claim English · revision 3161

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300|origins=la clāmāre}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kleɪm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|cleimen]], claymen,^(Barnhart 1988) [[bor|fro|claim-]], the stressed stem of clamer “to call, name, appeal, claim, complain”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|clāmāre|t=to cry out, shout, proclaim]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) akin to Latin calāre “to call”.^(MWU 2024) Etymonline takes clāmāre to [[ine-pro|*kelh₁-|alt=*kele-|t=to shout]],^(Etymonline) and Merriam-Webster relates it to English [[low]], “to moo”.^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) The noun is [[inh|enm|claime]], from Old French claime, from clamer.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The same Latin verb gave [[acclaim]], [[reclaim]] and [[clamour]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The verb, “to demand as one's own or one's due”, is from probably about 1300,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and the OED has the related sense of asserting a right before 1300;^(OED 1989) the noun, “a demand of a right”, is from before 1325, in ''Cursor Mundi''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A right or title to something is from about 1330.^(OED 1989) A thing claimed is from 1792, especially a piece of land allotted and taken by a miner or settler in the United States and Australia;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''claim-jumper'' is attested from 1839.^(Etymonline) The insurance sense, an application for compensation, is from 1878, and the verb “to make an insurance claim” from 1897.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The meaning “to assert as true, maintain” is from 1864,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) chiefly American at first; the Century Dictionary in 1895 called it common but regarded by many as inelegant.^(Etymonline) ''Claimant'' is from 1747, at first a legal term on the model of appellant and defendant.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – to assert a right.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – to demand as one's due.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1325 – noun, a demand of a right.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1330 – a right or title.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1747 – ''claimant''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1792 – a thing claimed; a mining claim.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1864 – to assert, maintain.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1878 – an insurance claim.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To demand or ask for as one's own or one's due.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To state to be true, especially when it may be doubted; to [[assert]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To call for; to [[deserve]] or require: ''the matter claims our attention''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To take, especially by violence: ''the flood claimed many lives''.^(AHD)

+ # To make a demand for payment under an [[insurance]] policy.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A demand for something as rightful or due.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A right or [[title]] to something.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A statement that something is true, which may be challenged.^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something claimed, especially a piece of land staked out by a miner.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A demand for payment under an insurance policy.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[claimable]]

+ * [[claimer]]

+ * [[claimless]]

+ * [[counterclaim]]

+ * [[misclaim]]

+ * [[overclaim]]

+ * [[reclaim]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[claimant]]

+ * [[disclaim]]

+ * [[disclaimer]]

+ * [[clamor]]

+ * [[acclaim]]

+ * [[exclaim]]

+ * [[proclaim]]

+ * [[declaim]]

+ * [[clear]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Claim'' in the sense “to assert” was long criticized,^(Etymonline) and the Century Dictionary held that the word should not stray far from its true meaning of demanding recognition of a right.^(Etymonline) Among near synonyms, a ''title'' is a claim with legal backing, while a ''pretension'' or ''pretense'' may be a claim with little ground.^(AHD) In south Worcestershire to ''claim'' someone was to greet them as an acquaintance.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}