What is "claw"

Claw \Claw\, v. i. To scrape, scratch, or dig with a claw, or with the hand as a claw. ``Clawing [in ash barrels] for bits of coal.''
--W. D. Howells.

To claw off (Naut.), to turn to windward and beat, to prevent falling on a lee shore.

Claw \Claw\ (kl[add]), n. [AS. clawu, cl[=a], cle['o]; akin to D. klaauw, G. klaue, Icel. kl[=o], Sw. & Dan. klo, and perh. to E. clew.]

1. A sharp, hooked nail, as of a beast or bird.

2. The whole foot of an animal armed with hooked nails; the pinchers of a lobster, crab, etc.

3. Anything resembling the claw of an animal, as the curved and forked end of a hammer for drawing nails.

4. (Bot.) A slender appendage or process, formed like a claw, as the base of petals of the pink.
   --Gray.

   Claw hammer, a hammer with one end of the metallic head cleft for use in extracting nails, etc.

   Claw hammer coat, a dress coat of the swallowtail pattern.

   Claw sickness, foot rot, a disease affecting sheep.

Claw \Claw\ (kl[add]), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Clawed (kl[add]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Clawing.] [AS. clawan. See Claw, n.]

1. To pull, tear, or scratch with, or as with, claws or nails.

2. To relieve from some uneasy sensation, as by scratching; to tickle; hence, to flatter; to court. [Obs.]

   Rich men they claw, soothe up, and flatter; the poor they contemn and despise.
   --Holland.

3. To rail at; to scold. [Obs.]

   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.
   --T. Fuller

   Claw me, claw thee, stand by me and I will stand by you; -- an old proverb.
   --Tyndale.

   To claw away, to scold or revile. ``The jade Fortune is to be clawed away for it, if you should lose it.''
   --L'Estrange.

   To claw (one) on the back, to tickle; to express approbation. (Obs.)
   --Chaucer.

   To claw (one) on the gall, to find fault with; to vex. [Obs.]
   --Chaucer.

Old English clawu, earlier clea, "claw, talon, iron hook," from Proto-Germanic *klawo (cognates: Old Frisian klawe "claw, hoe," Middle Dutch klouwe, Dutch klauw, Old High German klawa, German Klaue "claw").\n

\nClaw-foot in reference to furniture is from 1823; claw-and-ball attested from 1893. Claw-hammer attested from 1769.

Old English clawian "to scratch, claw," from the same root as claw (n.). Related: Clawed; clawing. Compare Dutch klaauwen, Old High German klawan, German klauen. To claw back"regain by great effort" is from 1953; as a noun, an act of this, from 1969.

Etymology 1 n. 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 (context botany English) A slender appendage or process, formed like a claw, such as the base of petals of the pink. 6 (context juggling uncountable English) The act of catching a ball overhand. Etymology 2

vb. 1 To scratch or to tear at. 2 To use the claws to seize, to grip. 3 To use the claws to climb. 4 (context juggling English) To perform a claw#Noun catch. 5 To move with one's fingertips.

1. n. sharp curved horny process on the toe of a bird or some mammals or reptiles

2. a mechanical device that is curved or bent to suspend or hold or pull something [syn: hook]

3. a structure like a pincer on the limb of a crustacean or other arthropods [syn: chela, nipper, pincer]

4. a bird's foot that has claws

5. v. move as if by clawing, seizing, or digging; "They clawed their way to the top of the mountain"

6. clutch as if in panic; "She clawed the doorknob"

7. scratch, scrape, pull, or dig with claws or nails

8. attack as if with claws; "The politician clawed his rival"

A claw is a curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes ( mammals, reptiles, birds). However, the word "claw" is also often used in reference to an invertebrate. Somewhat similar fine hooked structures are found in arthropods such as beetles and spiders, at the end of the leg or tarsus for gripping a surface as the creature walks. Crabs', lobsters' and scorpions' pincers, or more formally, their " chelae", are sometimes called claws.

A true claw, (as opposed to a chela) is made of hard protein called keratin. Claws are used to catch and hold prey in carnivorous mammals such as cats and dogs, but may also be used for such purposes as digging, climbing trees, self-defense, and grooming, in those and other species.

Similar appendages that are flat and do not come to a sharp point are called nails instead. Claw-like projections that do not form at the end of digits, but spring from other parts of the foot are properly named spurs.

Claws of animals like tigers, lions, and bears have been used in making items such as ornaments, pendants, and brooches.

Claw (also known as Captain Claw) by Monolith Productions, is a classic-type platform video game that features a two-dimensional platform world featuring a main character at its focus and enemies roaming around. There are traps, secret areas and treasure. It is the developer's second release, after Blood which was released the previous May.

A claw is a sharp growth at the end of a toe or finger.

Claw or Claws may also refer to:

• Chela (organ), a pincerlike organ terminating certain limbs of some arthropods like crabs
• In botany the narrowed, stalk-like, basal part of a petal, sepal or bract
• Claw hammer, a common carpentry tool
• Baltimore Claws, a short-lived American basketball team
• Claw beaker, a type of drinking vessel used in the Dark Ages in Europe
• Clothing, Laundry and Allied Workers Union of Aotearoa, a trade union in New Zealand
• Claw (juggling) a ball juggling trick
• CLAW hypothesis, a feedback loop between the climate and oceanic ecosystems
• Claw chisel or tool, used for stone carving

In entertainment:

• Claws (play), a 1916 play by Sophie Treadwell
• The Claw, a 1927 movie directed by Sidney Olcott
• "Claws", a 1976 episode of the television show The Bionic Woman
• Claw (computer game), a 1997 computer game from Monolith Productions
• Claw vending machine, a type of arcade game in the form of a vending machine
• Vega (Street Fighter), a minor villain from the Street Fighter series

In music

• C-L-A-W-S, Gospel Claws album
• "Claw", a song by British metal band Motörhead from their 1986 album Orgasmatron

In comics and animation:

• C.L.A.W., a fictional weapon in the G.I. Joe universe
• Claw (comics), a supporting character in Daredevil
• Doctor Claw, the main villain of the animated television show Inspector Gadget
• Claw the Unconquered, a sword and sorcery character from DC Comics
• The Claw, the main villain in the animated series Karate Kommandos
• Claw (Lev Gleason Publications), a villain in comics from Lev Gleason Publications
• Comics Literacy Awareness ("CLAw"), a UK literacy charity

Other uses:

• Claw (graph theory), in mathematics a complete bipartite graph K
• Claws Mail, a GTK+-based e-mail client and news client for Linux
• "Claws", the nickname given to the Baryonyx find made in a clay pit in Surrey
• CLAWS (linguistics), a program that performs part-of-speech tagging

The Claw is a fictional supervillain character who first appeared in Silver Streak Comics #1 (December, 1939), from Lev Gleason Publications.

thumb|right|upright|A Crescent also known as a circular tusk made out of acrylic plastic. The claw, talon or pincher is essentially a curved taper which is worn in stretched ear lobe piercings. The thickest end is generally flared and may be decorated, and a rubber o-ring may also be used to prevent the talon from becoming dislodged when worn. Common materials include acrylic and glass. A similar item of jewelry is the crescent, or pincher, which as the name suggests, is shaped like a crescent moon and is tapered at both ends. Talons and claws may also be quite ornamental (e.g.: carved in the form of a serpent or dragon). Consequently, they may prove to be an impractical choice of jewelry as they may snag on hair, clothing, etc.

Category:Body piercing jewellery

In toss juggling, a claw (also called a snatch) is a trick where the hand throwing or catching a ball is turned upside down so that the palm of the hand faces the ground. The effect is that of the jugglers hand appearing to snatch the ball out of the air. A claw can be juggled as an isolated trick, or be incorporated into an already existing juggling pattern. For example, the Boston Mess can be juggled with each right hand throw as a claw. The resulting pattern in known as cherry picking.

Many other well known juggling patterns incorporate claw throws or catches. In most instances, both a throw and subsequent catch are performed as a claw. There are some exceptions to this rule however. For instance, in Burke's Barrage the two balls that are thrown as siteswap 4s in columns and caught with a claw, while none of the throws are clawed.

Claw, in comics, may refer to:

• Claw (Marvel Comics), a Marvel Comics character
• Claw (Lev Gleason Publications)
• Claw the Unconquered, a DC Comics character
• Claw (John Chan), a DC Comics character
• Claw (Gargoyles), a character from the Gargoyles animated series and spin-off comic

It may also refer to:

• Cat Claw, a Malibu Comics character
• Claws (comics), a Marvel Comics mini-series
• Crimson Claw, a First Comics character
• Dark Claw, an Amalgam Comics character
• Dragon's Claws, a Marvel UK team and series
• Ripclaw, a Top Cow character
• Sabreclaw, a Marvel Comics MC2 character
• Silverclaw, a Marvel Comics character
• Steel Claw, a British comic character
• Steelclaw, a DC Comics character
• Yellow Claw