Noah Webster
Clutch
CLUTCH, verb transitive
1. To double in the fingers and pinch or compress them together; to clinch. [If n is not radical in clinch, this may be from the same root.]
2. To seize, clasp or gripe with the hand; as, to clutch a dagger; to clutch prey.
3. To seize, or grasp; as, to clutch the globe at a grasp.
CLUTCH, noun A griping or pinching with the fingers; seizure; grasp.