- clapperclaw (v.)
- "to fight at arm's length with the hands and nails," 1590s, from clap (v.) + claw (v.). Related: Clapperclawed; clapperclawing.
- claw (v.)
- Old English clawian "to scratch, claw," from the same root as claw (n.). Related: Clawed; clawing. Compare Dutch klaauwen, Old High German klawan, German klauen. To claw back"regain by great effort" is from 1953; as a noun, an act of this, from 1969.