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.
[Slang]
{Claw sickness}, foot rot, a disease affecting sheep.
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.
{To claw off} (Naut.), to turn to windward and beat, to
prevent falling on a lee shore.