# claw
## English
### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /klɔː/
* (US) IPA: /klɔ/
* (cot–caught merger) IPA: /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)
* A curved, pointed horny nail on each digit of the foot of a mammal, reptile, or bird.
* A foot equipped with such.
* The pincer (chela) of a crustacean or other arthropod.
* A mechanical device resembling a claw, used for gripping or lifting.
* (colloquial) A human fingernail, particularly one extending well beyond the fingertip.
* (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
* (juggling) The act of catching a ball overhand.
* (graph theory) A tree with one internal vertex and three leaves.

##### Derived terms

* bear claw
* beclaw
* cat-claw
* catclaw
* cat's claw
* clawbed
* claw clip
* claw crane
* clawer
* clawfoot
* clawfooted
* claw frog
* clawful
* claw hammer
* claw-hammer coat
* clawhand
* clawless
* clawlike
* claw machine
* claw ring
* claw sickness
* clawsome
* claw toe
* claw tool
* clawy
* crab claw
* declaw
* Devil's claw
* devil's claw
* dew claw
* foreclaw
* get one's claws into
* hind claw
* lobster claw
* longclaw
* Ravenclaw
* red in tooth and claw
* tack claw
* tiger's claw
* toilet claw
* tooth and claw
* wolf's-claw

##### Translations

Abaga: ag̶iŋkoʔai
Afrikaans: klou
Albanian: kthetër (sq) f
Arabic: مِخْلَب (ar) m (miḵlab), بُرْثُن m (burṯun)
Moroccan Arabic: مخلب m (maḵlab)
Armenian: ճանկ (hy) (čank), ճիրան (hy) (čiran), մագիլ (hy) (magil)
Assamese: নখ (nokh)
Azerbaijani: pəncə (az), caynaq (az), dırnaq (az)
Basque: atzapar
Bats: მჵაჲრი̆ (m'ayrĭ)
Belarusian: кіпцю́р m (kipcjúr), кі́пець m (kípjecʹ), пазу́р m (pazúr), ко́каць m (kókacʹ)
Bengali: নখর (bn) (nokhor), নখ (bn) (nokh)
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) (zhǎozi)
Czech: dráp (cs) m
Danish: klo c
Dutch: klauw (nl) c
Egyptian: (ꜥnt f)
Esperanto: ungo (eo), ungego
Estonian: küünis
Faroese: klógv f
Finnish: kynsi (fi)
French: griffe (fr) f
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 (ckb) (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)
Maltese: granf m
Manchu: ᠣᡧᠣᡥᠣ (ošoho), ᠸᠠᠰᡳᡥᠠ (wasiha)
Maori: matimati (mi), matihao, matikuku, kotikara
Marathi: पंजा (pañjā)
Middle English: clawe, cle
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: 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), طرمیق (tırmık)
Papiamentu: pata
Persian: چَنْگال (fa) (čangâl), چَنْگ (fa) (čang)
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: ка̑нџа f, па̑нџа f, ча̏порак m чапорац m
Roman: kȃndža (sh) f, pȃndža (sh) f, čȁporak (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), чангак (tg) (čangak)
Tatar: тырнак (tt) (tırnaq)
Telugu: గోరు (te) (gōru)
Thai: เล็บ (th) (lép), กรงเล็บ (th) (grong-lép)
Turkish: pençe (tr)
Turkmen: dyrnak
Ukrainian: кі́готь (uk) m (kíhotʹ)
Urdu: پَنْجہ m (panja)
Uyghur: تىرناق (tirnaq), پەنجە (penje)
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
Yakut: тыҥырах (tıñıraq)
Yiddish: קרעל (krel)
Zulu: izipho class 5/6 :
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

##### 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)
* 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.
* To use the claws to seize, to grip.
* To use the claws to climb.
* (juggling) To perform a claw catch.
* 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.
* (transitive, obsolete)
** 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, [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, 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.
** To rail at, revile, or scold (someone or something).
*** 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):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.
** 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, 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
### Anagrams

* cawl

## Middle English
### Noun

claw
* Alternative form of clawe