Hypertext Webster Gateway: "gnawing"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Gnaw \Gnaw\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Gnawed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Gnawing}.] [OE. gnawen, AS. gnagan; akin to D. knagen, OHG.
gnagan, nagan, G. nagen, Icel. & Sw. gnaga, Dan. gnave, nage.
Cf. {Nag} to tease.]
1. To bite, as something hard or tough, which is not readily
separated or crushed; to bite off little by little, with
effort; to wear or eat away by scraping or continuous
biting with the teeth; to nibble at.
His bones clean picked; his very bones they gnaw.
--Dryden.
2. To bite in agony or rage.
They gnawed their tongues for pain. --Rev. xvi.
10.
3. To corrode; to fret away; to waste.
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.