As nouns the difference between grandfather and memaw
is that grandfather is a father of someone’s parent while memaw is grandmother.
As a verb grandfather
is to retain existing laws or rules only for those people or organisations that were previously affected by them, and apply new laws or rules to the unaffected people or organizations.
grandfather
English
Noun
(
en noun)
A father of someone’s parent.
(by extension) A male forefather.
Synonyms
* granddad, grandad, grandaddy
* grandsire
* grandpa, granpa, grandpappy, granpappy, gramps
* eldfather/elderfather
* pops
Antonyms
* (with regard to gender) grandmother
* (with regard to ancestry) grandson, granddaughter, grandchild
Hyponyms
* paternal grandfather
* maternal grandfather
Hypernyms
* grandparent
Derived terms
* grandfather clock
* grandfather clause
* great grandfather, great-grandfather
Etymology 2
From (m). See etymology 1 and (m).
Verb
(
en verb)
To retain existing laws or rules only for those people or organisations that were previously affected by them, and apply new laws or rules to the unaffected people or organizations.
memaw
English
Alternative forms
* mamaw, meemaw
Noun
(
en noun)
(US, dialect, Southern US) grandmother
Usage notes
* Similar to papaw and pepaw (grandfather). Mamaw, meemaw and memaw mean "grandmother", and are often used to refer to both grandmothers, or sometimes to a great grandmother.
