The action of an animal (like a dog or horse) repeatedly touching or striking something with its paw, or a person roughly touching something with their hands.
From Old English 'paw', possibly from a Middle Low German source. The gerund form '-ing' makes it the continuous action of striking or touching repeatedly.
When a horse paws at the ground, it's often a sign of nervous energy or impatience—but archaeologists have found that wild horses do this to break through ice to reach grass, so the behavior is evolutionary hardwired. Your dog pawing at you is using an ancient animal behavior as a way to communicate.
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