Definition of "claw" []

• A sharp, curved, horny structure at the end of a toe of a mammal, reptile, or bird. (noun)
• A chela or similar pincerlike structure on the end of a limb of a crustacean or other arthropod. (noun)
• A limb terminating in such a structure. (noun)
• Something, such as the cleft end of a hammerhead, that resembles a claw. (noun)
• Botany The narrowed, stalklike basal part of certain petals or sepals. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Grendles grāpe, _all of Grendel's claw, the whole claw_, 837; dat.pl. on grames grāpum, 766; (as instr.) grimman grāpum, _with grim claws_, 1543."
• "Grendles grâpe, _all of Grendel's claw, the whole claw_, 837; dat.pl. on grames grâpum, 766; (as instr.) grimman grâpum, _with grim claws_, 1543."
• "I. iii.19 (241,7) [claw no man in his humour] To _claw_ is to flatter."