The present participle of 'haw'; turning to the left (used as a command to horses or oxen), or hesitating in speech (as in 'hemming and hawing').
From 'haw,' an old command word (perhaps imitative or from Old English origins, possibly related to directional calls). The hesitation meaning comes from the 'haw' and 'hem' sounds people make when pausing in speech.
Hawing to horses is the opposite of gee (turning right), and these commands are among the oldest English words still used for their original purpose—cowboys and farmers still use them, unchanged for centuries!
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