claim

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See also: Claim

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English claimen, borrowed from Old French clamer (to call, name, send for), from Latin clāmō, clāmāre (to call, cry out), from Proto-Italic *klāmāō, from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (to shout), which is imitative.

See also Lithuanian kalba (language), Old English hlōwan (to low, make a noise like a cow), Old High German halan (to call), Ancient Greek καλέω (kaléō, to call, convoke), κλέδον (klédon, report, fame), κέλαδος (kélados, noise), Middle Irish cailech (cock), Latin calō (to call out, announce solemnly), Sanskrit उषःकल (uṣaḥkala, cock, literally dawn-calling). Cognate with Spanish llamar and clamar.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kleɪm/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪm

Noun

claim (plural claims)

  1. A demand of ownership made for something.
    a claim of ownership
    a claim of victory
  2. The thing claimed.
  3. The right or ground of demanding.
    You don't have any claim on my time, since I'm no longer your employee.
  4. A new statement of something one believes to be the truth, usually when the statement has yet to be verified or without valid evidence provided.
    The company's share price dropped amid claims of accounting fraud.
    • 2022 January 12, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Unhappy start to 2022”, in RAIL, number 948, page 3:
      The thing is, we've even had formal confirmation from Government itself that the crucial research required to make such sweeping claims hasn't been done!
  5. A demand of ownership for previously unowned land.
    Miners had to stake their claims during the gold rush.
  6. (law) A legal demand for compensation or damages.

Usage notes

Derived terms

Collocations

Descendants

  • Afrikaans: kleim
  • Dutch: claimen
  • Indonesian: klaim

Translations

Verb

claim (third-person singular simple present claims, present participle claiming, simple past and past participle claimed)

  1. To demand ownership of.
    • 1996 March 15, Leyla Linton, “London students sing their defiance”, in The Times, number 65,528, →ISSN, →OCLC, Overseas News, page 14, columns 1, 2:
      Jeffrey Chuang, an economics student at University College London, said: "I am for independence. I do not think China has any right to claim Taiwan. We have confidence in our country and we know that China is not capable of doing anything to us."
  2. To state a new fact, typically without providing evidence to prove it is true.
  3. To demand ownership or right to use for land.
  4. (law) To demand compensation or damages through the courts.
  5. (intransitive) To be entitled to anything; to deduce a right or title; to have a claim.
  6. To cause the loss of.
    The attacks claimed the lives of five people.
    A fire claimed two homes.
  7. To win as a prize in a sport or competition.
    He claimed $100 after winning the top spot.
  8. (obsolete) To proclaim.
  9. (archaic) To call or name.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

Anagrams

Chinese

Etymology

From English claim.

Pronunciation

Verb

claim

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to claim a sum of money
    claimclaim [Cantonese]  ―  kem1 cin4-2   ―  reimbursement
    claim保險claim保险 [Cantonese]  ―  kem1 bou2 him2   ―  to make an insurance claim

References

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

claim

  1. inflection of claimen:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
    3. imperative