An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Klaue

by Friedrich Kluge

Klaue, f., ‘claw, talon, fang,’ from the equiv. MidHG. klâwe, klâ, OHG. chlâwa, chlôa, f. (comp. Braue, from OHG. brâwa). The variants in MidHG. and OHG. render it difficult to determine the Goth. form; AS. clâ, cleá, cleó (plur. clâwe), clawu (ă?) are also difficult to explain phonetically; Goth. *klêwa, f., is probable, although OIc. kló allows us to infer a graded form, *klôwa, f. The common Teut. stem means 'claw,’ but it is not found in the non-Teut. languages. The root is klu, pre-Teut. glu (comp. Knäuel); OIc. klá, ‘to scratch, shave,’ based on a Teut. klah, is scarcely connected with these cognates.