# lawe

> English word · Verb

## Definitions
1. To cut off the claws and balls of (e.g. a dog's forefeet, to hinder it from hunting).

## Etymology
Perhaps from law because the practice was ordained by law. Few dictionaries comment directly on the etymology of the sense, but several (which also spell the infinitive law) group it with the other verb and noun senses derived from Old English lagu (“law”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/lawe