Link Centre Dictionary

jaw

UK/d͡ʒɔː/ US/d͡ʒoː/ fairly common informal slang
noun (3) verb (4)

noun

1.

the part of the skull of a vertebrate that frames the mouth and holds the teeth

2.

the bones of the skull that frame the mouth and serve to open it; the bones that hold the teeth

3.

holding device consisting of one or both of the opposing parts of a tool that close to hold an object

Synonyms

verb

1.

talk socially without exchanging too much information

  • “the men were sitting in the cafe and shooting the breeze”
Synonyms
2.
3.

chew (food)

  • “He jawed his bubble gum”
  • “Chew your food and don”
  • “;”
Synonyms
4.

Origin

From Middle English jawe/jowe (“jaw; sides of the lower face”, 14th century), the further origin of which is disputed. Either: * From Anglo-Norman jowe, from Old French joe (“cheek; jaw”), from Vulgar Latin *ga(v)ota (“cheek”), of uncertain further origin. ** It has been objected that the rhyming of jowe (“jaw”) with clowe (“claw”) in Middle English demonstrates that it did not have the vowel /uː/. This would be a concern if /uː/ were the vowel to expect from a borrowing of the Old French word, which it is not. Compare English paw < Middle English pawe/powe < Anglo-Norman powe < Old French poe. * From Middle English *chowe, from Old English *ċēowe. The main difficulties with this theory are the notable lack of evidence and the late attestation of chaw (early 16th century). If it is correct, then the further origin would be Proto-West Germanic *keuwā (“jaw”), whence Saterland Frisian Kiuwe, Dutch kieuw, German Keu, Käu. For the initial consonant, compare jowl as a variant of chavel/chawl. It is also conceivable that the word is a merger of two coincidentally similar sources. Gradually displaced Middle English chavel (from Old English ċeafl).

Phrases

  • bis-phossy jaw
  • bisphossy jaw
  • bottle jaw
  • double open jaw
  • glass jaw
  • Habsburg jaw
  • have wind in one's jaw
  • hog jaw
  • jaw down
  • jaw harp etymologically unrelated
  • jaw harpist etymologically unrelated

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.