knaw

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knaw (third-person singular simple present knaws, present participle knawing, simple past and past participle knawed)

1. Archaic spelling of gnaw.

knaw (third-person singular simple present knaws, present participle knawing, simple past knawed, past participle knawn)

1. Nonstandard form of know.

• wank, Wank, kwan, kawn, Kwan

knaw

1. alternative form of knave

Probably borrowed from Old Irish cnáim (“bone”),^[1] but at any rate ultimately from Proto-Celtic *knāmis, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”). Cognate with Ancient Greek κνήμη (knḗmē, “tibia”) and English ham.

• IPA^(key): /knau̯/

knaw m (plural kneu or knouein)

1. bone
2. skull

• ⇒ Welsh: pencnaw (“end of a bone”)

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “cnaw”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

knaw (third-person singular simple present knaws, present participle knawin, simple past knew, past participle knawn)

1. alternative form of know
   • 2000, Iain W D Forde, “Hale Ir Sindries - Buik Twa”, in SCOTS‎^[1], Edinburgh: University of Glasgow:

     Puir Tammas didna knaw at he hed g’nappit aff mair nor he cuid chowe, an, i fak he wes nou skin an birn i the hauns o a rank lurdan.

     Poor Thomas did not know that he had bitten off more than he could chew. In fact, he was now skin and bones in a rank loafer’s hands.

• Eagle, Andy, editor (2026), “knaw”, in The Online Scots Dictionary‎^[2]