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A meow /miˈaʊ/, also spelled miaow, is the most familiar vocalization of cats. A meow can be assertive, plaintive, friendly, bold, welcoming, attention soliciting, demanding, or complaining. It can even be silent, where the cat opens its mouth but does not vocalize. Adult cats rarely meow to each other, and so adult meowing to human beings is likely to be a post-domestication extension of meowing by kittens.
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Spelling
In English, the first use of the spelling "meow" was in 1842. Before that, the word could be spelled "miaow", "miau", or "meaw".
Language differences
Different languages have correspondingly different words for the "meow" sound, including:
In some languages (such as Chinese 貓, māo), the vocalization became the name of the animal itself.
References
Meow Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA