Where does “knaw” come from?

knaw (English) comes from English gnaw, from Middle English gnawen, from Old English gnagan, from Proto-West Germanic gnagan, from Proto-Germanic gnaganą, from Proto-Indo-European gʰnēgʰ- — to gnaw, scratch.

knaw (English): Archaic spelling of gnaw; Nonstandard form of...

Definitions

  1. Archaic spelling of gnaw; Nonstandard form of...

Ancestry of “knaw”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishgnawTo bite something persistently, especially...
2Middle EnglishgnawenTo gnaw; to continually bite or chew; To eat or...
3Old Englishgnaganto gnaw
4Proto-West Germanicgnaganto gnaw
5Proto-Germanicgnaganąto gnaw
6Proto-Indo-Europeangʰnēgʰ-to gnaw, scratch
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʰnēgʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic gnaganą →Every word from Proto-West Germanic gnagan →