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Mew vs Pew - What's the difference?

mew | pew |

As nouns the difference between mew and pew

is that mew is a gull, seagull while pew is one of the long benches in a church, seating several persons, usually fixed to the floor and facing the chancel.

As verbs the difference between mew and pew

is that mew is to shut away, confine, lock up while pew is to furnish with pews.

As interjections the difference between mew and pew

is that mew is a cat's cry while pew is An expression of disgust in response to an unpleasant odor.

As a proper noun Pew is

{{surname|from=Welsh}.

mew

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) mewe, from (etyl) 'to roar', Old Church Slavonic (myjati) 'to mew'.

Noun

(en noun)
  • (obsolete) A gull, seagull.
  • * , II.xii:
    • A daungerous and detestable place, / To which nor fish nor fowle did once approch, / But yelling Meawes , with Seagulles hoarse and bace [...].

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) mue, (muwe), and (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) A prison, or other place of confinement.
  • (obsolete) A hiding place; a secret store or den.
  • * 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , II.vii:
    • Ne toung did tell, ne hand these handled not, / But safe I haue them kept in secret mew , / From heauens sight, and powre of all which them pursew.
  • (falconry) A cage for hawks, especially while moulting.
  • *, vol.I, New York, 2001, p.243:
    • A horse in a stable that never travels, a hawk in a mew that seldom flies, are both subject to diseases; which, left unto themselves, are most free from any such encumbrances.
  • (falconry, in the plural) A building or set of buildings where moulting birds are kept.

    • Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To shut away, confine, lock up.
  • * c. 1669 , John Donne, "Loves Warre":
    • To mew me in a Ship, is to inthrall / Mee in a prison, that weare like to fall [...].
  • * Shakespeare
    • More pity that the eagle should be mewed .
  • * Dryden
    • Close mewed in their sedans, for fear of air.
  • (of a bird) To moult.
    • The hawk mewed his feathers.
  • * Dryden
    • Nine times the moon had mewed her horns.

    Etymology 3

    Onomatopoeic

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The crying sound of a cat; a meow.

    • Verb

    (en verb)
  • (of a cat) To meow.

    • Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • A cat's cry.

    • Anagrams

    * ----

    pew

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) pewe, from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One of the long benches in a church, seating several persons, usually fixed to the floor and facing the chancel.
    • ''In many churches some pews are reserved for either clerical or liturgical officials such as canons, or for prominent families
  • An enclosed compartment in a church which provides seating for a group of people, often a prominent family.
  • * 2006 September 11, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "Bush Mourns 9/11 at Ground Zero as N.Y. Remembers",  [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/11/nyregion/nyregionspecial3/11bush.html]
    • At St. Patrick’s Cathedral, firefighters in dress blues and white gloves escorted families to the pews for a memorial service, led by Mr. Bloomberg, to honor the 343 Fire Department employees killed on 9/11.
  • Any structure shaped like a church pew, such as a stall, formerly used by money lenders, etc.; a box in a theatre; or a pen or sheepfold.
    • (Samuel Pepys)
    (Milton)
    Derived terms
    * pew-opener * take a pew

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To furnish with pews.
    • (Ash)

    Etymology 2

    Possibly from (etyl) or a truncation of (putrid).

    Alternative forms

    * P U, * peeyoo * phew

    Interjection

    (en interjection)

    • Etymology 3

    Onomatopoetic. English onomatopoeias

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • Representative of the sound made by the of a machine gun.

    • Anagrams

    *

    References

    *