claw

claw

See also: Claw

English

Claw of the short-toed eagle, Circaetus gallicus

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /klɔː/
• (US) IPA^(key): /klɔ/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /klɑ/

• audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː

Etymology 1

From Middle English clawe, from Old English clawu, from Proto-Germanic *klawō. Compare West Frisian klau, Dutch klauw, German Klaue, Danish klo, Norwegian klo, and Swedish klo.

Noun

claw (plural claws)

1. A curved, pointed horny nail on each digit of the foot of a mammal, reptile, or bird.
2. A foot equipped with such.
3. The pincer (chela) of a crustacean or other arthropod.
4. A mechanical device resembling a claw, used for gripping or lifting.
5. (colloquial) A human fingernail, particularly one extending well beyond the fingertip.
6. (botany) A slender appendage or process, formed like a claw, such as the base of petals of the pink.
   • 1857, Asa Gray, First Lessons in Botany and Vegetable Physiology:

     a narrow base, as the petals of a Rose, where the claw is very short

7. (juggling) The act of catching a ball overhand.

Derived terms

• bear claw
• cat's claw
• claw frog
• claw hammer
• claw-hammer coat
• claw ring
• claw sickness
• crab claw
• declaw
• Devil's claw
• devil's claw
• get one's claws into
• hind claw
• tack claw
• tiger's claw
• toilet claw
• wolf's-claw

 

Translations

curved horny nail

Afrikaans: klou Albanian: kthetër (sq) f Arabic: مِخْلَب‎ (ar) m (miḵlab) Armenian: ճանկ (hy) (čank), ճիրան (hy) (čiran), մագիլ (hy) (magil) Assamese: নখ (nokh) Azerbaijani: pəncə (az), caynaq (az), dırnaq (az) Bats: მჵაჲრი̆ (mōayrĭ) Belarusian: кіпцю́р m (kipcjúr), кі́пець m (kípjecʹ), пазу́р m (pazúr), ко́каць m (kókacʹ) Bengali: নখর (bn) (nôkhôrô), নখ (bn) (nôkhô) Bulgarian: но́кът (bg) m (nókǎt) Burmese: စွန်ကုပ် (my) (cwankup), လက်သည်း (my) (laksany:) Buryat: һабар (habar) Catalan: urpa (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 爪 (zh) (zhuǎ), 爪子 (zh) (zhuǎzi) Czech: dráp (cs) m Danish: klo c Dutch: klauw (nl) c Egyptian: (ꜥnt f) Esperanto: ungego Estonian: küünis Faroese: klógv f Finnish: kynsi (fi) French: griffe (fr) Galician: uña (gl) f, garra f Georgian: ჭანგი (č̣angi), ბრჭყალი (ka) (brč̣q̇ali), კლანჭი (ḳlanč̣i) German: Klaue (de) f, Kralle (de) f Greek: νύχι (el) n (nýchi) Haitian Creole: grif Hausa: akaifa (ha) Hebrew: טוֹפֶר‎ (he) m (tofer), טֹפֶר‎ (he) m (tofer) Hindi: पञ्जा (hi) m (pañjā), पंजा (hi) m (pañjā), खाँग (hi) m (khāṅg), नख (hi) m (nakh), चुंगल (hi) m (cuṅgal) Hungarian: karom (hu), köröm (hu) Icelandic: kló f Indonesian: cakar (id) Irish: crúb f Italian: artiglio (it) Japanese: 爪 (ja) (つめ, tsume) Kazakh: тырнақ (kk) (tyrnaq) Khmer: ក្រញាំ (km) (krɑñam), ក្រចក (km) (krɑcɑɑk) Korean: 발톱 (ko) (baltop) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: چنگ‎ (ku) (çing), چرنووک‎ (çirnûk) Kyrgyz: тырмак (ky) (tırmak) Lao: ເລັບ (lo) (lep) Latin: unguis Latvian: nags (lv) m Lithuanian: nagas m Luxembourgish: Klo f, Krall f Macedonian: канџа f (kandža) Malay: cakar (ms) Manchu: ᠣᡧᠣᡥᠣ (ošoho), ᠸᠠᠰᡳᡥᠠ (wasiha) Maori: matimati (mi), matihao, matikuku Marathi: पंजा (pañjā) Middle English: clawe, cle Mongolian: савар (mn) (savar) Nepali: पन्जा (panjā) Norwegian: Bokmål: klo m or f Occitan: arpa (oc) Old Church Slavonic: Cyrillic: ногъть m (nogŭtĭ) Old English: clawu f Ottoman Turkish: چنك‎ (çenk), پنچه‎ (pençe), طرناق‎ (tırnak) Persian: چنگال‎ (fa) (čangâl), چنگ‎ (fa) (čang) Papiamentu: pata Plautdietsch: Kleiw f Polish: pazur (pl) m Portuguese: garra (pt) f Quechua: sillu Romanian: gheară (ro) f Russian: ко́готь (ru) m (kógotʹ) Sanskrit: नख (sa) m or n (nakha) Scottish Gaelic: ìne f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: канџа f, панџа f чапорак m чапорац m Roman: kandža (sh) f, pandža (sh) f, čaporak (sh) m, čaporac m Slovak: dráp (sk) m Slovene: krempelj (sl) m Spanish: garra (es) f Swahili: ukucha (sw) Swedish: klo (sv) c Tagalog: pangalmot Tajik: чангол (tg) (čangol), чанг (tg) (čang) Telugu: గోరు (te) (gōru) Thai: เล็บ (th) (lép), กรงเล็บ (th) (grong-lép) Turkish: pençe (tr) Turkmen: dyrnak Ukrainian: кі́готь (uk) m (kíhotʹ) Urdu: پنجه‎ m (panja) Uzbek: tirnoq (uz), changal (uz) Vietnamese: móng (vi), vuốt (vi) Volapük: kluv (vo), kral (vo) Welsh: crafanc f West Frisian: klau (fy) c, kloer c Yiddish: קרעל‎ (krel) Zulu: izipho class 5/6

foot equipped with such

Catalan: arpa (ca) f Finnish: käpälä (fi); kynnet (fi) pl (of a bird) Galician: gadoupa f Georgian: please add this translation if you can Hindi: पञ्जा (hi) m (pañjā), पंजा (hi) m (pañjā) Irish: crág f Latvian: ķetna f Nepali: पन्जा (panjā) Persian: پنجه‎ (fa) Polish: szpon (pl) m Russian: ла́па (ru) f (lápa) Scottish Gaelic: spòg f Spanish: zarpa (es) f

pincer of a crustacean

Breton: meud (br) m Bulgarian: щипка (bg) (štipka) Catalan: pinça (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 鉗／钳 (zh) (qián) Danish: klosaks c Esperanto: pinĉilo Estonian: sõrg Finnish: saksi (fi) French: pince (fr) German: Schere (de) f Hungarian: olló (hu) Irish: crúb f, ordóg (ga) f Italian: chela (it) Khmer: តង្កៀប (km) (tɑŋkiəp) Occitan: pinça (oc) f Portuguese: puã (pt) f, tenaz (pt) f Romanian: clește (ro) m Russian: клешня́ (ru) f (klešnjá) Slovene: klešče (sl) f pl Spanish: pinza (es) f, tenaza (es) f Thai: ก้าม (th) (gâam) Turkish: kıskaç (tr) Ukrainian: клішня́ f (klišnjá) Welsh: bawd (cy) m or f

mechanical device for gripping

Catalan: garfi m Chinese: Mandarin: 鉗子／钳子 (zh) (qiánzi) Danish: klo c Finnish: leuka (fi) French: pied-de-biche (fr) m (pieds-de-biche (fr) pl) German: Greifer m Irish: ladhar f Italian: palanchino (it), piede di porco (it) Middle English: clawe, cle Polish: kleszcze (pl) pl, szczypce (pl) pl Portuguese: garra (pt) f Romanian: clește (ro) m Russian: тиски́ (ru) m pl (tiskí), захват (ru) m (zaxvat)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Albanian: (please verify) kthetër (sq) f Arabic: (please verify) المخلب‎ Esperanto: (please verify) ungo (eo) Galician: (please verify) spòg Georgian: (please verify) ჭანგი (č̣angi), (please verify) ბრჭყალი (ka) (brč̣q̇ali) Hebrew: (please verify) טֹפֶר‎ (he) Indonesian: (please verify) cakar (id) Italian: (please verify) artiglio (it), (please verify) unghia (it), (please verify) pinza (it), (please verify) zampa (it), (please verify) branca (it) f Korean: (please verify) 발톱 (ko) (baltop) Latvian: (please verify) nags (lv) Lithuanian: (please verify) nagas Norwegian: (please verify) kloa Old English: (please verify) clawu, (please verify) clea Romanian: (please verify) gheară (ro) f, (please verify) clește (ro) Sardinian: (please verify) farrànca, (please verify) ungra, (please verify) ungredda f Spanish: (please verify) garra (es) f Swahili: (please verify) kucha (sw) Thai: (please verify) กรงเล็บ (th) (grong lép) Turkish: (please verify) pençe (tr) Ukrainian: (please verify) кі́готь (uk) (kíhotʹ) Uyghur: (please verify) [script needed] (bemelchek) Vietnamese: (please verify) vuốt (vi), (please verify) càng (vi) Welsh: (please verify) crafanc, (please verify) ewin (cy) Yiddish: (please verify) קרעל‎ (krel)

Further reading

• claw on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 2

From Middle English clawen, from Old English clawan, clāwan, *clēn, clawian, from Proto-Germanic *klawjaną.

Verb

claw (third-person singular simple present claws, present participle clawing, simple past and past participle clawed)

1. To scratch or to tear at.
   • 2012, John Branch, “Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in New York Times‎:

     Using her hands like windshield wipers, she tried to flick snow away from her mouth. When she clawed at her chest and neck, the crumbs maddeningly slid back onto her face. She grew claustrophobic.

2. To use the claws to seize, to grip.
3. To use the claws to climb.
4. (juggling) To perform a claw catch.
5. To move with one's fingertips.
   • 2011 October 15, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 1 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport‎:

     De Gea was United's hero again within seconds of Hernandez's equaliser, diving to his left to claw away Dirk Kuyt's shot as he got on the end of a superb cross from Stewart Downing.

6. (transitive, obsolete)
   1. To relieve an uneasy feeling, such as an itch, by scratching (someone or something); hence (figuratively), to flatter or humour (someone); to court, to fawn on.
      • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene iii]:

        I cannot hide what I am: I must be sad when I have cause, and smile at no man's jests; eat when I have stomach, and wait for no man's leisure; sleep when I am drowsy, and tend on no man's business; laugh when I am merry, and claw no man in his humour.

      • 1603, Plutarch, “Of the Novritvre and Edvcation of Children”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Philosophie, Commonlie Called, The Morals […], London: […] Arnold Hatfield, OCLC 1051546006, page 15:

        To be ſhort, a wretched and curſed generation they be; hypocrites, pretending friendſhip, but they can not skill of plaine dealing and franke ſpeech. Rich men they claw, ſooth up and flatter: the poore they contemne and despiſe.

   2. To rail at, revile, or scold (someone or something).
      • 1655, Thomas Fuller, James Nichols, editor, The Church History of Britain, […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), new edition, London: […] [James Nichols] for Thomas Tegg and Son, […], published 1837, OCLC 913056315:

        In the aforesaid preamble, the king fairly claweth the great monasteries, wherein, saith he, religion, thanks be to God, is right well kept and observed; though he claweth them soon after in another acceptation.

   3. To do (something) quickly.
      • 1667, Francisco de Quevedo Villegas, “The Sixth Vision of Hell”, in R[oger] L[’Estrange], transl., The Visions of Dom Francisco de Quevedo Villegas, […], London: […] H[enry] Herringman […], OCLC 228725377, page 181:

        Do'n't you remember, Sirrah, ſayes one, hovv vve clavv'd it avvay at ſuch a Place! Yes, ye Damn'd Rogue you, cryes t'other, vvhen you vvere ſo drunk you took your Aunt for the Bavvd.

Derived terms

• claw away
• claw back
• claw off

 

Derived terms

• claw me, claw thee

Translations

scratch or tear at

Bulgarian: дращя (bg) (draštja) Catalan: esgarrapar (ca) Czech: drápat impf Danish: kradse, rive (da), kradse Dutch: klauwen (nl) Estonian: küünistama Finnish: kynsiä (fi), raapia (fi) French: griffer (fr) German: kratzen (de), zerkratzen (de) Greek: νυχιάζω (el) (nychiázo) Hindi: नोचना (hi) (nocnā) Hungarian: karmol (hu) Italian: raspare, graffiare (it), artigliare (it) Maori: mamanga, taramamanga Middle English: clawen Norman: grimmer Polish: drapać (pl) Portuguese: unhar (pt) Quechua: silluy Romanian: zgâria (ro) Russian: цара́пать (ru) (carápatʹ) Scottish Gaelic: sgrìob Slovak: driapať impf Spanish: arañar (es) Swedish: klösa (sv), riva (sv)

to use claws to seize, to grip

Catalan: garfir (ca) Czech: drapnout (cs) Danish: gribe Finnish: ottaa kynsiinsä French: s'agripper (fr) German: klammern (de), krallen (de) Italian: ghermire (it) Maori: mamanga Middle English: clawen Portuguese: agarrar (pt) Russian: вцепи́ться когтя́ми (vcepítʹsja kogtjámi) Spanish: agarrar (es)

use claws to climb

Czech: drápat se Danish: slå en klo i Finnish: kiivetä kynsiensä avulla Italian: aggrapparsi

Anagrams

• cawl

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Middle English

Noun

claw

1. Alternative form of clawe