α. 1700s– devil's claw.
β. 1800s devil claw.
devil's clawn.
/ˈdɛvlz ˌklɔː/, U.S. /ˈdɛv(ə)lz ˌklɔ/, /ˈdɛv(ə)lz ˌklɑ/ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Mollusca > [noun] > Testacea (shelled molluscs) > shelled mollusc > shell
seashella900
shale1561
buckie1596
caracol1622
valve1661
spire1681
umbilicus1688
conch-shell1697
wart-shell?1711
needle1713
multivalve1753
concha1755
periosteum1758
conch1773
devil's claw1773
furbelow1776
peewit's egg1776
worm-tube1776
rosebud1815
sheath1815
periostracum1833
epicuticle1885
epicuticula1886
leg of mutton1891
trivalve1891
1773 R. Greene Descriptive Catal. Rarities Lichfield Mus. 28 A variety of Sea Shells in fine preservation, among which are the Great Helmet,.., another cut open to shew its curious internal Structure, the Gout Shell or Devil's Claw.
1797 G. Humphreys Museum Calonnianum 39 Strombus Diabolus—..La Griffe du Diable—Devil's Claw—Madagascar.
1815 E. J. Burrow Elements Conchol. 202 Strombus Chiragra Devil's Claw.
1838 Visit Brit. Mus. 114 The Pterocera, Devil's Claws.
1863 W. Smith Dict. Bible II. at Onycha The operculum of the Strombidae..is of a claw shape and serrated, whence the Arabs call the mollusc ‘the devil's claw’.
1868 Titusville (Pa.) Morning Herald 16 July The Scorpion Spider, or Devil's Claw, from the African sea.
2. Nautical.
a. A forked or two-pronged hook, attached to the deck of a ship, which is used to secure a cable or chain. Also in plural in same sense.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > other equipment of vessel > [noun] > other equipment
rack1691
ice hook1694
searcher1775
fumigation-lamp1815
mete-stick1815
boat axe1820
devil's claw1833
telegraph1842
boat slide1854
anchor ball1858
umbrella warping1867
anchor ball1942
coffee grinder1952
1833 Austral. (Sydney) 21 June The undermentioned valuable outfitting for a Vessel [is for sale by auction]... 1 Devil's claw.
1849 J. M. Murphy & W. N. Jeffers Naut. Routine & Stowage ii. 37 The devil's-claw is passed out of the sheet hawse-hole, and shackled to the lee cable.
1897 W. J. Pettus Rep. Cape Charles Quarantine in Ann. Rep. Surgeon-Gen. Marine-Hosp. Service U.S. 1897 (1899) 485 One clear hawse shackle and two devil claws were bought for use in handling the heavy anchors and chains.
1936 N.Z. Railways Mag. Apr. 17 We got the ‘devil's claw’ to work—them two hooks that grappled the cable like grim death and kept it from slipping—and we manned the quarter-deck capstan too and rove messengers.
1955 J. H. La Dage et al. Merchant Ships v. v. 304/2 (caption) Visible also are the devil's claws, which are put on the chain as an additional stopper.
2006 W. Ward Last Seaman 550 Securing his anchor cables with devil's claws.
b. A grapnel in the form of a forked or two-pronged hook, typically used to anchor a ship to ice. Now historical and rare.Recorded earliest in a description of an apparatus for rescuing castaways or survivors of shipwrecks who are stranded at the base of a cliff.
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1834 Sat. Mag. 8 Mar. 92/2 It [sc. the waggon] is moored by two strong grapnells, or devil's claws,..carried out as far as may be necessary.
1850 Standard 4 Oct. When they came to the neck of the ice, the steamers would..dash at it, cutting into ice 12 and 13 feet thick, then clapping on their devil's claws.
1925 Dial. Notes 5 329 Devil's claw, an ice anchor. Its two tines are bent in the same direction at right angles to the shank.
2007 R. Finch Iambics of Newfoundland 240 Old fluke anchors, grapnels,..an enormous ‘devil's claw’ ice anchor about four feet long,..etc.
3.
a. English regional. In plural. Either of two plants, bird's-foot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus, which has long, slender seed pods arranged in bunches, and corn buttercup, Ranunculus arvensis, which has spiky fruits.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > lotus or bird's-foot trefoil
lote1548
ground honeysuckle1592
bird's-foot trefoil1650
bird's-foot lote1714
lotus1731
winged pea1739
bird's-foot trefoil1760
bloom-fell1799
fingers and thumbs1815
bird's-foot lotus1832
devil's claw1833
five-finger1845
lady's slipper1852
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Ranunculaceae (crowfoot and allies) > [noun] > crowfoot
clovetonguec1325
pilewort?a1425
crowfootc1440
ranunculus1543
rape crowfoot1578
urchin crowfoot1578
water milfoil1578
lodewort1597
reate1655
hunger-weed1792
devil's claw1996
1833 London Med. & Physical Jrnl. 15 21 In Hampshire, the Lotus corniculatus is called dead-men's fingers, but in the vicinity of Bristol the plant has various names; fingers and toes, devil's fingers, devil's claws, and crow-toes.
1856 W. J. Hooker & T. B. Salter Bromfield's Flora Vectensis 11 Corn Crowfoot... Devil's Claws.
1911 G. C. Nuttall Wild Flowers as they Grow 70 Besides ‘Bird's-Foot Trefoil’, the plant is also called Devil's Claws.
1996 R. Mabey Flora Britannica 47/2 The seed-heads [of Ranunculus arvensis] are viciously spiny and earned the plant local names such as devil's claws and hellweed.
2014 J. Lewis-Stempel Wildlife Garden ii. 22 Lotus corniculatus has other, less engaging names which give an instant mind picture of its seed pods—such as old woman's toe nails and devil's claws.
b. Any of various plants having fruits or seed pods with claw-like hooks, esp. (a) a flowering plant of the genus Proboscidea, native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, having fruits and seeds used by North American Indians in basketry and as a source of food; (b) a southern African flowering plant of the genus Harpagophytum, having large tuberous roots used medicinally for their analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. Also occasionally in plural in same sense. Also: a fruit or seed pod of such a plant.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > non-British plants or herbs > [noun] > North American > other plants
bear grass1750
gardenia1756
sisyrinchium1767
heartsease1785
blazing star1789
nondo1791
unicorn-plant1796
screw-stem1802
American centaury1803
wild ginger?1804
pinweed1814
sabbatia1814
mountain mint1817
orange-root1817
richweed1818
goldenseal1828
pipeweed1837
snow plant1846
lopseed1850
devil's claw1876
turkey's beard1884
richweed1894
blue star grass1999
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > non-British medicinal plants > [noun] > other non-British medicinal plants or plant parts
scammony1567
teamster's tea1728
buchu1731
goatweed1756
Iceland moss1785
argel1803
opopanax-wort1811
papoose root1811
ginseng1818
mad-dog weed1818
chirayta1829
Corsican moss1849
goatweed1864
devil's claw1876
sneezeweed1877
lingzhi1904
mountain pink1936
1876 J. Schneck in 7th Ann. Rep. Geol. Surv. Indiana 1875 543 M[artynia] proboscidea, Glox. Devil's Claw. Sandy idle hillsides, not rare.
1878 A. Brassey Voy. Sunbeam 79 We saw a great quantity of the seeds of the Martynia proboscidea,..—devil's claws or toe-nails: they are curious-looking things.
1915 San Antonio (Texas) Light 1 June 4/3 There is a weed that grows all over the south-west..known as the ‘devil's claw’, and it has generally been classed as one of the greatest nuisances that afflicted the country.
1961 Amer. Fern Jrnl. 51 2 Here I first encountered that fiendish subtropical vine known as Devil's Claws.., Pisonia aculeata, which literally can (and does) rip one's clothing to shreds.
1981 W. Berry Gift of Good Land 55 But most of of [sic] the summer crops are native:..pinto and pink beans, chili peppers, striped cushaw (Papago pumpkin), butternut squash, and devil's claw.
1992 Amer. Horticulturist May 3/1 Devil's claw (Proboscidea spp.) is an annual that is as fun to grow as it is to eat.
2004 Nat. Health Nov. 81/3 Extracts from Devil's Claw contain powerful anti-inflammatory chemicals that can reduce back pain as well as improving mobility.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1773