An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Klaue

by Friedrich Kluge

Klaue, feminine, ‘claw, talon, fang,’ from the equivalent Middle High German klâwe, klâ, Old High German chlâwa, chlôa, feminine (compare Braue, from Old High German brâwa). The variants in Middle High German and Old High German render it difficult to determine the Gothic form; Anglo-Saxon clâ, cleá, cleó (plural clâwe), clawu (ă?) are also difficult to explain phonetically; Gothic *klêwa, feminine, is probable, although Old Icelandic kló allows us to infer a graded form, *klôwa, feminine. The common Teutonic stem means 'claw,’ but it is not found in the non-Teutonic languages. The root is klu, pre-Teutonic glu (compare Knäuel); Old Icelandic klá, ‘to scratch, shave,’ based on a Teutonic klah, is scarcely connected with these cognates.