Scottish past tense and past participle of 'clauch'; to grasp, seize, or clutch something.
From Scots clauch (to grasp), of unclear origin but possibly related to Old English clawu (claw), with Scots irregular past tense formation giving claught rather than clauchit.
Scottish irregular verbs like this one—where 'clauch' becomes 'claught'—show how language families develop their own personality; this same pattern shows up in English 'catch/caught,' proving these Scots forms are ancient.
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