Gnawed

[naw] /nɔ/

verb (used with object), gnawed, gnawed or gnawn, gnawing.
1.
to bite or chew on, especially persistently.
2.
to wear away or remove by persistent biting or nibbling.
3.
to form or make by so doing:
to gnaw a hole through the wall.
4.
to waste or wear away; corrode; erode.
5.
to trouble or torment by constant annoyance, worry, etc.; vex; plague.
verb (used without object), gnawed, gnawed or gnawn, gnawing.
6.
to bite or chew persistently:
The spaniel gnawed happily on a bone.
7.
to cause corrosion:
The acid gnaws at the metal.
8.
to cause an effect resembling corrosion:
Her mistake gnawed at her conscience.
/nɔː/
verb gnaws, gnawing, gnawed, gnawed, gnawn (nɔːn)
1.
when intr, often foll by at or upon. to bite (at) or chew (upon) constantly so as to wear away little by little
2.
(transitive) to form by gnawing: to gnaw a hole
3.
to cause erosion of (something)
4.
when intr, often foll by at. to cause constant distress or anxiety (to)
noun
5.
the act or an instance of gnawing
v.

Old English gnagan (past tense *gnog, past participle gnagan) “to gnaw,” a common Germanic word (cf. Old Saxon gnagan, Old Norse, Swedish gnaga, Middle Dutch, Dutch knagen, Old High German gnagan, German nagen “to gnaw”), probably imitative of gnawing. Related: Gnawed; gnawing.