Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - claw

 I. noun  Usage: often attributive  Etymology: Middle English ~e, from Old English ~u hoof, ~; akin to Old Norse klo ~, and probably to Old English cliewen ball — more at clew  Date: before 12th century  1. a sharp usually slender and curved nail on the toe of an animal  2. any of various sharp curved processes especially at the end of a limb (as of an insect); also a limb ending in such a process  3. one of the pincerlike organs terminating some limbs of various arthropods (as a lobster or scorpion)  4. something that resembles a ~; specifically the forked end of a tool (as a hammer)  • ~ed adjective  • ~like adjective  II. verb  Date: before 12th century  transitive verb to rake, seize, dig, or progress with or as if with ~s  intransitive verb to scrape, scratch, dig, or pull with or as if with ~s