[claim] vt [ME, fr. MF clamer, fr. L clamare to cry out, shout; akin to L calare to call--more at low] (14c) 1 a: to ask for esp. as a right "~ed the inheritance" b: to call for: require "this matter ~s our attention" c: take 16b "the accident ~ed her life"
2: to take as the rightful owner "went to ~ their bags at the station" 3 a: to assert in the face of possible contradiction: maintain "~ed that he'd been cheated" b: to claim to have "organization ... which ~s 11,000 ... members --Rolling Stone" c: to assert to be rightfully one's own "~ed responsibility for the attack" syn see demand -- claim.able adj
[2]claim n (14c) 1: a demand for something due or believed to be due "insurance ~"
2. a: a right to something; specif: a title to a debt, privilege, or other thing in the possession of another b: an assertion open to challenge "a ~ of authenticity"
3: something that is claimed; esp: a tract of land staked out