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What is "pectinate claw"

The Collaborative International Dictionary
Pectinate claw

Pectinate \Pec"ti*na`te\, Pectinated \Pec"ti*na`ted\, a. [L. pectinatus, p. pr. of pectinare to comb, from pecten, -inis, a comb; cf. Gr. ? to comb, AS. feax hair, OHG. fahs, E. paxwax.]

  1. Resembling the teeth of a comb.

  2. (Nat. Hist.) Having very narrow, close divisions, in arrangement and regularity resembling those of a comb; comblike; as, a pectinate leaf; pectinated muscles. See Illust. (e) of Antenn[ae].

  3. Interlaced, like two combs. [R.] ``Our fingers pectinated, or shut together.''
    --Sir T. Browne.

    Pectinate claw (Zo["o]l.), a claw having a serrate edge, found in some birds, and supposed to be used in cleaning the feathers.