I. ˈklām verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English claimen, from claim-, present indicative singular stem of Old French clamer, from Latin clamare to cry out, call; akin to Latin calare to call, summon — more at low
transitive verb
1. obsolete : name , announce , proclaim
2.
a. : to demand recognition of (as a title, distinction, possession, or power) especially as a right
the papal-imperial partnership which claimed universal rule over all Christendom — W.K.Ferguson
also : to have as a property or quality
each rhyme in the verse claims four lines
the small child claims the family red hair
b. : to call for : require
public health must claim everyone's attention
: demand especially as a consequence
the plague claimed thousands of lives
3.
a.
(1) : to demand delivery or possession of by or as if by right
he went to claim their bags at the station
(2) : buy
claimed a fine horse after the race
b. : to recognize the fact of or assert often proudly the right to a close or special relationship with (as by reason of birth, residence, common circumstances, or special affinity)
Paris can claim many significant writers and artists
the city can claim the highest accident rate in 10 years
4. : to assert especially with conviction and in the face of possible contradiction or doubt : maintain
claimed he saw a ghost
some people claim to see beauty in a puddle — Andrew Buchanan
intransitive verb
obsolete : to assert or establish a right or privilege
Synonyms: see demand
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English claim, claime, from Old French claim, from clamer
1.
a.
(1) : an authoritative or challenging request : demand
the present age makes great claims upon us — Matthew Arnold
(2) : a demand of a right or supposed right
Holland withdrew her claim to the annexation of German territory
(3) : a calling on another for something due or supposed to be due
the speaker laid no claim on the intelligence of his audience
b. : a demand for compensation, benefits, or payment (as one made in conformity with provisions of the Social Security Act or of a workmen's compensation law, one made under an insurance policy upon the happening of the contingency against which it is issued, or one made against a transportation line because of loss occasioned by carrier negligence or overcharge) ; also : the amount or payment of such a demand
2. : a privilege to something : right
his claim to be called Europe's leading spokesman
a claim to fame
liberty itself became … a principle of anarchy rather than a body of claims to be read in the context of the social process — H.J.Laski
specifically : a title to any debt, privilege, or other thing in the possession of another
an applicant has a special claim on … funds listed — Official Register of Harvard University
3. : an assertion, statement, or implication (as of value, effectiveness, qualification, eligibility) often made or likely to be suspected of being made without adequate justification
his claims to sound scholarship
appraising the authenticity of some dealer's claim — Edith Diehl
specifically : the formal assertion of novelty and patentability with specification of particulars made by an applicant for a patent
4. : an assertion of title made (as by a settler, lumberman, prospector) on a tract of land (as one in the public domain) and evidenced by staking or otherwise marking as required by law ; also : the tract of land for which such an assertion is made
III. transitive verb
: to assert to be rightfully one's own
claimed responsibilty for the attack