A variant or dialectal term with unclear modern usage, possibly referring to a type of call or cry.
Origin uncertain; possibly onomatopoetic, imitating a harsh bird or animal cry. The 'caw' element suggests connection to crow sounds, while 'quaw' may be a reduplication or variant of similar animal-call words.
This word is so obscure it's almost lost to English—it appears in very old dictionaries but modern speakers don't use it, showing how animal-sound words (onomatopoeia) can fade away when nobody needs them anymore!
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