claw C2+ Topic:Animals US /klɔ/ UK /klɔː/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a sharp curved nail on an animal's foot; to scratch or grasp with it The cat extended a claw and hooked the dangling string. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a sharp curved nail on an... talonnailpincerscratchgrasprake Word family Related forms clawed Etymology AI details From Old English clawu ('claw, hoof'), from Proto-Germanic *klawō, from Proto-Indo-European *gleu- ('to gather into a ball, clump'). clawu Old English *klawō Proto-Germanic View etymology graph -> Topics Animals External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # claw **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /klɔ/ **IPA (UK):** /klɔː/ ## Meanings 1. a sharp curved nail on an animal's foot; to scratch or grasp with it ## Examples - The cat extended a claw and hooked the dangling string. ## Synonyms - talon - nail - pincer - scratch - grasp - rake ## Related Forms - clawed ## Roots and Affixes - Root: clawu - Root: *klawō ## Etymology From Old English clawu ('claw, hoof'), from Proto-Germanic *klawō, from Proto-Indo-European *gleu- ('to gather into a ball, clump'). ## AI Etymology Claw comes from Old English clawu ('claw, hoof'), from Proto-Germanic *klawō, from Proto-Indo-European *gleu- ('to gather into a ball, clump'). The historical trail runs through clawu in Old English and *klawō in Proto-Germanic. Used as a noun and verb, claw now means "a sharp curved nail on an animal's foot; to scratch or grasp with it", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as clawed. The word is therefore part of the inherited Germanic layer of English, even where later usage has narrowed, broadened, or specialized the sense. ## Topics - Animals markdown