Miaow

Miaow

Noun / Verb / Interjection · /miˈaʊ/

Definition

(Noun) the characteristic sound made by a cat; (Verb) to make the sound characteristic of a cat; (Interjection) used to represent the sound of a cat.

Origin

Onomatopoeic — the word directly imitates the sound it describes. Variant spellings include meow (American English), mew, and miaul. The word is found in English from the 16th century. The sound is remarkably similar across many languages but the spelling conventions vary: French miaou, German miau, Japanese nyan or neko, Spanish miau, Russian мяу (myau), Mandarin Chinese māo (with the vowel extended). The cat's vocalisation is unusual among animals — adult cats rarely meow to communicate with each other; the meow is primarily directed at humans.