1. : to cast the feathers : molt
2. : to shed or cast horns
VII.
dialect Britain
variant of mow |