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.
Claw, v. i. To scrape, scratch, or dig with a claw, or with the hand as a claw. "Clawing [in ash barrels] for bits of coal." W. D. Howells.
To claw off (Naut.), to turn to windward and beat, to prevent falling on a lee shore.
Claw"back` (?), n. A flatterer or sycophant. [Obs.] "Take heed of these clawbacks." Latimer.